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When the “Tranimal” is something important

HIPPOA transgender person has coined both a new term and new identity: tranimal.

The article describing the writer’s identity made it into the peer reviewed journal on theoretical humanity called Angelaki. Essentially, the author, a transperson, identifies as a hippopotamus.

Fascinating. I’m not even going to try to get the pronouns right. I honestly can’t make them out. The basics in the author’s own words:

“It was, in fact, the main way through which I had learned to deal with what was broadly considered to be my “trans identity,” a term that always felt uncomfortable and irrelevant. For a while, if someone was asking me how I “identified,” I would joke about being a hippopotamus trapped in a human’s body – later, a human trapped in a hippopotamus’ body, until my humorous “truth” solidified and I began announcing myself as an old butch hippo dyke trapped in a young human faggy transboy’s body (it may sound better in French)…”

“…In a surprising, sometimes overwhelming way I find comfort in this collectively performed animal identity. Let me put it this way: something about being a hippo makes me feel cute, confident, sexy, and safe. I discovered that another self was available for me: being a hippo means that I don’t have to be a boy or a girl, a child or an adult, normal or strange. It means that my smile becomes a hippo smile, and the way that I carry my body, a hippo walk. It brings me freedom, space, and a thrilling sense of possibility. Where does this transformative power come from? How does a word, how does an image disrupt “reality” to the point that my body’s relationship to space is somewhat altered?…”

What I find so intriguing about this, especially as it relates to trans-ness and trans-attraction, is how much freedom humanity is aggressively taking in expressing itself in as many diverse ways as possible. I don’t know if humanity has always done this, but there seems perhaps to be a golden age to identity that is blowing to smithereens, nearly every convention of what it means to be human.

Another fascinating trend is being “Tell me I’m fat”. This American Life featured two weeks ago a show about women who are claiming being fat as an authentic identity, not something that should be shamed or be embarrassed about. The podcast episode is deeply satisfying…if you can accept the possibility that All That Is is getting serious about diversity, tolerance, and acceptance. Here’s a transcript excerpt. In case you haven’t heard the show, Ira is the host. Lindy is a fat guest.

“Ira Glass

Coming out as fat is a strange idea, because, of course, people can see if you’re fat. It’s no secret. It’s not like when you come out as gay or transgender. Nobody says to you, dude, I can’t believe you’re fat. Lindy says it was obvious how big she was.

Lindy West

But I always felt like if I didn’t mention it that maybe people wouldn’t notice. Or it could just be this sort of polite secret, like, open secret that we didn’t address, because it felt so shameful. It just felt impolite to talk about, like me not wanting to burden you with my failure.

Ira Glass

Like, I’m not going to bother you with this.

Lindy West

Yeah, and just give me a little more time. Let’s not talk about it, and I promise I’ll fix it.

Ira Glass

That’s key, she says. As long as you’re a fat person who’s trying not to be fat, that’s acceptable. That’s a good fat person. You don’t totally admit to yourself you’re fat, because, well–

Lindy West

The way that we are taught to think about fatness is that fat is not a permanent state. You’re just a thin person who’s failing consistently for your whole life.

[LAUGHTER]

So to actually say, OK, I am fat– and I have been as long as I can remember, so I don’t know why I live in this imaginary future where I, you know, someday I’m going to be thin.”

 

We’re certainly living in interesting times!

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Free yourself from the shadows

llurk in the shadowsI’m a bit ahead of the curve on some of the work I’m doing. One is encouraging men to come out of the shadows of their trans attraction, into the bright warming sun of their transamory. The other is to encourage transgender women who persistently tell the story of “tranny chasers” and the struggles they face, to change those stories so they can live lives of joy and empowerment.

In both cases, both audiences are responding. But sometimes, my expectations get ahead of where people are.

Case in point: our Man On Fire Conference.

The Man On Fire Conference is the first-ever national conference designed exclusively for and about men who are attracted to transgender women; men with transgender children, parents or siblings; and men trying to figure out their unique part in the transgender phenomena increasingly dominating social consciousness. We’ve scheduled the conference for this summer.

After aggressive promotion via Craigslist and Facebook advertising, only three tickets have sold. What does this tell us?

