Quil

This is backdated to February 11, but that's a lie. :P I wrote the bulk of this post's explanation-bit in September 2008. Wanted to add some stuff, clarify some stuff, about the initial post. This is gonna go public too, so I figured it might as well be categorized on the same date. Most of the actual content is, if not the same, very similar.

...

Right. Ever since I put that story up on the web, I've been a little unhappy with it. That's not exactly the right word. Perturbed.

I didn't like its lack of inclusion for anything but the, uh, "wrong-body" model of transgender. That model doesn't really apply to me anyway (or to many trans people I know in general). It's too freaking easy.

And ease is what my little bro needs, which is frustrating. He says himself that he doesn't like change, that he has a hard time being flexible. These are some of the most obvious traits about him, both to him and to others -- characteristic of autism, yeah.

Abstract thought, weird sociological Thingies, the sheer wtfness of our culture's treatment of gender ... that kind of thing is a second language to him. I mean, it would be like this to some extent even if he was neurotypical. Eleven-year-old (yeah, he's 11 now) cissexual boys usually don't make super-great gender theorists. Although I'd love to be proven wrong on that :P

But the text still wasn't working for me. And I've just about got an appointment for hormones, so it's pretty well time. There are parts I wish I could go over -- about how there are plenty of cis women more masculine than I am, and I'd still want to transition even if I were a feminine person, and how "masculine"/"feminine" is different from core identity.

So. But. I rewrote and clarified the text. I scrapped the bits from GIRES -- it's mine, mine, mine now.

I'm still not entirely satisfied (in some ways it's more brother-friendly and trans-worse), but ...

( Here it is. )

This is going to be a public post. Amazing!

I guess I'll do some backstory, since if you're reading this you may not know a lot about who I am. Anyway, the two important things are:

- I'm transgender and I'm coming out. Kind of slowly. But kind of now. :P
- I have a brother with PDD-NOS, which is a form of autism. He's ten years old. He's not low-functioning, but definitely not on the normal-to-above-average intellect Asperger-y side of the spectrum.

You put it together and you get this. It's a social story pretty much, and targeted at a kid who's not superb at abstract thought. But for a neurotypical (not autistic) younger kid, maybe 6 years old and over, it could be good too.

It is not all that genderqueer-inclusive, and it's very VERY simplistic. I'm sorry for that; I sure as hell don't like it either. But learning about genderqueer, and dysphoria and such -- all that requires a lot of theory of mind. My bro doesn't seem to have much theory of mind.

It is very loosely based on a brochure called Your Mum's Adventure (warning: PDF), written by some folks at a charity called GIRES. Sorry for stealing some of your wording, GIRES! I'll take it down if you're mad! :P

This isn't that interesting -- it's really sentimental, which is silly but comforting -- and I won't be spamming it all around or anything. But if you know a small[ish] kid who could do with this sort of story, here it is. And enjoy.

( Read more... )

The mother who is left there with her blood
and her torn fullness
and her end and beginning, and the disorder
that troubles the pulse, the floor, the blankets,
until everything gathers and adds
one more knot to the thread of life:
nothing, there is nothing left in your memory
of the fierce sea that lifted a wave
and knocked down a dark apple from the tree.

The only thing you remember is your life.

—Pablo Neruda

I recorded a bit of text I need help understanding -- the accent is very strong -- and I'm going to post it on linguaphiles. You can't do phone posts in a community journal. Therefore, putting it here and linking it there.

In other words, move along. :P

( Read more... )

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