Skip to main content

Is It Safe to be Seen?: A poem

 A poem about gender identity.

TW: Nudity, body parts, hints at violence against trans people

Is It Safe to Be Seen?

I dreamed last night that I was naked -Well nearly naked

Wearing nothing on top

And nothing but underwear- or maybe even a pull-up

On bottom,

Surrounded by cis men and women

In a steam room or sauna that was also a living room

Where conversation was happening,

And my body was markedly different from theirs.

There were other fat people there,

And other hairy people,

And other people with breasts,

But none that ticked all 3 categories.

None that were such an amalgamation of genders.

The things that give me gender euphoria in private

Made me feel--- slightly uncomfortable.

Just a little put on display.

And people looked.

People noticed the differences.

But then, I noticed their bodies, too

So this wasn’t entirely unusual,

And it stopped at noticing.

If it doesn’t progress to celebrating a hard-won battle,

Then may it always stop at noticing,

Because things could have gotten much worse.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I Jiggle When I Dance: A Poem

TW: Fat (reclaimed), eating disorder recovery mention, obesity mention, body image issues mention  I've been posting a lot of poetry lately because that's the content my brain has been able to produce, but I'm going to try to get some regular content to you soon. In the meantime, there is far to little fat positivity on this blog, as I grapple with my own eating disorder recovery, obesity, and body image issues. In that vein, I bring you my new fat positivity poem, "I Jiggle When I Dance". I Jiggle When I Dance When I dance My stomach wiggles side to side Even after I stop moving   The movement of my breasts Is really obvious And I’m learning Not to try to hide it   My feet on the floor Would make creaks and thumps Except   If I move my lower half My joints scream in pain And I have to stop dancing   So I dance with the top of me Jiggles and all And I’m learning to be free   To love myself more freely To live ...

Emotional Regulation Part 2

All posts in this series reference working through DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition , and all quotes come from that book unless otherwise specified. Reducing Your Vulnerability to Emotion Mind The book continues into some skills and tips to reduce your vulnerability to emotion mind. There is an acronym to remember the steps to do this: ABC PLEASE " A ccumulate positive emotions B uild mastery C ope ahead of time with emotional situations (Taking care of your mind by taking care of your body) Treat P hysica L illness E ating Avoid mood- A ltering substances Balance S leep get E xercise" Found at https://miro.medium.com/max/1116/0*ncEPv-31xoaTXbCH The book then gives more detailed instructions on how to do these steps. Accumulating Positive Emotions Short-Term: There are several things you can do to accumulate positive emotions now, and thus reduce your vulnerability to being ruled by your emotions, without the input...

Increasing my Testosterone Dosage

TW: Body changes, sexual changes, suicide mention   I started low-dose testosterone on February 1, 2016 . My step-dad had just taken his own life, and I felt the need to take control of mine. I was on testosterone for a long time before I was sure that I really wanted to be on it- that it was the decision that would reduce dysphoria the most for my nonbinary self. Part of this indecisiveness came from my autism; I've always had trouble making decisions due to being overwhelmed by the options and fearing regret. I talked a lot with my therapist about my uncertainty around testosterone, and the ongoing theme was that I was happy about the current changes; I was just afraid that I would regret future changes. So, I stayed on testosterone, reasoning that I could always go off of it if the changes started causing dysphoria from being too masculine. Since then, I've started trying my hand at online dating. Through answering the many, many questions on the sites, building my profil...