Where Are All The Trans Guys? // Trans Male Visibility

Maybe it doesn't seem like trans masculine people are underrepresented in your filter bubble and, yes, our visibility is increasing, but historically we've lived in the shadows more than trans feminine folks. Why is that, how does it affect us, and why does it matter?

SOURCES:

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More videos I think you'll like:

→ Where Are All The Trans Guys? // Trans Male Visibility

→ Ask a Trans Guy, Episode Two w/ Taylor Behnke

→ My Ten Year High School Reunion

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and hit that 🔔 for notifications!

🔴 My TED Talk, "How to talk (and listen) to transgender people"

🎧 My Podcast, Transmission

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N O T Y O U T U B E

S T I L L N O T Y O U T U B E

V I N T A G E M A I L
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Jackson Bird
PO Box 3003
Astoria, NY 11103

A B O U T M E

👋 I'm Jackson Bird and I make (hopefully) funny, (sometimes) educational videos for LGBTQ+ nerds like me – and the people in our lives that want to understand us better.

Here on JACKISNOTABIRD, you can find new videos every Wednesday afternoon sharing my experiences as a bisexual trans guy, answering questions about LGBTQ+ issues, and sometimes showing what happens when you put weird stuff on a waffle iron.

P L A Y L I S T S

→ Transitioning 101 / FTM

→ Booktube

→ My Transition

→ Will It Waffle?

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😍 This video brought to you in part by the following Patrons:
Adam Koski
Alex Papadopoulos
Alison Gupta
Anna Nichols
Brianna Forsyth
Canadian lover of HP
Chris Frank
David Beasley
Jake Kennedy
Laura González
Michael Morgan
Michelle Coleman
Nik Hansen
Rae Mreen
Ryan Winter
Sam Volpe
Samivaya JD
Will Shughart

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[jackisnotabird]

You know who's REALLY lacking visibility though? Nonbinary folks. Reply to this comment with your favorite nonbinary TV/movie/book characters, actors, musicians, politicians, creators, etc. Let's signal boost 'em all!

[CouncilofGeeks]

Thank you SO MUCH for touching on the fact that women seeking to be masculine is seen as almost aspirational while men seeking to be feminine is seen as degrading. The fact that transphobia is more rooted in misogyny than it is in homophobia doesn’t get brought up enough.

[hym]

It's a somewhat frustrating situation...
I'm a transguy, passing and stealth for some years. On one hand I feel a need to disclose the fact that I'm trans, to not be seen as just another inexperienced, unknowing, cis, white, straight guy. I want people to know I'm familiar with and critical of the way women are treated and seen in society.

On the other hand it's so damn easy to be taken seriously when I'm just stealth... It's like I have some form of (nonsensical) authority in almost every situation. It feels as if disclosing my association with some form of feminity would immediately lower my 'status' and make me very vulnerable in any situation men are involved in.
It shockingly exposes the way in which feminity is seen as less credible and mature. Just how deep this misogyny runs.

It's a sad, sad situation.

[DinkyKeyChain]

I had the same issue of knowing that transwomen existed through media but never knowing or realizing that transmen existed. It seems like a silly thing to not put 2-and-2 together but.. huh. other people had the same logic/exposure gap. I was resorting to just being the family "tomboy" for the rest of my life until I learned more.

[jasminegreaves]

Can you do a video on the feminists who hate trans guys? My friend tries to be supportive but still comes across as a little transphobic when she sends links to articles these people have written. I do think trans women should be heard to stop the violence and media scandals that happen around them but not around trans guys and I also grew up not knowing about trans guys until I was in my teens and on the internet. However, there is still hate towards trans guys who are seen as women who join the patriarchy instead of fighting when that isn’t true, we are men who can still be feminists.

[lostspirits]

the first time i heard about being transgender was when i was like 6 and watched a documentary about a trans girl. I remember relatable to her feelings big time but back then i was like “ya boi already female? No way to change that i guess!”. I literally thought people were only able to transition in one “direction” from male to female, so more representation would have probably saved me a few existential crises. :, )

[In_TheMoonlight]

“testosterone is a *hell* of a drug” made me laugh

also, this was a very well made video and I’ve actually been wondering this myself for a very long time

[jayflight]

I'm glad you mentioned the difference in upbringing, with most transmasc people being brought up to be quiet women and most transfem people brought up to loud men. People tend to ignore this difference because as trans people it can be hard to talk about our upbringings, but I think it's important. Also the way you described societies thought process for thinking trans women are trans for some sexual reason made so much sense. I was always confused by that but now I know how to possibly argue against it now that I know where it comes from.

