I don’t agree.
I have the feeling that “agender” is a label that could apply to me. I don’t have this deep attachment to the notion I’m a “man” or “woman” that others do. At most I’m unsure if I’d be okay with someone consistently referring to me as “she;” as a femboy it’s a compliment when strangers do it off handedly, but nobody’s ever done it consistently.
But I could never call myself trans. That’s stolen valor to me. I’ll never go through the financial woes and social persecution that trans people go through, because I don’t feel the true need to do anything defined as “transitioning.” That’s why “agender” reasonates stronger than “genderfluid” though I wouldn’t call it unreasonable if someone else considered me as such.
Maybe I’m using a more inclusive definition of “cis” than you. Maybe some would argue you can be not cis without being trans. But that’s “depends how you define cis” now isn’t it?
All I’m saying is that I don’t think it’s helpful or accurate to basically consider everyone who ever questioned their gender to be trans, it’s called questioning for a reason, and in many ways I’d argue the world would be better if cis people questioned their gender more.
This is something that starts to emerge from those “egg” meme communities. “Egg” is slang for a trans person who doesn’t know it yet, and there are little pockets on the internet that share egg memes. Over time the memes and discussion can start getting kind of… pushy/aggressive? Not exactly the word I’m looking for, but I hope it gets the point across.
Basically it’s the same thing you’re talking about. As memes do, they oversimplify until everyone is an egg. Which isn’t exactly a bad thing, but also are we not dictating everyone’s destination before they even start their journey?
I know some people really identify with their gender, but to me I think the biggest sign I’m male is that I don’t really think about my gender and deep down feel it’s silly to fixate on such a social construct.
Anyway I’ve learned a lot since then, and get why gender is important to people especially if they’re at odds with the one assigned. But for a while there I just assumed everyone must secretly want to abolish gender.
That’s pretty much where I’m at. I’m agnostic on the whole gender thing. I just don’t talk to people about it and try to respect whatever they’re doing as long as they’re not hurting me (which has never happened).
I guess.
I just say I’m a “standard-issue white guy,” and people know what that means.
The majority of people who are cis don’t know what cis means.
I reject the social construct of gender in the same way I reject religion. What even am I?
My gender is: 😐
Agender?
A person
Wait really? People who are cis don’t think about it… at all?
Maybe I’m more enby than I thought I was 🤔
“Ah hell naw…” (starts info dumping the bicicle).
Stop!
Im not apart of the Confederacy of Independant Systems. Glory to the REPUBLIC! FOR THE 501ST!
No, in a world where gender expression is straightjacketed and violence meets non-conformity it’s very normal for even the normative to be unsure of where they stand, and we should count it as a blessing that any straight person feels the need to stop to give it thought. Please don’t go pressuring people into accepting your assumptions about their orientation, your experiences and feelings are not theirs.
Completely agree. Self reflection, even if it doesn’t lead to different conclusions, is highly beneficial and should be encouraged regardless of perceived gender or sexual orientation.
The world would be a bit better if we all had more introspection.
No, in a world where gender expression is straightjacketed and violence meets non-conformity it’s very normal for even the normative to be unsure of where they stand,
To paraphrase a meme, “I’m cis, so however I express my gender is cis, *slur redacted*”
You’d think a hyper-individualistic society would involve people actually hyper-reflecting on and hyper-developing their own inner nature, but apparently no, its mostly outward signalling, little to no inner substance.
Am I reading this wrong or is the concept of being honest with yourself here literally represented as death?
Maybe its more accurate to just say we have a hyper-extroverted society, than a hyper-individualistic one.
Life lesson I learned from an actress playing a computer program playing a kindly old lady, in some movie, from around 20 years ago now:
Temet Nosce.
Know Thyself.
Am I reading this wrong or is the concept of being honest with yourself here literally represented as death?
I checked the author’s page and it seems to me the floating skull has nothing to do with death, it’s more like some inner voice of the other character, offering them a counterpoint:
Well, I mean… a floating skull seems to me to represent death.
Pretty general human cultural phenomenon of a skull representing death.
And… introspection… is portrayed as… talking to it.
Though I guess if there are this many panels of this kind of a set up… the author is likely using this as an established trope…
‘Talking to your inner self isn’t really that scary, even if it might look like it will be, at first glance.’
‘Challenging or confronting your own inner workings may seem to resemble death, but it actually isn’t.’
Taking what you’re saying into account, perhaps it’s a representation of the character’s inner demons? Because I think your interpretation here is rather sensible:
‘Talking to your inner self isn’t really that scary, even if it might look like it will be, at first glance.’
‘Challenging or confronting your own inner workings may seem to resemble death, but it actually isn’t.’
Basically yeah, I would say your Jungian Shadow, but thats pretty close to the same idea as ‘your inner demons’.
Its… maybe a little less total than like, wholly integrating the parts of you you don’t want to acknowledge into a cohesive and fully self aware… self…
But it is a good way of showing how starting that process can feel and play out, acknowledging that it can seem scary, but can also proceed without catastrophe.
deadly earnest truth maybe?
But doesn’t outward signaling need some inner base?
I find that to be a very interesting question.
In some ways, for some things, yes, in other ways, for other things, no.
Compare a baby screaming because it is hungry to an adult person who consistently finds themselves in abusive relationships.
They’re both outwardly signalling something.
The baby is arguably barely conscious, but you as an outside observer are probably pretty sure that it either is hungry, needs to poop, is too cold or hot, etc.
The abused lover person… might actually actively, persuasively deny their current status, maybe even their past.
But an outside observer might be able to more easily see that they have just a very fundamental kind of low self esteem, lack of sufficient respect for themselves, on a level that the abused lover really just is not aware of, hasn’t really ever concieved of.
I’d argue that the abused lover has significantly more complex of an inner universe than the baby… but both of them might be approximately equally unaware of the signals they are sending, why they are sending them.
So… to your question… yes, but also no, but also it can be quite complicated.
This is deep
Look, floating skull head face, you’re the one who asked the unclear question.
Seriously. Having a spectrum makes this black and white expected response dumb af.
I did a lot of exploration of my own identity and self discovery as a kid, and was very disappointed to find that I am cishet man and average in every way conceivable.
What a waste of my wonderful, accepting parents! I should at least have turned out as trans girlfailure bottom as a courtesy. Instead all I got was a clear view of what exactly my white privilege does for me.
…Mom, dad… I’m normal 😔
cut to mom embracing a weeping dad and telling him it’s fine
When most people are cis, they don’t think about cis and its definition at all. So when one raises the question about it, it’s ok to take the time and try to ponder “what the fuck does that even mean?”. The last panel puts pressure and casts doubt where there isn’t a need. Has “it’s just a prank, bro” vibes.
