ARIELLE: “Trans guys aren’t ‘real men.'” Oh hi! Good morning girlfriends, boyfriends, and everyone else in between! This week is trans guy week and today I am here with Benton!
BENTON: Hello everybody, my name is Benton and I’m a trans guy. Today me and Arielle are going to be talking about some of the myths that people have about trans guys.
ARIELLE: “Trans guys aren’t ‘real men.'” What you have in your pants doesn’t necessarily determine your gender, so for that matter, you don’t need the “right parts” to be considered a “real man.”
BENTON: “Trans guys hate their bodies.” Some might, but not all of them. Some trans guys don’t feel the need to change their bodies or get surgery to feel comfortable. And just because they make that choice, that doesn’t make them any “less trans.”
ARIELLE: “You can tell someone is trans just by looking at them.” Well not really because if that were the case, a lot of butch lesbians would “look trans.” I think what you’re trying to say is that you can tell someone is masculine just by looking at them. You can know their gender expression, but not their identity.
BENTON: “All trans guys are straight and into women.” A lot of them are, but some are pansexual, bisexual, and even gay. It all depends on the person, but remember that sexuality and gender identity are different things.
ARIELLE: “Being trans is a choice.” I think this is really similar to the whole idea of being gay being a choice. What people from the outside see is that a lot of girls, when they come out of the closet, they dress masculine and they act more masculine and that is a choice. What isn’t a choice is the identity behind it.
BENTON: “All trans guys are super masculine.” Being a man and being masculine are two different things. All trans guys, just like everyone else, fit into a long spectrum of being super feminine to super masculine.
ARIELLE: “Being trans is just a phase.” Okay, I just learned from you guys on Twitter that for some people being trans is a phase. I had absolutely no idea that some people would transition and then realize, for whatever reason, they wanted to go back and they do it. But I think it’s safe to say that for most people, it’s something they’ve wanted for their entire life and they don’t look back.
BENTON: “All trans guys are just super lesbians.” Yes, a lot of lesbians can be very, very butch and masculine. But that’s the difference between gender expression (being butch), and gender identity (being a man).
ARIELLE: “You aren’t really trans until you start hormone treatment.” Well, if you mentally identify as one way but haven’t started to physically go that same direction or decide to never physically go that direction, it doesn’t cancel out the mental portion of it.
BENTON: “Trans guys that are teenagers are too young to know their true gender.” Just like being gay, some people know at a very young age. But coming to terms with your true gender can happen at any time in your life.
ARIELLE: So those are ten myths about trans guys. We also did a video over on Benton’s channel. You can click the link in the description below to check it out. And while you’re down there, you should probably click that thumbs up button. Do it. If you’re coming over from Benton’s channel, make sure you click that subscribe button also. And I’ll see you guys in two days! Don’t forget to look at the moon! Bye! Bye, bye, bye.
