alpin | Trans day of visibility writing prompts, days 26-31 (Reply)

Day 26: Talk about role models. Who are your role models? How have they influenced you?

I’ve never really grokked the concept of role models. They’re just people. I can admire a facet of a person, but that’s never going to be the whole of them and it’s possible that it’s not even them at all, just my perception of them. I don’t understand putting people on pedestals in that way. There are trans people I admire, certainly (my first ever trans friend, prominent or niche authors, poets, and journalists, members of a friend’s leather family, members of online communities I’m part of, other real-life trans friends), but that doesn’t mean that my transition necessarily has anything in common with theirs. I feel no particular urge to make the same choices as them. They’ve influenced me by being trans people in my life, showing me passively that it’s possible to have a good life while trans, and inspiring me by their own individual positive qualities, which usually have more to do with, say, confidence or stylishness or competence or thoughtfulness or communication or writing skills than with gender.

Day 27: Talk about politics and activism. Has being trans influenced your stance on any political issues or candidates? Are you active in your local trans and/or LGBT+ community?

It has made me more aware of transphobia in politics. I was queer before, so aware of homophobia in politics, but there are some individuals and parties, especially in the UK, who support gay rights while attacking trans rights. It’s very disappointing.

I am not particularly active in my local trans or LGBTQ community, but I do have some local queer friends, and am making more local trans friends with the help of social media (then inviting them to hang out in person), so I have high hopes for that!

Day 28: Talk about religion and spirituality. Has being trans influenced your spirituality? Have you joined or left a church because of their stance on trans related issues? Have you found acceptance in your religious community?

I’m not part of a religious community, and never have been. Being trans has not influenced that. I do know trans and supportive religious people, so don’t think there’s automatically a conflict.

Day 29: Let’s be positive. Post a message of loving kindness. If you can’t honestly open your heart to the whole world, narrow it down to one special person if you have to. But try to put some positivity out there in a public way.

I do genuinely have great warmth for the trans community. We are (though it’s a cliche) brave, powerful, independent, caring, hilarious, thoughtful, generous, and very hot. I’ve seen people immediately offer up everything to help someone out, even if they don’t even know them, even if they do know and find them personally irritating, from empathy for a fellow trans person. I’ve found so many people that I admire and that I’m happy to enjoy sharing space with. I hope that everyone can find a part of the community that’s right for them. I hope we all get to feel safe, get a little breathing room, get to relax in the knowledge that we are seen and valued and secure. I hope that together we can find the good parts of this chaotic world, the things we love in our lives, and that those can expand as we invest our time in them. Things are weird lately, but observe the flipside of how life is hard to predict: I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but we’re going to be ok.

Day 30 asks you not to post, and Day 31 asks you to simply make yourself visible

Day 31: Well here I am, posting this publicly.