[hayward]

Man, I just realised I’ve never even heard of non-binary characters in anything. That sucks

[numberonedad]

this reminds me of the time when i was around ten years old and there was a news segment about a man giving birth in my state. i asked my dad about how a man could give birth, and he told me that the guy on tv wasn't really a man. obviously, that left me with no understanding of what was really happening -- the guy was trans and hadn't had a histo.

on the other hand, when i was around eleven, caitlyn jenner came out. that's when i learned what it meant to be transgender, and, like jackson said, i was left with an incorrect impression: that "transgender" just referred to people who changed their sex from male to female, and it wasn't until i was thirteen that i learned the truth about what transgender means (from hannah hart's collab with miles mckenna)

[matthieufauchard]

you always have such an educated, researched and well worded way of sharing your content, always making us take into consideration that it is only one opinion, one experience that needs to be confronted and looked into, i really love your videos, thank you Jackson for making the internet a better place!

[JaceyChase]

It's really true that not seeing yourself makes coming out harder. I just came out as nonbinary in my 30s and I've been meeting a LOT of other nonbinary people who have come out in their late 20s and 30s. I always had gender feels, but I didn't really have any context for my feelings. It helps to make sense of it when you see yourself represented.

I think all of your points about transfeminine people are really valid and it's important to support trans women. Especially trans women of color. In a weird way though I think it's helpful to be vocal as a transmaculine person to show that trans people exist and it's just a part of life. I think a lot of people have this weird idea that only trans women exist and get genuinely surprised that trans men exist too. I think they have this idea that trans women are "men who want to invade female only spaces" and not just like, normal people like everyone else. I think transmasculine people being more visible will help point out that that's not the case at all. It's honestly sad that people are that ignorant but hopefully more visibility will help.

[bluesunshine]

I remember when I was younger and Caitlyn Jenner came into the spotlight. My parents said a bunch of transphobic things but I was just fascinated that someone could actually change their sex. It would be a couple years later until I would ever see a trans man on YouTube. Now, here I am at 17 planning to begin transition after my next birthday.

[selfpityingslogan]

i'm not a trans person, but Omg i've been waiting for Anyone to say this

[joyrowancasey]

Oddly enough, I've had the opposite experience; through my university's LGBT society I've met many many trans men and also many nonbinary peeps (helped me come to terms with my own weird experience with gender myself) but I'm pretty sure not a single trans woman. In media there's definitely an overabundance of mtf folks but for some reason my experience in my community is the exact opposite, which is both confusing and kinda interesting to me.

[lexiforeman]

That was not what I expected at the beginning of the video, but opened my eyes so much

[jamesfelix]

i am a trans guy studying journalism & sociology - this was a very well-made video, thank you for the solid points - you took complex topics and made them super accessible!!

[ljasjeff]

I’m a trans male and have had top surgery and have been on T for over 2 years. When I went looking for regular paid work, I noticed that just about every application, most of which were exclusively online, they asked for M or F gender assignments. No option for stating “other”. After talking to my wise GP, I took his suggestion and checked off M on applications. He stated I had higher T levels than many of his cis male patients.
So I’m going stealth at work and when I meet new people. The unfortunate fact is that I probably would get far less respect at work if I truly came out as trans. I’m surrounded by people lacking the education and open mindedness to tolerate someone who is different.
Stay safe my fellow trans people.

[quintingell]

My (cis) brother informed me that there was no "bottom surgery" for trans guys. He told me "if there was, I would have heard of it." He heard about it from me, an educated trans guy and didn't believe it which goes to show that society is only interested in "the surgery" for women.

I then got payback by explaining the details of the two types of surgeries I know about making him uncomfortable.

[bloomboy]

I know one trans girl and at least six trans guys (that's only those who're out of course) but I never see trans guys in the media? It really feels like people are generally less accepting of trans girls for some reason (probably the same reason why tomboys are more accepted than feminine guys)