Even on mbin where I can't see your pronouns, your username itself is Emily. There's no excuse for their behavior.

I'd love to know why you think it's okay to insult her like that.

Hi 😊 Apparently DMs between Lemmy and Kbin/Mbin still do not work, so I can only see DMs from other Kbin/Mbin users.

I've sent you a DM from my Lemmy account.

Sending love and support to you and everyone stuck in Florida ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Hiya. It's kinda hard for me to pulll away from Matrix and the friends that I've made there, and I've not been good about remembering to come back here to the fediverse. I really created this thread looking specifically for people to meet offline. If you're looking for more offine friends, you might want to join us on Matrix.

Also, thank you for saying my name 😊 It feels so nice to see.

I appreciate the advice, but I would sooner harm myself than go back to facebook (sorry if that's too dark). If my choices in life are between being surrounded by friends while all interactions are monitored closely by facebook, or being forever alone and disallowed from human experiences, then there's really nothing here for me anymore. I hope it doesn't come to that.

I do advise keeping an eye open for opportunities elsewhere.

I have been wanted to evacuate soon, but my heart is pulling me in lots of different directions, and I don't really know which path to follow.

In the meantime, you're not going to be a fan of this advice, but discord is a good place to find communities.

Yeah, that's what my friend Lacey was telling me. I just can't do that right now. Making these posts is difficult enough.

Thank you for the well wishes.

I get the suspicion that some of the more spirited discussions so far came with a tinge of suspicion that I'm one of the bad folks looking to invade spaces and sow discord,

Yeah, we generally have to have our guard up, especially in these types of threads. I don't know if you're familiar with the "just asking questions" type of transphobe, but it is a very real problem for communities like this one. The topic or phrasing of a question can raise red-flags for sure.

But I believe that you're being sincere.

For some of us yes, and for others no.

It's difficult for me to even imagine the complexities of such a world that lacks gender norms. Would there be fewer trans people? Possibly. But in such a world, there would still be trans people like me that feel a strong need for surgery.

Edit: Forgot to mention HRT, which many of us would still need.

I'd like to respond to some of the things discussed in this thread, but I don't want to directly reply to anyone. I just want to share my perspective, not argue.

Transgender is currently accepted as an umbrella term and includes a variety of identities. What these identities have in common is that they are not cisgender. Disagreements about which identities fall under the trans umbrella are really about the specificity of the label itself. Some people seem to want the umbrella to be split into two distinctly different labels, with one being specifically for trans people who seek medical transition.

It all comes down to the definition of transgender as an umbrella term. Definitions of terms change, and it's not unreasonable to think that transgender may change meaning again in the near future. But right now, "not cisgender" is what defines transgender identities, and that includes non-binary people and trans people that don't seek medical transition.

As someone medically transitioning by HRT and seeking SRS, my identity is not diminished in any way by acknowledging the validity of other identities. My recent meme explicitly explains my desire for SRS, and there was no push-back. That's because I was explaining my own transition and not attempting to define other people.

Not all trans people seek medical transition, and that's valid. Not all trans people seeking medical transition want both HRT and SRS, and that's also valid. And what trans people want for themselves can change. It's important that non-cisgender people be accepted as transgender so they can accept themselves. Big questions about possible medical transition can be decided later.

Our enemies are the transphobes attacking our freedoms. Let's be kind to our fellow trans people.

❤️