Politeness norms seem to keep a lot of folks from discussing or asking their trans friends questions they have, I figured at the very least I could help try to fill the gap. Lemmy has a decent trans population who might be able to provide their perspectives, as well.
Mostly I’m interested in what people are holding back.
The questions I’ve been asked IRL:
- why / how did you pick your name?
- how long have you known?
- how long before you are done transitioning?
- how long do you have to be on HRT?
- is transgender like being transracial?
- what do the surgeries involve?
For the most part, though, I get silence - people don’t want to talk about it, or are afraid to. A lot of times the anxiety is in not knowing how to behave or what would be offensive or not. Some people have been relieved when they learned all they needed to do is see me as my gender, since that became very simple and easy for them.
If there are trans people you know IRL, do you feel you can talk to them about it? Not everyone is as open about it as I am, and questions can be feel rude, so I understand why people would feel hesitant to talk to me, but even when I open the door, people rarely take the opportunity.
This is really interesting to hear, because I think I also have some level of aphantasia (I never picture anything while reading or normal thinking, but if I really try I can think simple images) but I like written erotica just as much if not more than visual stuff.
Do you mind if I ask what level of aphantasia you have, and/or if you think that’s related?
I have complete aphantasia. No mental sounds, imagery, etc.
But even so, I think I probably didn’t word my reply as well as I could have.
Stuff with genuine interpersonal interactions, with characters that have personality and feelings, that stuff I can read. But that’s because it doesn’t rely on the visual.
But if the erotica is just a verbal description intended to help picture a scene, then it’s not of any interest to me
Oh okay I misunderstood then, that’s exactly my experience with written smut as well (to the extent I forget it exists outside of stories with established characters lol). Thanks!