Navigating male friendships as a trans man
It’s uncommon for a columnist in any publication to write about navigating friendships, but I feel the need to talk about navigating male friendships as a transgender man.
In doing so, I will highlight what is wrong with men these days — and what is not wrong — and I can pinpoint various areas where masculinity still remains toxic, and areas where it doesn’t.
When I first started transitioning to be a man I hated all cisgender men: they were the bane of my existence. I was conditioned to hate cis men because they historically were the ones who repressed trans people.
I found though, that when I went on testosterone and started passing as a man all the time, that people suddenly expected me to be nice to cisgender men and to be friends with them.
