[Episode 77] 5 Reasons Why Being Transgender And Gender Diverse Is Awesome

In this episode we will be looking at 5 reasons about how flippin awesome it is to be transgender and gender diverse in any of the ways it’s possible to exist under these umbrella terms.

Because it’s been trans awareness week this week and I think that it’s important that we celebrate the fuck out of ourselves.

It can be easy to get caught up in the efforts we make towards being accepted by others, that we don’t necessarily just take a moment to celebrate who we are, as we are right now and how ploppin amazing it is to be us!

 

 

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There’s so many more than just 5 reasons why!

I personally think that being trans, gender diverse, non binary or whatever label you choose to use is the best. And I swear I’m totally not biased on my opinion.

But seriously, I think that our community is filled with some of the most self aware, authentic, courageous, creative and expressive humans to ever be.

It can take a lot to reflect on who we are within ourselves. But to then take steps to do what we need to do to express that and live in the ways that feel right for us. I think that takes more than what most cis folks will ever be able to comprehend.

And I think that too often we can get caught up in our transitions and fulfilling our needs that we forget to take time and celebrate ourselves and all the radness that we are.

So today I’m here to remind you all of the fact that you’re amazing. Regardless of where you are in the world, your transition or any other part of your life.

 

 

Especially if you aren’t feeling that, that is the case. Because you absolutely are amazing, worthy of love and totally valid.

 

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5 Reasons, Lets Count ’em down!

Self awareness

We are raised to believe that there are only two types of genders. That men and women being together is the norm and that is the right way to be in this world.

And as we all know this view is strongly enforced and any other view is aggressively resisted.

But there are so many other ways that people can show up in the world. And the rad thing is that there are many of us that do.

We are the proof that gender is a spectrum. It is an area of many shades of grey and is far from the black and white narratives we are bombarded with on a daily basis.

And there is nothing wrong with us for being the way that we are.

 

 

As a community and as individuals that live within the TGD community we have seen through the story that has been pushed on to us and been able to recognise that there is more to us than this blinkered view of the world.

Some of us have taken the steps to live openly as ourselves. We have transitioned in the ways that we feel help us present as ourselves.

While others may have transitioned and chosen not to share that with anyone.

And other folks still, may not be ready to take any steps yet. They may be still figuring out who they are and how they want to show up in the world.

There is no right or wrong here. Any way that a person within our community chooses to express themselves at any given time is perfect.

 

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Courageous

We show up as ourselves in a world that wants us to just shut up and conform to the majority view. And this isn’t easy. There are a lot of challenges that we face. Yet regardless of what we experience, we still choose to show up as ourselves.

And that makes us as courageous as fuck.

 

 

It can be scary and the risks for us presenting authentically to the world can be big. There’s no sugar coating it. Our community experiences a lot of harm from cis folks.

But they can not stop us from being ourselves and expressing ourselves.

They fear us because of their own ignorance and their own insecurities. That is what it comes down to.

So many people fear what they don’t understand. They hide behind religious ideologies, false narratives and the opinions of transphobes to justify their own actions as they perpetrate harm towards us.

Yet, here we are, being ourselves every day in a world that tries to tell us that we don’t exist. That we are wrong. We are sick. We are abnormal.

But the truth is, what’s abnormal is the desperate way that cis folks cling to their flimsy perspectives of gender.

 

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Strong/Resilient

No# 3 in list of 5 reasons is strong you all are. The challenges we face every day make us strong and resilient. And it’s not necessarily by choice. It’s because we have to be.

And it’s not always easy that’s for sure. It can be exhausting having to expend our energy educating those around us. Correcting people when they misgender us, whether it is intentional or not.

All the while having to maintain that friendly smiling face because regardless of how hurtful cis folks are, we can’t lash out or we’re seen as aggressive or intolerant.

I know how hard it can be to bear through all of this. To live with their double standards. But I’ve also learned to other people’s attitudes are a reflection of them and has nothing to do with us.

