I'm Trans, Never What You'll Say

"Mommy, I was born in the wrong body! Why don't I have boy parts?"

Some transgender men, like myself, realize they are trans during their childhood years. The realization itself is a euphoric revelation one can discover of their own self but because today's society runs solely upon stereotypical beliefs for "male and female", growing up as a transgender child can be mentally exhausting. It literally takes all of your willpower to be yourself in today's world while enduring the harsh opinions of others when they have no control over nothing but their own bodies.

To be transgender in today's society, a strong identity and the ability to physically defend yourself is very important. You will have, but not limited to, religious bigots telling you who to be in every aspect. What you wear everyday apparently defines your gender when it actually never will.

Despite all of the transphobia transgender people face, there will always be the certain people who don't give a damn about who you are and they simply see you as who you are which is a human being that deserves his/her/their rights just like everyone else.

As a transgender man who lives in a smaller town within the Bible Belt of Ontario, I wake up everyday fearing for my mental-wellbeing but not as much as my physical safety. I have already experienced the mental burdens of being excluded from church sermons here in town due to transphobia and confronting these cisgender individuals for their uneducated bigotry. Deep down inside, I feel bad for these people. When people put down others, they usually have pain deep down within that they either refuse to acknowledge or they don't know how to release these hurts in a healthy manner.

As much as people need compassion in this cruel world nowadays, boundaries are also very important. People need to be kind and respectful towards one another but if certain individuals continue to harm you in whatever way it may be, cut these people out of your life entirely. It doesn't matter if these people are your parents, grandparents, a partner or employee you work along-side with; cut off all contact and burn those threads in your life so they can never be tugged upon again!

"I am who I say I am!" are the words I will say to anyone who tells me that I should be female because I was assigned female at birth. The popular quote goes, "It takes a village to raise a child." and that is very true. I didn't suddenly become so mentally tough against the haters of my existence, I became strong as a result of people believing in me enough that it started to show in aspects of my life like my behaviors and even aspects like the way I walk.

Not only do I have friends within the offline world who I've been friends with for about six to seven years now, I also have many supportive friends on social media like Instagram. One of my best online friends is an awesome individual I met on Instagram through commenting on one of their art posts. Through this, we have chatted everyday for almost two years now! My friends aren't just friends, they're my family. Family isn't just by blood!

To be transgender in today's world can be harsh or even traumatic but if you stay true to yourself and you know you for you as well, the hate will go in one ear and out the other.

If you are a transgender or nonbinary individual reading this, you are absolutely valid and I wish you all the best in your life.

- Ace Robb