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Why do so many FtM people act like MtF people don't exist and what the hell am I supposed to do as an MtF person?

09.06.2025 09:04

Why do so many FtM people act like MtF people don't exist and what the hell am I supposed to do as an MtF person?

If they’re your friends—drop them.

I know we also fall into the “but what about (trans) men?!” trap when trans women come up. (I’ve done it a few times—especially concerning bathroom nonsense. I’m getting better and working on it. If trans/cis women are talking about it, I chime in with support/likes/upvotes and, in the case of Quora, post my comments/thoughts as a separate answer instead of hijacking someone’s comment thread). We really need to be more careful about that, cis dudes have been doing that to cis women and their issues since the beginning of time. It’s understandable—since we are so often overlooked to the point of erasure (and typically referred to as confused/butch lesbians or tomboys) and are left completely out of most conversations concerning trans rights, but we need to not talk over women, period. We know first-hand how that feels. That’s us needing to fight that old misogyny that we’re taught we have to embody if we want to be seen as men. Not an excuse—I’m acknowledging/pointing out why it happens.

No one should feel invisible/like they don’t exist (and trans men really should know/act better, because this is something else we know first-hand).

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?

I only know the other side/flip side of this. I do know a trans femme that treats all FTM/AFAB nonbinary people as women. She’s my ex. In her mind, boobs = woman, and I had to point out to her how transphobic that was, as well as how often she spoke of trans men and AFAB non-binary folk as women when she’d been told they were otherwise (in my case, she wasn’t given “she/her” as a pronoun option until a common acquaintance of ours OUTED me to her). But I digress. She’s a special case, and hopefully her therapist sees through her nonsense, too.

Drop people who don’t respect you, and watch out for people who do.

I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with such assholes.

Scottie Scheffler's Wife Meredith Scheffler Gets Strong Message From PGA Tour Golfer - Athlon Sports

That was the only answer with my ex.

I’ve personally never seen this—but I’m not going to say it doesn’t happen. Trans men can be big-time assholes. Some of our bros fall into the super-misogyny hole while trying to figure out their presentation—and I’m sure several don’t make it out.

Most of the trans men I’ve met and know of are some of the most vocal supporters of trans women AND cis women, often pointing out how the “body parts” arguments hurt EVERYONE. We’re also among the first to point out that, if everyone is so worried about trans folks in sports, they really ought be (I’m mostly joking here) a little more worried about trans men, who start performing BETTER when they start HRT and are on it long enough to compete with/against cis men. We’re not trying to erase trans women in that instance—we’re pointing out how much bigots are focusing on a non-issue when it comes to sports (trans women on HRT have comparable performance metrics to cis women, and in some cases, actually perform WORSE).

What is your biggest mistake or regret?