I'm transgender, and my name is Elliot, but I was born Elyssa. I have no pictures to post of myself as a child, pre-transition, but that's not important. What is important is that I am a man, no matter what the acceptable definition of that term might be. I don't know what my definition of the term "man" (or "manhood", for that matter) is, but what I do know is that through my new project, which I plan to call "Son of Man", will help me understand it.
With that, please, suggest your preliminary comments on what does (or doesn't) make someone a man. I am most interested in this. I am most interested in your response. I am most interested in... knowledge. Offer your wisdom to me now, won't you?
About Me
A Mission Statement of Sorts
I've decided to take on this project not for the benefit of or to learn more about biological males, but to expose the stigma that transmen seem to face when it comes to what truly makes a man, a man. I have had many bio. guys in my life try to explain to me what it means to be a man, but I've also had transguys explain to me what it means for them to be men, and those definitions rarely match up. According to the transmen I've discussed this with, there are infinite ways to define manhood, but when I approach biological males with this same question, they say there are a handful of traits that need to be prevalent and abundant in someone to prove that they are, in fact, men. Through this project, I want to try to not only figure out how I, myself, define manhood, but also provide a much broader definition of manhood to both transguys and bio. guys who may feel even the slightest bit of pressure or inadequacy because of how they present themselves.
2 comments:
Elliot! I love the new blog and the ideas behind it. I expect you will discover lots through it.
What makes someone a man? Excellent question and one that I need to think about before I jump in and offer my thoughts. Thanks for putting the question out there.
Greetings elliot. I do not have any insight on the makings of man...not yet anyway. I do plan to do some pondering. I will get back to you with MY opinion on this. However I would like to offer you an opinion from a friend of mine. She is a femme lesbian and quite the feminist if I do say so. She basically feels that it all comes down to politics. Gender equates to political gain or political loss. FTM's have gain an edge in society (once they trans and "pass") because bio men traditionally hold the upper hand in every way. She essentially feels that butch women desire to change their bodies and take on the male features out of political desperation. Maybe you can let me know what you find out concerning this. I would be interested to hear what your research turns up. Good Luck friend.
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