I'm a Man Who Wanted to Be a Woman—But I Never Knew How to Listen to Them

"We can start by listening to women when our training tells us to speak; by not interrupting, not arguing, not assuming—as we’ve been implicitly taught all our lives—that women are an audience, just waiting for male opinions."

This right here was beautiful and comes very close to the heart of the issues where trans people and biological women have arguments within feminism.

I'm a bio woman. My whole life has been a socialization to play second fiddle to men. My whole life has been to be cute and quiet, to know my opinions were lesser then, no matter my education or accomplishments. My whole life broken down to the barest parts: helper to my mother, care taker of my brothers and father. Married off and care taker to husband, than of children. Work and be subservient to the male boss. The irony never fails i got a degree to mainly listen to my boss abd clean up behind him, to constantly be made to shut up and listen, to other people who often, incredously, knew less and KNEW they knew less, about particular topics than I, because I'm woman.

And that was my primary wound when welcoming trans people into the feminist community: some of them, not all, but a good portion, acted like men. Dictating to us, instead of hearing us, and it felt like the violations of patriarchy all over again, but within a movement that was supposed to be my safe place from that shit.

Those behaviors set the frame for feminists that helped to create the whole gender critical response to trans people. And its a shame, because we can truly be allies. Biological women can help trans people understand the socialization of women, the class of women, the experiences only womem have, bio women can help trans people to achieve that women experience they need to feel whole. And women in turn can get healing from meeting people who can understand our plight without being born into it; get comrradery, help in accomplishing in our goals to make the world a better place for all people.

But that's not happening, because too often people don't get what this very article speaks of: women can't be marginalized in ones desperation to become feminine, its a tell tale sign of make privileged thinking, and it hinders!/alienates everyone involved.

Let's all congratulate this guy on seeing his mother as a human being (however late in life he came to this realization)

Do we have an "I" count on this article about learning to listen?