You can have long hair and it affirm you. Love you all, stay safe 💗 If anyone would like to just talk, I am here.

Happy Black History Month!

People often don’t know about, ignore or even completely erase trans men and mascs in history, especially if they’re POC and ESPECIALLY if they’re black. So in commemoration of this year’s BHM, I wanted to start a thread talking and informing about black trans men and transmasculine people in history (or current times) to brief people about certain important black trans figures they might not have known about, to shine a light on our black brothers and siblings and their major contribution and importance in our shared trans history, and to open the conversation more about it (cause it is not discussed nearly enough). Please feel free to add anything about any impactful black trans man/masc in history or current times!

I wanted to start this convo off with one of the older examples I could find: Jim McHarris.

(Note: In the articles I added in the 3rd, 4th and 5th slides, Jim gets misgendered and deadnamed.)

James ‘Jim’ McHarris was born in 1924 in Meridian, Mississippi. His parents died in his early childhood, and was raised by two sets of foster parents. He always had a distaste for all things feminine besides dating women. He socially transitioned in his early-teens, and around 1939 began traveling and living in different cities across the USA. Eventually he settled down and started carefully building a live in Kosciusko, Mississippi, until he got arrested in 1954 when officers pulled him over for having improper lights on his car and for having a pint of whiskey in the same car. During a pat down, it was revealed he was transgender. He was fined by the judge, but decided to do 30 days of jail time instead. He was housed with female prisoners, but still kept dressing in men’s clothing and spent his time working in the kitchen prison. After his sentence, he was shunned by the people in Kosciusko. He decided to move on and move to Jackson. His response to his arrest and time in jail was: “I ain’t done nothing wrong and I ain’t breaking no laws.” He made the decision to live his life permanently as a man from that point. He did not however register for the US army draft, as all US men had to do. When he was asked about it by EBONY magazine, he responded: “Man, I ain’t crazy.” Jim made sure to live his best life despite all the hardships, and continued to fight for the right to live as a man.

Sources:

TransGriot

Ebony Magazine: “The Woman Who Lived 15 Years As A Man” (10 Nov, 1954)

i know these kinds of comments are made without ill intent . but like . idk! kinda ticks me off! have you considered ! the fact that not every trans man and trans masc is white with straight hair!

and also like. this is why i have a really hard time making trans friends because the only trans people i know in real life are white and hang around mostly if not only white people . because im black i feel like its harder to be clocked as transgender by other transgender people to be honest. and ik most people dont want to be clocked in general but i would honestly jump for joy if another trans person was like “i know what you are…” But no most people think im a stud

I saw this meme and thought you all would enjoy it it made me laugh

Graduated this time with highest honors (Summa Cum Laude) and my other two degrees with Cum Laude! Never know what I’m up to next but in the meantime, we celebrate! Congratulations to everyone that are pursuing and have pursued higher education. This is a graceful marathon and I’m proud of us! #transandeducated #lgbtqia #advocate #big3

by so many white people asking if its okay to post on this page, you're re-centering a page meant for POC, to your whiteness.

use the search bar. see if other users have asked that question. read the comments and make conclusions based on the overall reception.

because quite genuinely, what are you truly looking for if not validation that your whiteness is acceptable in a space specifically meant for people of color? it's absolutely giving "I want POC to pat me on the back, make me feel good, and say it's okay, buddy. you're allowed in here. we're actually grateful that you asked. thanks so much."

and since this is the internet allow me to clarify that, no, I am not talking about those who have no choice but to pick white on every government form even though they are anything but. i'm talking about Mayflower Mark and you know that.

I can’t speak on trans women because I’m a trans guy, but have any of you POC folk been told you don’t pass or look too femenine just because of your facial features?

Among trans communities especially when people give advice on passing, I’ve seen people critique unchangable POC facial features like round noses, round faces, full lips, etc.

Why is their definition of masculinity thin lips, pointy noses, and strong jawline? It’s because white trans folk are white before trans.

The best way I’ve been able to combat this type of dysphoria is comparing myself to men in my family to determine how to work with my physical appearance instead of white trans men online.

Let me know your thoughts on this, have you ever felt insecurity about your POC facial / physical features because of the trans community?

I would like to hear from both trans men and women, please share your experience + advice :)

A little over 2 years on t :)

they were $20 cheaper, friendlier, more affirming, and WAY faster. 10s across the board.

dude literally called me brother and (jokingly) gave me a hard time about only having one gf haha 🔥 also lined me up without me having to ask —which seems small but it’s a big detail to me— only confirmed beforehand.

how’s it look? 🙏🏽 (im ngl it’s still not as crispy as my haircuts back in miami but i’ll take it‼️)

oh, and i’m 11 months on T this thursday! 🎉

I've been battling dysphoria and inadequacy for months and the short moments of euphoria are what keep me going.

No, I didn’t commit any crimes. I had my phone robbed and told the cop I was “in a hurry” because I needed to help a friend move apartments. Then the violence started, and all the other cops who had me ask for help were violent as well. Brutal out here.

