Simon begins “My Genital Affirmation with this: “First thing’s first—my vagina prefers male pronouns. If you don’t understand that, then you probably wont understand anything my vagina has to say and should probably just stop playing this clip right now.” But we understood, we listened, and discovered some of the most honest and startling queer poetry we’ve heard in some time. 23-year-old Simon always felt like a boy, has always felt uncomfortable with the “transgender” identity, and is tired of tying his identity being tied to his sexual insecurities. For anyone who has ever wanted to change their body size, appearance, or image in the eyes of others, let Simon explain. He has seen the future and it’s hopeful, messy, and requires bi-weekly injections.
Even though SLOG’s Jesse Vernon turned us onto Simon’s funny yet bold “My Genital Affirmation” he made that video like 1,000 years ago (re: 3 months ago). We’re actually more in love with his video entitled “GID and Desire” which he uploaded less than a week ago.
In it, he admits:
I wish I could grow a beard or a moustache… I wish my jaw line was more definedthat I didn’t have to do injections every 14 days… I wish I had broader shoulders and didn’t slouch, bigger biceps, veiny forearms.
I wish the people who dated me and lovers and friends and those who denied me, didn’t see this as what makes me and defines me. I wish my insecurities weren’t tokenized or theorized. I wish my identity wasn’t defined by my insecurities, my flaws, what I want to change and what I hate about myself.
I wish I hadn’t had to prove my self-hate in order to prove that I am who I am to therapists, to doctors, to myself and to the world—I wish the system was different.
In the past, some Queerty commenters have complained about LGBs being lumped in with the Ts, that we have nothing in common, and that trans and intersex people jumped on “our movement” just to have more allies. That’s not only unfair but it’s also inaccurate. When so much of “our movement” has hinged on the freedom to express our gender and sexuality free from confining social pre-conceptions, Simon’s poetry reveals the T has a lot more in common with the entire human alphabet and not just the LGBs.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
JayKay
…Gross.
J.D.
@JayKay:
Rude.
Hyhybt
Admittedly, I’ve never paid much attention to vaginas… but I’m pretty sure they don’t talk.
biological male
Dear Simon,
Thank you for what would be a great addition to “The Virginia Monologues”.
Due to my XY chromosomes I have no insight of living with a vagina, but again my man, thanks you for helping me understand your experience.
I will have to say that in the second clip, I could totally relate 100%. That is exactly what I felt during puberty and wanted to grow bigger, better, stronger. (And yes, this is a reference to the bionic man) Thankfully due to my family genetics I have achieved physically a body that I am comfortable in. I commend your honesty for many males biological and pre or post op feels the same. It is truly what Nancy Friday dubs as the “masculinity conflict”.
Society complicated messages of being a man can cause great pains on the developing male. You have given a voice to many that can benefit.
As an openly homosexual, the issues of masculinity also play a part as well as one cultural ethnic social group. I am also African American and the cultural norms for being male do come into play as to how one is built. I am what one would consider masculine, but I would assure you again this is due towards biological more than social norms.
I can go further into the stereotypes of the physicality of being an African American male, but I will save that for a another day.
Again, my fellow man Simon… Thanks you for helping others understand more!!
Peace 😉
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO43p2Wqc08&feature=related
ohplease
More informative, well-written, concise posts about the LGBT community like this, please. They annoy the right people and enrich all of us. It’s nice to hear about real queer people and not just those who are living their lives as eternal 13 year-old girls who hate themselves and are obsessed with being skinnier than their friends.
Kmid
This was an AWESOME and informative look into what things in the “TG” part of the community can be like. Not enough people see those things that set us apart and those things that we have common ground on “co-existing” so well. More please
QJ201
It doesn’t help me understand trans issues when some of the trans folks are SOOO focused on things about being male I can’t stand. Like shaving my neck and back hair.
Hyacinthe
@ohplease: I concur. I was (sadly) not really expecting this kind of quality content from Queerty. This is excellent.
I don’t think this is anything like sufficient for Queerty to claim to be (not that they are) anything but a gay, cis male space, but this kind of signal boosting is wonderful.
scribe31
simon thank you for sharing. I see you. I haven’t posted anything on this site in a long time, but your words have truely touched me. If I saw you in a bar, or out shopping I would see you. Honestly I would try to date you, and your sex. I’m a gay man, a lover of the male form, and you sir are beautiful.
manfred
The constant adulation for transexuality here just reaffirms the ocntention that most gay people would prefer to change sexes if they could.
Jeffree
Thanks to Queerty for introducing us to Simon, to Simon for explaining his thoughts and feelings in such an honest way.
I kept nodding my head saying “that makes so much sense” because as humans we so often we believe that we don’t measure up to whatever standards we hold ourselves to.
And we forget that other people feel the same way.
I hope to see more articles like this here.
Coffee&Chicory
awesome!
missanthrope
@manfred:
Why so insecure? Why is it always about you?
A
@QJ201: Haha, true. I’m a trans guy and I’m kind of weirded out by the transmen who are in love with, of all things, the hair that sprouts everywhere once you take testosterone. I’m not against a little arm or leg hair, but how was I supposed to know that I was signing up for an ass carpet?
xanni
Stupid people… U wish you had muscles? LIFT WEIGHTS. This one obviously doesn’t ever hit the gym… yet whining about lacking muscle while getting fat.
Trans people… To me this is just a sign of mental illness–cause they have to depend on meds and inject stuff, harming their health (no long term studies, baby! nada, none) What kind of person would be placing their self-confidence on injectable hormones?? That’s cause they have no guts to be who they are and want to follow the whole binary gender brainwash of mainstream society. Bee who you ARE. Sorry, a man with a vagina isn’t a man. May be androgyne, but not a ‘man’.
I feel the same way about stupid girls who get breast implants and disgusting roid junkies, etc–bases your confidence on who you are an your own achievements, not injectable crap.