Gender dysphoria isn’t trendy, it doesn’t prove to the world that you want to break down gender binaries stretch their definitions, it’s just a fucking terrible feeling. Imagine those days when you feel really bloated and disgusted with yourself. Now imagine it times 10. Now imagine that lasting your whole fucking life. Really, it’s a privilege to not have gender dysphoria, and to wish it upon yourself elides the suffering of so many people and reveals your ignorance about that suffering. Plus, you don’t even need to have gender dysphoria in order break the rules of gender. People without gender dysphoria break the rules all the time. To assume that gender dysphoria is a golden ticket to fuck with gender is, again, ignorant.
theaudreyhepburncomplex asked not all the Lesbians are masculine with short hair, and not all short hair is masculine. Not all the gays are feminine in Japanese comics either. They also had a female version of the all male troupes, all roles played by females. but that is besides the point really. I do realize Japan has it's share of homophobic stuff, but they do seem a lot more open to things that the western world considers "weird", but yeah, I understand now. Sorry to be annoying.
It all depends on what you mean by “weird.”
I’d say that given the varying histories of the two countries, they’re pretty similar about acceptance… But Japan does have cool Transformers statues. Not gonna lie about that one.
theaudreyhepburncomplex asked About the western culture/man in a lacy dress secret, I'm having a hard time seeing what this person was doing wrong (other than saying that men that were not in dresses are bad I guess, and wording the secret badly). It seems to me you're saying it is wrong for this person to find men who like wearing women's clothing attractive. They explained they did not mean trans women. They are not expressing a love for a trans woman who still has her penis, but a man, comfortable with his body(not all Male bodied people who wear dresses hate being men), that dresses in female clothes. It doesnt seem like they think (in explanation to their secret) that this man is not a man because of how beautiful he is.. Plus, is it really racist for the secret writer to use an asian person to tell western culture (im assuming it would not make sense if they used a person who was not of an eastern culture) to be more accepting? Japan (sorry to assume the origin of the person in t he picture, but I think I saw him before associated with a japanese music blog) is a lot more accepting of cross dressing than we are. They have endless comics of women assuming roles of men, and these visual K bands in which the members all sport androgynous looks for example. it is not that big of a problem there, as it is here, especially with men, As Western culture tends to view a man doing "girl" things is bad. I dont mean to attack, I'd just like more explanation on your view of this so If there IS something wrong that I am not seeing, i can see it. (i apologize for this being so long)
Um, can’t remember if I’ve said this before or not, but the person that posted that secret is not the same one that is answering your question, so I’ll just post this so they can see it.
And to answer the latter part of your question as best I can: Yes, it is problematic to assume that Japan, or more generally Asian countries are more accepting of cross-dressers because performers crossdress. Crossdressing isn’t bad in Japan because there was a time when woman could not participate in plays/operas etc, so men had to fill their roles. It has been common for men who are in the limelight, so to speak, to wear women’s clothing. Because they are from two different cultural backgrounds it is not a good comparison to make.
Japan isn’t without it’s homophobia. They do not have any anti-discrimination laws for LGBT members, and because Japan is a highly collective society that does not like to deviate from the norm, many performers in Japan aren’t really allowed to be blunt and open. Think about telling Ellen Degeneres to not be so open, you know?
If you’ve noticed lesbians are very masculine with short hair, and that gay men are very feminine in Japanese comics? That is because Japan only promotes those images. I mean, that’s a bit more that America has going on, that’s for sure, but it’s still problematic.
Does that explain why it’s not a good idea to use an example of a Japanese performer to tell America to “get in gear”?
How can you tell who is trans and who isn’t? There’s no way to tell unless the information is volunteered.
This @bold!
Pure fetishization at best.
(via metapianycist)
What the fuck is a trans body? They aren’t all the same.
Way to lump everyone into one little category.
Well, first of all, a trans body is a body belonging to a transperson. That’s what the fuck a trans body is. Yeah, every trans body is different, but it is a real category describing a specific set of bodies.
Secondly, while I’m not sure that the person who submitted this secret knew how broad a term they were using, I don’t think the intention was to lump everyone together. Not all men have the same body and you didn’t react to that part at all. I think we can agree that the writer of this secret is missing some language, but they’re clearly missing a lot of information as well. For instance, it’s obvious that this person does not understand that trans identity does not always and in every case center around the desire for an unattainable (given current technology) male-assigned body of the exact type that cismales usually get naturally.
I think this person is instead identifying a desire to have a body that will always have a visible trans history. If this person follows through on that wish, I’m sure they will learn at least some of the many possible forms a trans body can take.
Fetishization up the wazoo here. Not only are trans women fetishized here, but east Asian folks are fetishized as well. Asians have a long and terrible history of sexual objectification and fetishization, and simply trying to cover up your complicity in that by trying to say “oh, well, western culture sucks” isn’t gonna cut it. Denigrating western culture is textbook justification for cultural appropriation and fetishization. Shit, you aren’t even original.
Also “get on the ball western culture” seems to imply that trans women like the one pictured don’t exist in western society. Way to go, in one fell swoop you have totally erased the lives of countless trans women who are part of western culture.