I think many trans attracted men are still skittish about being seen in public as trans attracted. They aren’t too keen registering for an event, then coming to such an event in person. We’ve gotten at least 10 men who said they are interested. At least two men who are married expressed interest in going, but need to sort out how to explain the ticket and flight expenses to their wives. At least two other men complained about the price of tickets. We thought $35 was a reasonable price. But guys focused almost exclusively on the $150 at the door price (priced that way do encourage early registration). So maybe an in person event is premature.

So we’re considering changing the event to an online one, where men can participate in the comfort of their trans attracted shadows. We know there’s demand for what we offer. A lot of men are reading and watching our material. We know there are a lot of men out there who fancy transgender women. We know there is a lot of frustration, shame and pain being trans attracted.

We’re still searching for the right combination of things that will entice men out of those shadows and into the light. Maybe its the match-making service I’m piloting?

If you’re a trans attracted man reading this, let me know your thoughts on how we can better serve you. I’d love to hear your ideas.

 

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Get the girl. Easily.

IMG_0762So I’ve launched a new initiative to help trans attracted men get their girl. There are a lot of other results this initiative will produce, all of which will enormously benefit the trans community.

But the result I want to describe here is the one you men are most interested in: getting the girl you want and getting her easily.

I know how fucking hard it is to meet transgender women. I know because I’ve been there. I know all the elements which make being trans attracted hard. I know there is a pent-up demand among us men for a solution that will make it easier for us to get the girl. I know this because pretty much all the men who come on our shows express this desire. The women do too and I’m going to get to them, after I demonstrate success with a number of you guys.

Ok, about the new initiative:

There currently are five or so men who are participating in a pilot test. It is designed to produce circumstances wherein the men easily meet the perfect transgender woman for them.  The process starts by understanding the nature of stories, demonstrating through actual proof how those stories create physical reality, then creating new stories while practicing the art of storytelling so that transgender women come to the men….instead of the men having to go to where the transgender women are.

Of course, this story examination has several other benefits and challenges. It creates a kind of happiness, ease, and general satisfaction with life on earth. It creates better experiences throughout life, not just in the dating world. People who contribute to producing “negative” life experiences and drama naturally fade from one’s life. In their place come people who help create better life experiences, ones more in line with the life participants want. The challenges are that the participants have to confront their old negative stories and be willing and open to trying out something they may believe is bullshit.

All of this comes with a guarantee. It is absolutely guaranteed to work. What online dating site can make that claim? The test participants are not paying for their participation during the pilot, but the guarantee is there nonetheless.

Ultimately I plan to create a custom-curated exclusive community where trans attracted men and transgender women can meet under the best circumstances, circumstances where the man and the woman are on the same page about what a relationship is, what their relationship to that relationship is, an how to dance in that relationship in ways that every dancer gets what they want.

There’s a lot of potential for this to be life changing for participants, as well as life changing for the trans community. It could actually be the beginning of one of the most important changes the community has ever seen.

I’ll be sharing more as the pilot moves forward. Stay tuned.

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What stories are you telling?

FullSizeRenderYou are a story teller.

Now, I know you probably don’t believe the following, but I’m going to share it anyway. Did you know you can create any experience you want, just by thinking it into your experience? Well you can. And whether you believe that or not, that’s exactly what you’re doing, and, that’s exactly why you’re finding your trans attraction such a struggle.

If you responded to that paragraph above by saying “bullshit, no one can create reality just by thinking” that story creates a reality wherein it is impossible for you to see evidence confirming the truth that you do create your experience. Even though – and get this now – the fact that you can’t see evidence is exactly the evidence proving what you say is impossible!

How cool is that?

It’s really easy to change the story…and see immediate, different and inspiring results. But you have to understand the process by which the change happens. Contrary to literature, art and movies, results that come from your stories don’t happen “magically”, nor do they happen instantly. There’s usually a span of time between the told story and the final result. Especially if you’re trying to change an old, often-told story.

The more stories you tell, the bigger your world becomes. But if you keep telling the same stories, your world just keeps changing….into the same old reality. So if you tell yourself, “The only way I can find a transgender woman to be my girlfriend is to post a posting on Craigslist and hope for the best,” then that’s the experience you’re going to have.

