I think I've been on pretty safe ground with the physical effects, so let's now take a small, risky step out into mental/emotional effects of testosterone.
Show this thread
-
That's called being socialized male. And the interesting thing about being socialized male is that it's MOSTLY about punishing anything feminine. Which makes sense, on a certain level, bc if you can't raise your testosterone you can still avoid anything socially coded as femme.
Show this thread
Culturally, masculinity becomes an extremely shallow game of never being caught liking the things women like. Then, since masculinity is culturally positive, women invariably start liking masculine things. So then the men have to abandon those things and come up with new things.
-
-
Then beneath it all, we have this deeper level of masculine/feminine based on deep voices, muscles, broad frames. These are traits some women also have, they're neutral, difficult or impossible to change, and have nothing to do with transitory sociocultural cues (like pink/blue).
Show this thread -
And, because the culture is so fucked, there's a lot of shame around being a man and not having those traits. Not having the height, not having the muscles, not having the deep voice or the thick beard.
Show this thread -
It leads to overcompensating, overdosing on the women-hating cultural masculinity to make up the deficit in testosterone-influenced natural masculinity. We're getting in to my third Big Question, here. What's left of masculinity without sexism?
Show this thread -
What's left of masculinity without sexism.... What's left... I think what I really mean, in asking this question, is: Can you ever feel good about your masculinity, or your male identity, in a culture where women are oppressed and femininity is devalued?
Show this thread -
I feel strongly that men shouldn't have to "embrace the feminine" to be good guys. Not reflexively push away, mock, or devalue the feminine? Yes. Embrace if it feels weird or wrong or embarrassing for them? No.
Show this thread -
Men should: Challenge any impulse that leads them to mock femininity, replicating the toxic behaviors everyone from brothers and uncles to playground bullies perpetrated on them.
Show this thread -
Men shouldn't: Feel ashamed of their sexuality/kinks/sex drive as if their thoughts alone have the power to oppress someone else.
Show this thread -
Men should: Engage in healthy, fair competition as a mode of building and maintaining friendships, often as an alternative to long talks about feelings.
Show this thread -
Men shouldn't: Treat women as unworthy of competing with. Feel ashamed or emasculated when they fail in competition with a woman or more feminine-coded person.
Show this thread -
Men shouldn't: Be surprised if some tasks come less easily to them than they do to women, such as nurturing young children. Men should: Value, and work hard to become competent at, those tasks.
Show this thread -
Men shouldn't: Engage in over-dramatic self-shaming monologues about how they, like all men, are trash and women have it soooo unimaginably hard and, and, and... Men should: Speak up to confront sexism. Support women's political and social equality. Vote with this in mind.
Show this thread -
Men should generally worry less about being perceived as sexist, and more about supporting efforts to break down and ultimately bring an end to sexism.
Show this thread -
I think about my masculinity like I do about my favorite color, yellow. I dunno if I was born predisposed towards yellow or subtle social forces steered me towards yellow, but I'm sure I like yellow. I don't, however, think there's anything wrong with liking red, blue, or pink.
Show this thread -
I don't see any point in pretending to like pink (or pretending to like blue), but I do try to be vocal in my support of people who like pink, because they seem to get a lot more shit.
Show this thread -
It is harder to have this attitude of "I like what I like but it's not better than what someone else likes" about masculinity, bc of all the cultural shit I've been talking about. But, it's necessary to try, bc not being masculine, or not being a man, would be untrue to myself.
Show this thread -
I think that this can be the most difficult for those who, whether cis or trans, are men, and are more masculine than not, but aren't particularly masculine for a man.
Show this thread -
I lack a penis. I am 5'2". I am not good at and do not particularly like sports. The urge to overcompensate is strong. I feel it. You may too. But that's the trap- that's where you have to do the work of recognizing, and fighting, this cultural shit.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.