Jesus Christ just read my previous statement. You don’t see people being as relaxed about cross-dressing in Western culture, the point of that statement being that people should be more comfortable with and accepting of the idea. 90% of the time that I show pictures of bands with gender-bending members to my friends they think it’s bizarre and make fun of them. Your making assumptions isn’t helping anyone - just because the guy is Asian doesn’t mean I think he’s pretty ONLY BECAUSE HE IS ASIAN, and assuming that’s the case is almost its own form of racism. I thought it was supposed to be racist if I DIDN’T think anyone outside my own race was attractive.
And get your facts straight, it’s a man in a dress, not a transgendered woman. “Debunking” people’s secrets would be a lot more helpful if you weren’t making exactly the same kind of assumptions that you seem to be claiming to try and get rid of (clearly if a person is in a dress, they must be a woman - nice going).
I’m sorry you have such closed-minded friends, that must suck balls. However, there are people, believe it or not, in western culture, who love, are attracted to, and support gender variant, crossdressing, genderqueer, andro and trans women. Many of my friends, for example, can count themselves among this number. True, there is A LOT of violence and oppression that gender variant folks face in western culture, but to only pay attention to this erases the love and support some of these people receive.
On the topic of race, you picked out this picture because this person was Asian, you did that specifically to illustrate your bullshit point about western culture. That is fetishization, that right there. You’re the one picking this person out for being Asian, not me.
You also engage in fetishization when you imply that crossdressers/transwomen are the only acceptable form of penis. First, you are reducing them/characterizing them by this single body part, something which I might add many of these folks feel quite dysphoric about. Second, you are sexualizing their gender presentation in a really gross and objectifying way.
I did make an assumption that this individual was a trans woman, that’s the only part you got right. Everything else is just some ill informed ad hominim attacks.
(via lovewallace)
lovewallace asked I hope you read my response to your breakdown of the Hizaki secret. If you would like to explain to me in a less irate way anything about it that still offends you, feel free.
I’m not the user that submitted that post but I’ll post this question so that they may see it.
![[This is kind of about asexuality over all, not just this guy.]
Think about how sexual [western] society is. Especially for a guy (as the poster refers to him as he) in which the kyriarchy has this habit of erasing asexual folk, or just referring to them as “people who just can’t get any.”
It may seem like he’s talking about it a lot, but it’s probably nothing compared to the overtly sexual culture around him, so instead of point it out and engaging in an attempt at silencing the dude, maybe listen to his little spiels about asexuality, perhaps and learn more about his marginalized sexuality?
I mean, how annoying would it be if you were homosexual and several heterosexual persons kept reminding you how much you talk about it? Of course, you talk about it. It’s important to you. How many movies are made around homosexuals compared to heterosexuals? And think about how often any asexual persons are featured?
Sometimes we just need to step back and reexamine certain aspects of our privilege, even if it may not seem as such.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8e4fwrqa81qcpj7wo1_400.gif)
[This is kind of about asexuality over all, not just this guy.]
Think about how sexual [western] society is. Especially for a guy (as the poster refers to him as he) in which the kyriarchy has this habit of erasing asexual folk, or just referring to them as “people who just can’t get any.”
It may seem like he’s talking about it a lot, but it’s probably nothing compared to the overtly sexual culture around him, so instead of point it out and engaging in an attempt at silencing the dude, maybe listen to his little spiels about asexuality, perhaps and learn more about his marginalized sexuality?
I mean, how annoying would it be if you were homosexual and several heterosexual persons kept reminding you how much you talk about it? Of course, you talk about it. It’s important to you. How many movies are made around homosexuals compared to heterosexuals? And think about how often any asexual persons are featured?
Sometimes we just need to step back and reexamine certain aspects of our privilege, even if it may not seem as such.
(Source: queersecrets)
Fetishization up the wazoo here. Not only are trans women fetishized here, but east Asian folks are fetishized as well. Asians have a long and terrible history of sexual objectification and fetishization, and simply trying to cover up your complicity in that by trying to say “oh, well, western culture sucks” isn’t gonna cut it. Denigrating western culture is textbook justification for cultural appropriation and fetishization. Shit, you aren’t even original.
Also “get on the ball western culture” seems to imply that trans women like the one pictured don’t exist in western society. Way to go, in one fell swoop you have totally erased the lives of countless trans women who are part of western culture.
(Source: queersecrets)
theaudreyhepburncomplex asked another thing with the binder secret, it seems kind of selfish for them to whine and cry when their partner does not bind, as (from my personal experience, and reading the experiences of others) binding hurts like hell, and leaves damage.. I can barely climb stairs anymore without feeling like I ran a marathon. I pretty much have binding-induced asthma, that no inhaler actually helps with.
Yes. Binding is costly, painful, and if done for varying amounts of time will lead to breakdown of breast tissue. It would be logical to assume that their partner has no problems with their body/breasts and I think that it’s a bit short-sighted to want them to bind to avoid being seen as straight.
And, personally speaking after binding for about 4 years, I have scars from where my binder has cut into my sides or have nearly dislocated parts of my body trying to wiggle in/out of one. It’s no fun.