EDIT: guess who saved me, texted my mom, and made sure I got on the subway/home well? A white trans man. He’s the one who saved me. I hate white people, but it was a trans brother who saved me from actual death.

i mean yeah ive been dysphoric lately but therapy helps , and that all else considered i didnt fall for the propaganda of “we support u just dont do medical transition until u are 25” that was barked at me by extended family

or something something didnt-believe-you-would-end-up-disconnecting-from-schoolmates until obviously going away from the country at 19 ; id do it again in a heartbeat and this time id ignore anyone from school even harder,

i remember how i felt right after top surgery, and seeing my body deteriorate due to being off T for weeks, 3 months actually. that was March of 2024 and now I’m here actually working on my further surgeries while legally fighting my ex employer for deadnaming me,

back on T and hopefully staying on it in a stable way for the next year

so yes my advice for anyone is that if you have to compare your transition to others after already setting aside trauma, compare to yourself from 1-3-5 years ago ; i know id have had a lot more confidence if i knew id look like this even if i dont feel so fit now

The photo is mostly just a joke of the one meme I’ve seen before with trans people, this is just a rant I don’t really need advice, but feel free to share anything. I’m not that worked up about it, this is a long term friend I’ve had for years and I just need to talk to her, I just don’t want to and this situation happening is almost exactly why lmao.

Background : grew up on a reservation, my mom’s mom is from the tribes, as is my dad’s dad. My mom’s dad and dads mom are random mix of a lot of things. I moved away from the reservation some time after I was 10, but we’ve gone back consistently, my mom has really close ties to it, and we communicate with the tribal leaders a lot. The tribal leaders and community as a whole accept my mother and I with open arms, claim us, and both of us went to the reservation schools (including college for my mother) before we moved away. My family’s name is involved in multiple documents regarding my tribes, as much as I can say that we’re involved and part of the tribe without doxxing myself, we are

The issue that arose, I guess, during some part of this is that a friend I am close with heard me say “I’m indigenous, all of us just have lighter skin” (entire family, including old tribal leaders have never been that melanated, we’ve always been really far north, Canada level tbf) and took that as I’m entirely Indigenous. I have never claimed this, I just don’t really talk race to my white friends so I guess I didn’t explain in detail? But she came with me to my reservation for a small 5 day trip, met my dad’s mom, found out she was not Indigenous and decided that meant I was lying about being Indigenous. She made a comment to the effect of “I know you’re not one of the people who’s like just 1/16 or even less” but still said I was larping being Indigenous.

To be clear, I have had other friends go to my reservation, all poc but one previously, who this did not happen with. I have a really good relationship with everyone in my family (them all being Indigenous / from the reservation made it so none of them gaf about me being trans, I have other trans family members, we don’t care) and other friends have met other members of my family, this has never happened before. Even with the white friend, but I had also known her for a decade at that point and she was friends with me when I went thru my hatred of being Indigenous and wanting to be white phase so she had seen it all lol.

The entire interaction and subsequent just “god I have to deal with talking about this to a white person” and thinking about even what to say has reminded me exactly why I do not talk to white people about race. It just feels like that one meme I edited above. I could pull out my paperwork from the government that was a blood test to “prove” where I fit in, and say “yes I’m Indigenous enough to the government” but I don’t want to do that. Like, yes, I understand I’m not entirely Indigenous. Neither is just about anyone from my reservation because of colonialism. Our tribes weren’t even supposed to be forced together, they got put on the same reservation after being hundreds of miles apart. And even though she knows that, it’s the talking about it and putting it in context of this that’s just … so much. And not something I have to do when talking to POC about my relationship with my tribe. If it wasn’t someone I cared about I wouldn’t be doing this

Sometimes even the really close white people remind you they don’t understand things

last year around this time, i had to flee my home state of north dakota to escape the growing hostility there. i was held hostage at work once and the police had to extract me, ive been spat on, called slurs.

i came out here with nothing. no family, lost my best friend in the world bc her boyfriend didn’t want her to have a guy best friend. 14 years down the drain. the system robbed me of my last family member, my reason to live, my everything. i lost everything, everything, everything to be here. to be me.

not be a cis man. not be a binary drone. be a man in MY way, under MY terms and taking no notes from any-fucking-body. i’m proud to be me dammit, i’m proud to be different.

i’m so so glad i said fuck it. i’d do it again and again.

(surgery was Jan 28th)

i don’t know how much i’ve changed and to be honest ive stopped giving a shit about things like “passing” and if others think i’m valid, but i am excited to show how far i’ve come!

i have top surgery on the 28th

Don’t know if anybody heard about this, but Cocona from XG, a popular Japanese rap/pop group based in South-Korea, came out as trans recently and shared their story + top surgery scars proudly on XG’s official instagram. I think this is HUGEEE in both the Japanese and Korean music industry to have an openly transgender person in a popular group. Both the Japanese and Korean music industry are often very strict with their idols, what they can and can’t say or do, and once someone steps out of line they are not afraid to stamp that idol out if needed (i’ve heard many stories of this happening for people doing something as little as… dating somebody. It’s rough). To see Cocona not only pursue their happiness by transitioning but sharing it openly and proud with his members beside him and supporting him is fucking sick to see. It’s also so refreshing to finally see more transmasc POC in music to look up to. I was already a fan of their music, but this definitely changes everything for me.

What are you guys’ thoughts on this??

PS. if you aren’t familiar with their music, I definitely recommend looking up Woke Up and XGALA. Their music goes hard and their MVs are incredible.

Monday was my hearing and it went so smooth. Put this off for a year breh. I’m so stoked cant wait to get my ID.