I have nothing against Elliot and I do wish him all the best, but I'm starting to get increasingly worried that, if this trend is to continue, it will inadvertently lead to butch women being automatocally percieved as trans men waiting to happen. Worse than that, it will make butch women think their masculine expression and physical womanhood can't coexist and that transition is an inescapeable reality if they ever want to be happy with who they are. I know it because I lived it. That's why I'm here.

This isn't really about Page though. It's about the increase in butch women becoming trans men. His transition may be the right step for him but it will sow the seeds of self-doubt in the mind of every dyke who looked up to him in his previous life as a confident, masculine lesbian. And that will lead to more young butches believing that transition is inevitable if they ever want to be happy, more butches transitioning, detransitioning and thinking once again that they're broken. That happened to me and I'd not wish it on anyone.

Well, not yet there aren't. Elliot is pretty much the first real celebrity to come out as trans but, in my opinion there will definitely be more.

Also for your information heroin chic was a fashion look, not a synonym for the addiction. It was beautiful fashion models trying to look like skinny, racoon eyed addicts without the nasty bits that come with actually using the drug. It was a trend.

Much like hmmm idk people who transition without dysphoria? Who treat it as a fun hobby and not a medical treatment? Who ignore the very real dangers of it in favor of selling it like a miracle cure to all your identity problems? Not saying Elliot is one of these people but with the growing popularity, overprescription and glamorization of transness this will become the rule not the exception.

Okay, so in your opinion transitioning being seen as a treatment for dysphoria is the same as homosexuality being seen as not real love? So you're saying that seeing transitioning as a medical treatment is not valid. But doesn't that go against the narrative of it being this very necessary life saving procedure? Isn't that a little transphobic then?

Okay, now we agree on something. Transitioning is a medical treatment, right? And for it to be assigned as treatment it has to treat something, that something being dysphoria. So you agree you can't be trans without dysphoria, right? Wasn't this what we were arguing about lol I think I'm too tired to think now

PS.

Did you know estrogen injections were once used on gay men as a form of chemical castration as punishment for homosexuality? And now a lot of gay, feminine men are becoming trans. Does that make the act of transition....homophobic? See, I can also pull bullshit arguments out of my ass under the guise of it being a history lesson. Stop with that shit.

LITERALLY STOP. No one here is bullying Elliot. No one. We don't care about his life choices. It just only so happened that his transition was a waking call to many butches who looked up to him before. So stop gaslighting us and let us have this space!

Nope, and I strongly suspect it's because my native language has no distinctions between "sex" and "gender". I was raised with the idea that you can do and be whatever you wanted but that sex was as innate to your being as skin or eye color. So despite being extremely butch growing up, never have I ever thought I would ever question that fact and I never was uncomfortable with being a girl. It was only when I discovered the English speaking part of the Internet that words like "trans" and "gender" and "pronouns" entered my vocabulary. I entertained them for a while but they always did have a tinge of absurdity to them. It was like a cultural clash almost or like subscribing to a religion you don't really believe in. Now I believe my brain will never truly grasp "gender". It's just all so absurd to me.

It's all fun and games when you're 20-30 and the worlds your oyster but what happens when you start balding and aching all over? I really doubt all those trans kids are ready to be middle aged trans adults anytime soon, especially considering how appearance obsessed this generation is.

I've read your replies on this thread and it became painfully clear to me that you have a very romanticized / idealized view of women. That is not healthy and I suspect will lead to bitter disappointment once you go down the transition route. I understand just wanting to be more feminine, feel pretty, wear makeup, be loved etc. but what it seems you're looking for is to literally become a cis woman and be treated like a cis woman which won't ever happen and I suspect transition will only aggravate your dysphoria.

I can't give you any concrete advice because I don't know your situation personally but here's what worked best for me:

Try to distance yourself from the trans stuff as best you can. For me that was always the biggest trigger. Whenever I'd hear a story of how transition saved someone from dysphoria or how a surgery became the miracle cure to their problems, I'd always feel incredibly ashamed or envious even that it wasn't the case for me.

In my experience, once once you cut yourself off from any and all trans circles you stop hyper focusing on your body and presentation and can instead channel that energy into other means.