For those who are in or have transitioned, think about this.
edited to add this line as it is the one before the rest of the post. The last three words made the whole story.
>>>"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"...Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you..."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are real, you don't mind being hurt...It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become." It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.
Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
- Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
Hello Leigh.
That is definitely something to think about. Actually it rings quite true. It almost desribes the whole transitional journey. I'm not a great reader, and when I did read it was si-fi, and murder mysteries. What is the "The Velveteen Rabbit" about? I asked my wife and she thought it was about a little girl and her toy rabbit.
It's nice when we can find these things that shed a different light or way of explaining things.
" It almost desribes the whole transitional journey."
"almost"????. I have some thoughts on that. Its been several years of half a**ing around, several more years of arguing with docs about medical responsibility and risk of HRT in my case, then putting docs together on it till I got an agreement to try, but to report anything unusual and understand I may have to be pulled. Then on till it seems they were right in the first place, so I found a simple solution to keep moving and took it.
Point being, All during this time I knew what I had to do and knew what I was going to do, but lately it ocurrs to me that I didn't understand something all along.
I thought I knew any depth of what it would take and how it would affect me. I thought SRS would cure my core problem and so anything remotely connected with it would cease to have any effect on me. I'm only beginning to see how different I am seeing and interpeting things these days as compaired to only a couple of years ago.
After all this time of pushing for this and pushing for that, it'll kind of take care of itself, put it on auto and worry about something ultimately more important. Hey, what I'm saying is, I think I'm entering Transition, AKA LIFE.!
I always wondered what transition would be like. Now I'm really gonna find out.
it's about a little boy and a stuffed rabbitt toy. when i met my partner online but before we had met in person, she asked me to read this story. it does have things that ring true.
Quote from: Stephanie Craxford on July 08, 2005, 09:14:51 PM
. What is the "The Velveteen Rabbit" about?
Here is full text of it> http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/williams/rabbit/rabbit.html
Quote from: Leigh on July 08, 2005, 08:40:00 PM
For those who are in or have transitioned, think about this.
edited to add this line as it is the one before the rest of the post. The last three words made the whole story.
>>>"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"...Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you..."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are real, you don't mind being hurt...It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become." It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.
Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
- Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
I just came across this thread. What a sweet story. I love the part you quoted - it's so very apropos. Thanks for the link!
With kindness,
Terri
Why would you go and post this on Christmas? Now I'm tearing up :P
I have a copy of the Velveteen Rabbit and I still like to read it. I had just never considered being the rabbit when he asked what is real and funny how being trans was like becoming real to him.
A sweet story all the same.
Love,
Clare
I love this quote! Definitely can relate to that.
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