Trans men and the gay male community: Time to integrate

[Shana A]

Trans men and the gay male community: Time to integrate

The gay male community is often hostile and unwelcoming to gay trans men in their midst. Matt Kailey offers some thoughts on how the communities can integrate.

10 April 2011

http://www.thescavenger.net/queer/trans-men-and-the-gay-male-community-time-to-integrate-673.html

A reader on my blog asked me: "How could one change the current climate for gay trans men in the gay male community?"

My answer: One mind at a time.

When I first started my transition, I identified as a gay man, which did not go over well with one population – gay men. The gay men who heard me speak complained that I was appropriating their identity, that I didn't share the "gay male experience" that had shaped the lives of gay men, and that I couldn't compare my experience to theirs.