Wynne Neilly: female to male self portrait project

[stephaniec]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/19/wynne-neilly-female-to-ma_n_5596724.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices

[Ducks]

what's up with the quotes around Male?

[Ms Grace]

This is from the article:

The Huffington Post: The word "male" appears in quotes. Why is this?

Artist: I very strongly identify with being trans. My trans identity is not binary in the ways that society probably expects it to be. When heteronormative or mainstream society imagines a female born body transiting to a body that is perceived as masculine, there is an automatic reading of that person being "female to male" or FTM. This FTM experience might be very relatable and true for many trans people, but it is also completely wrong for others. I don't identify as being male at all. Putting it in quotations challenges what it means to be a trans masculine individual. Having "male" in the title acts to eliminate some of the stigma behind thinking there is only one way to transition, and there is only one type of trans experience.

[Ducks]

Thanks Ms Grace!  I wonder if we can or should call non-binary FtM or MtF if they are not transitioning to binary M or F?  This gets awfully confusing when we use the same label to mean many different things.  I wonder if that is part of why people have such a hard time understanding what trans means?

[chance]

I think you ht the nail on the head Ducks. I am one of those people that are comfortable/natural with a male appearance. But the only thing male about it is the designation that certain clothes and behavior are male.