The Guide To Being Transgender

Trapped in the Wrong Body

A common expression to describe trans people is the phrase "trapped in the wrong body." For example, someone may say that I am a man "trapped in a girl's body." I believe this is a very simplistic and not entirely true way of thinking.

Some people may disagree. That's absolutely valid. If you feel like you're trapped in the wrong body, then that's how you feel and what I'm saying does not invalidate that. This is simply my take on the subject.

I suppose a better way of thinking about it, in my eyes, is that I'm trapped in MY body. It isn't necessarily the wrong body, but it is a prison nonetheless, primarily due to the way society views my body. You see, my body is still my body, even if it isn't the way I'd like it to be.

I think about this is terms of genetics. The truth of the matter is, if I had been born a cis guy, I would still have a very similar body, just a male form of it. I would still be pudgy, though I wouldn't be quite so weak, and I'd still be pale. I'd still have big feet, with long toes that aren't proportional to the actual foot, and I'd still have long, skinny fingers. I'd still be mostly legs and I'd still have similar mannerisms and personality traits.

So no matter what, this body is still mine. I can alter it to make it more like what I want, of course, and I do plan to do that, but the body is mine and there would never be any changing that. The only real difference is fat distribution and a couple bone structure differences.

So I don't agree with the idea that I'm trapped in the wrong body, and I hate it when people try to speak for me and explain it that way. Bodies aren't truly gendered in the first place. Society has made them gendered, and I reject that. I'm getting top surgery because I want it, and boobs are a freaking pain to deal with, not because society sees a person with boobs as a girl.

I couldn't care less about what society thinks. I care about my comfort, which, admittedly, is affected by society. I hate that my happiness depends on how a bogus society of cis/hets sees me, but it does to a certain extent.

Still, I'm not trapped in the wrong body. I'm trapped in society's view of my body. But then, aren't we all? Fat, thin, ugly, beautiful, male, female; it's all a trap placed by society to try and conform us into their image.

You must be thin, in shape, beautiful. You must identify as your body tells you to identify. You must present this way, or that way. There is no in between. It's the most absurd concept, and yet society continues to push these conformities and rules.

The truth is, we should all just love ourselves, because we're unique and that alone makes us beautiful. We are like zebras. No two patterns are exactly alike. So if you're 5'3 and 195 pounds, you're beautiful. If you're 5'8 and 140 pounds, you're beautiful. If you're a man who has boobs and is comfortable with them, you're beautiful. If you're a man who wants your boobs cut off, you're still beautiful.

We are all beautiful in our uniqueness.

I am not trapped in the wrong body.

I'm trapped in society's view of my body, and that's just a fact.