Transgender Hierarchy

Very often lately I find myself completely submersed in Trans* culture. In fact, sometimes it gets to the point where I have a slight culture shock when I return to the world that is under educated about such things. This world, is of course anything outside of Tumblr… 

In here, there are boys I’ve actually transitioned with, or at least I feel as if I did. When I first came here, and came out and started making videos and ftm posts we found each other. We’re bonded together in a small but powerful way… We all generally started together. We’re like cousins in a huge family that only see each other on holidays but we hang out with them because they’re the same age group as us. In T years, in Trans* terms, we’re the same age. Its easy to understand those ‘younger’ than us on the scale of transition… It’s easier to understand those ‘older’ than us and the stages of emotional and mental transition. Do I believe in a hierarchy? Yes and no.

I believe there are hundreds of ways for someone to get from point A to point B. I believe that not everyone is the same kind of Trans, or even looking for point B… The wide range of identities and terms for such really proves that. I’m not an expert on other peoples lives and I can never claim to be… All I know, is what I’ve experienced and what I’ve seen in others. In the Metrosexual, TransMasculine community, which I am very much a part of… Those that transition from feminine to masculine and then identify as a man or a transman in a rather dominate binary way (but not strictly) are the guys I relate to. I like being a guy, I like my self created gender roles and I am attracted to feminine, girly girls because it compliments my gender and I’ve been hard wired to want that.

In the terms of hierarchy in this community, the one stated above, when you come out you’re typically ‘younger’… When you start T you go through a lot of changes based around a puberty and thus development naturally makes you mature. There are many stages in this process. Surgery is not part of the Trans aging spectrum however, though those without it see those with it as being “further along” than themselves.

In closing to my thought, there is no right way or wrong way to transition or be trans. There are, however psychological and social occurrences that take place based on groups inside of our culture and how they interact with each other.