Being Trans: My Experiences and what I’ve Learned
So you want to know what it’s like to be trans? There’s a lot of misconceptions and false information out there. Before I can properly answer that question, I’ll have to introduce myself first so you know who you’re talking to. My name is Kade and I am 12 years old living in California. In addition to being transgender, I am also polysexual, which are all labels that mean something different to me than they do to other people. So, let’s get started…
Personal pronouns
My pronouns are he/they. Please respect my wishes when addressing me. Finding what pronouns to use was a process. He/they pronouns sounded best for me for many reasons. One is because, yes I do identify as a man, I do also like the feeling of not being assigned to one singular gender or pronouns.
Coming Out At School
I had always been out to my friends, but coming out at school was the hardest. I was scared and worried about how people would react. I didn’t want to be the reason that someone felt uncomfortable or judged. Thankfully, my teachers have all been very supportive. The first thing I did was tell one teacher, then another, the another, then another.
Communication with partners
When I came out, my boyfriend was very supportive and understanding. He loved me for who I am and did not want to change anything about me. . When we first started dating, I would mention that people would often misgender me or call me a girl instead of a boy, but he just couldn’t wrap his head around it because he saw a guy. Now that we are in a long-term relationship, sometimes people will still misgender or call me a girl.
Body image (insecurities + dysphoria, dysphoria alone)
My gender dysphoria is tough. Chest and voice dysphoria from not being on T sucked. It’s been tough to get my voice to where I want it and my chest dysphoria is so intense that sometimes it’s hard to even get dressed in the morning. It’s hard to feel like a complete person when your body isn’t matching up with the gender you identify as.
