This post perfectly articulates something I am so frequently frustrated by, and it feels especially poignant as a trans person of color. I want to articulate transness with as much inclusivity and variance as possible, it sucks feeling like people dont see your transess because it doesn't function like theirs, or because they masculinize or feminize people with your skin color.
trans monoculture posts are always doing this kind of hegemony. it's a form of play and identity-making, things every immature person needs the time and space to do, but they happen in public fora at scales when it's no longer just their problem anymore. i sincerely hope that stripey-socks programmer-types have space to experiment with definitions and labels with their friends; once their play happens in public it becomes, however harmless their intentions, propaganda of race and class. it is world-narrowing in a fun way for the participants, and world-narrowing in a cruel way for literally everyone else. no white girl with a blahaj should try to suggest, even laughingly, the supremacy of the way she is; that's just white supremacy.
God, I've been feeling this way for so long and I'm so glad people are finally talking about these things. I used to joke that I was "getting trans imposter syndrome because I don't know how to code" and at some point that stopped being a joke. Sometimes, learning how to code feels like a hazing ritual.
This is one of the reasons that I've stopped using cohost as much and returned to Twitter and Tumblr--because most of the trans people there aren't white people in tech. I'm actually getting nuanced takes and discussions about trauma and obstacles from different backgrounds and life experiences.
I keep telling people that trans stereotypes are all just white programmer stereotypes! Forcing myself to play Fallout: New Vegas and watch Serial Experiments Lain was...not the worst experience, but I can only say that none of those things were to my taste. I would've much preferred to do something else rather than force myself to fit in.
"I can't believe you don't like [insert popular EDM band here relevant with white trans people]?" I don't. But when I list my alternative bands y'all looking at me like a weirdo.
"You should be using Rust--" Okay? Make sure you get your tetanus shot! 👍
"Ugh, you don't even build and write your own code for your keyboard?" Surprisingly, my keyboard functions fine out of the box.
I was following a step by step tutorial on GitHub and I got lost on the second step because it had way too much assumed knowledge. So I asked a friend who straight up told me, "lol? Just command line install it? Are you even trans if you need help with computers?"
I'M GOING TO COMMAND LINE INSTALL YOUR ASS TO VENUS.
Anyway, I gave up on the GitHub thing after that. Guess I'm not trans.