We are free to exist as ourselves, however we want. Regardless of what other people think. It’s important to remember this and not take on other peoples mismanaged and projected emotional issues.

But as I said, it can take a lot to have to exist in spaces where these are our daily experiences.

 

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Creative

Another thing I see in our incredibly diverse community is the way people find to express themselves whether it’s through the clothes they wear, their hairstyles or the make up they use.

Our clothes help us feel good about who we are and how we are seen in the world.

It can be a profound step for folks when they finally get that outfit that helps them feel euphoric.

I think it’s really important to remember that there are things that you can do for you that help you feel good. Even if you’re not exactly where you want to be right now. It doesn’t mean you can’t be happy as you work towards your transition goals.

It can be easy to get caught up in what’s not going right for you and forget that there are things in your life that are also really positive.

Our style choices can be a great place to start. Because they can help us see ourselves differently.
And as I’ve said, this can be a really affirming thing.

The styles that I see folks in our community totally rock, are so unique to us and I feel so proud to be part of this community every time I see someone expressing themselves in these ways.

 

 

Especially because often these styles are not defined by mainstream trends. There is so much beauty in this form of self expression.

And I know I’ve talked about this before when it comes to transition pathways. But I think it can be overlooked as to how it can help affirm an identity.

 

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Self love

To top off these 5 reasons, i wanna talk about the amount of self love we have, for ourselves….

We wouldn’t take any of the steps that we take if it wasn’t for how much we care about ourselves and our existences.

Not only do we face hostility and challenges from the general population. We face gate keeping from doctors and medical professionals too.

It can be an uphill battle for many folks as they work to affirm their gender identities. But, and I’m adding a big but here, we do it all anyway. Because we care so much about how we want to live our lives.

And when we do reach the places where we have affirmed ourselves in the ways that we want, we feel fucking amazing.

We feel so full of love and joy for who we are. And at the end of the day, all the steps we’ve taken and all the challenges we’ve faced are absolutely worth it.

Because we all deserve love. We deserve to feel love for ourselves. I fucking love seeing other folks from our community loveing themselves and feeling amazing about their identities.

I love seeing folks taking those first tentative steps towards find the ways to love themselves and affirm their identities.

Seriously, life is way too flippin short to not find the ways that help us feel good to exist and then live our lives according to our own wishes.

And I see these very actions being followed every single day by the raddest community in the whole flippin world (that’s the transgender, gender diverse, non binary or any of the labels you choose to define yourselves.)

 

I’m so proud of us!

This week has been transgender awareness week and I hope that you all take the time to celebrate yourselves. Celebrate your wins. Celebrate the steps you’ve taken to affirm your identity and fell really frikkin proud of yourselves.

Because you’ve done all of this, regardless of what the rest of the world says or does.

 

 

We live experiences that cis folks can never imagine. And that makes us unique. It makes us powerful and it makes us fuckin unstoppable.

As a community we aren’t going anywhere. We are growing and we are getting stronger.

And I frikkin love you all.

 

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Closing Recap

We’ve touched on a lot today! We looked at how totally frikkin awesome TGD folks are and to recap the 5 reasons why you’re all amazing:

• We’ve explored the level of self awareness it takes to express a gender identity that is different from the mainstream views of identity.
• Then we looked at how much courage it takes to live as ourselves. Regardless of the challenges that we may face in doing so.

Our experiences help us to be strong and resilient. To stand up for ourselves and face the challenges we face and keep being us.

And we do this by recreating ourselves into the image of who we feel that we are. We express ourselves in ways that cis folks are too scared to. We aren’t afraid to stand out.

Because what it all comes down to at the end of the day is that we frikkin love ourselves enough to live the way that we want to live.

Until next week friends know that you are frikkin amazing. You are perfectly you, however that may be. So live your life the way that you want to live it. And know that you are not alone. You are part of a bigger community. And together we are unstoppable.

Have a rad as day pals.