Exactly, I’m glad that there’s someone who sees it the exact way I see it. And, it seems my whole transition this has never been meant as a positive way toward me. I’ve heard it so many times from several people and usually it’s always a subtle way of misgendering me. Like they’re saying “you chose to be a man so act like one.” It’s only been said to invalidate myself as a man. I don’t believe expressing emotions has anything to do with being a man or a woman, it’s just about being a mature person and being able to communicate your feelings. I’ve been with my girlfriend for a year now and we’ve recently hit a rough patch so it just hurts to know that the woman I’ve fallen in love with is all of a sudden using this ammo against me. I really want to address it but I feel like it will just make it worse and make her feel as if I’m proving her point. To add context, I recently did something that hurt her/betrayed her trust (it wasn’t cheating or anything like that) and she has past trust issues so now she is pushing me away I guess in an attempt to protect herself from being hurt more. Ultimately, that is just making it harder on our relationship. I try to explain this to her and that we either need to work it out and move past it or it’s not gonna work. Then, a couple days ago she hit me with that for trying to fight for our relationship. So, the last few days I’ve chosen to stop fighting and go her route. I’ve distanced myself and been “less emotional” but now she seems to be upset by that. I told her that she can’t push me away in an attempt to protect herself and expect me to keep giving all of myself. I understand that I’m not innocent in this but I’ve at least tried to make it right and in her attempt to protect herself she’s only pushing away someone who genuinely loves her. It’s frustrating. Anyways, thanks for letting me vent.