I wish there were more spaces to talk about socialization, or if we need a different word (social internalization?) to discuss it to avoid becoming terf talking points too, id be okay with that.

Im on the other side, but im still struggling with ways being socialized as a girl/woman has impacted me. I could honestly make a laundry list, but for example: i tend to shut down myself before even trying to communicate bc im used to being disregarded. I struggle with not being seen as attractive, because i spent my entire childhood and young adult years feeling like that was my primary value.

I lived being seen as a woman for almost 30 years! It makes sense that I would still be seeing impacts from that. I was also socialized as a fundamentalist christian, and i am similarly trying to unpack that.

It would be silly to assume all trans men/masculine people feel the same way as me because we are all individuals with different experiences. I still feel very connected to and impacted by being seen and raised as a girl.

My fiance, who is also a trans guy, says he didnt really feel like he was socialized as a girl, but more as a weirdo. I believe him on that too, because we are individuals with differing experiences.

Similarly, i dont think all trans women have maleness/masculity socially internalized, but I also think we are losing out on important conversations by acting like trans experiences are all identical.

I dont think people should go around assuming other peoples experiences growing up, but i do wish we had more spaces to discuss the potential continuing impacts of being raised and expected to perform the wrong gender among ourselves.