And I know how much drudgery comes from trying to meet a transwoman on Craigslist!

Examining your stories is the best thing you can do to increase your happiness in your trans attraction. That goes for not only finding a woman to be with, but finding happiness and self-acceptance.

There is nothing shameful or embarrassing about being trans attracted! If you think there is, you have a story you’ve accepted from other people that is creating your reality experience. Everyone lives in their own subjective reality. That includes you. You have total authority over that reality, including the people who come in it. Your authority lies in the stories you tell.

Tell new stories and you walk into a new world. With new people and new experiences consistent with your new stories. Tell the same stories and you get more of the same.

Your life reflects your stories. Tell good ones!

 

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There are many trans attractions

There might be as many “trans attractions” as there are transitionary processes transgender people go through.

That could explain why trans attracted men come in so many different “flavors” making it hard to describe “trans attraction” with one definition.

There are trans attracted men who see transgender women as women, for example. These men also date cis-women, seeing no real difference between them and their transgender counterparts. Presumably, guys in this category don’t care what’s “down there”, or they may care a great deal: they may prefer only transgender women who have “gone all the way” surgery-wise.

There are trans attracted men who see women as women and accept (heartily in some cases) that some women have penises. This is not always a fetish, although there can be a period where men fetishize women with penises, just as there are men who fetishize other aspects of womanhood, and women who do the same. These men probably are the most visible as far as transgender women are concerned. They also tend to be the most vilified because they enjoy sexual expression with women with penises in much the same way that some cis women love strapping on a plastic penis and pegging men.

There are trans attracted men who don’t “bottom.” These guys like being sexually aggressive. By aggressive, I mean they express “outward” motivated energies as opposed to “inward” or “receiving” motivated energies. Aggressive isn’t always negative.

There are trans attracted men who love receiving. They enjoy the pleasure of being penetrated, of giving up of themselves, and find joyful self expression in a sense of self-control so total that they can give up themselves to another and find immense satisfaction in that act.

There are trans attracted men who see transgender women as a special kind of woman. “Special” doesn’t mean odd. It is a kind of veneration. They see transgender women as capable, courageous, and powerful, able to transcend typical female archetypes and, as a result, are life-changers for themselves and their partners. William describes his wife Nikki as this kind of person. He swears his wife transformed his life in ways unimaginable.

There are trans attracted men who are activists, focusing their energies on making society more encompassing of all expressions of humanity. They are courageous people who take a lot of abuse from the women they love, fully aware of the tension existing between their love for women and the revulsion those women have for them.

There are trans attracted men who struggle with their reality. They don’t understand their trans attraction, or, do understand it but don’t want to. They are invisible and lurk in the dark, trying to avoid their attraction through alcohol, drugs or compulsive porn consumption or denial. Like the drug-addicted, they occasionally seek temporary desire-gratification through serial one-time flings or encounters with working girls, and through Craigslist hookups.

There are trans attracted men who consider themselves too old. For whatever reason, they suffer alone, fantasizing about their attraction while married, or believing their time has passed.

There are very young trans attracted men who grew up knowing and owning their trans attraction. For them they see this as normal and live their lives as though nothing is different about them or their attraction. They are blessed.

There are married trans attracted men who can’t leave their cis-wives for various reasons. They put duty and expectation ahead of personal happiness and satisfaction. A noble, if painful, choice. These guys may or may not seek similar temporary desire-gratification of the struggler, getting just enough satisfaction to keep the urge at bay so they can go on with their normal life.

In her excellent Medium article, Detransition, Desistance, and Disinformation: A Guide for Understanding Transgender Children Debates, Julia Serano describes how there “are many transsexual trajectories” in “the messy backdrop of trans realities”. The same is true for the trans attracted trajectories. For each man’s path is unique. Each one has to walk his own self-discovery, sometimes leaving collateral damage in his wake, including broken families and broken hearts.

This isn’t a sob story, but an attempt to recognize a misunderstood/mischaracterized component of the trans community narrative. If you’re a guy reading this, you’re being increasingly seen. If you’re a transgender woman reading this, it would do an immense amount of good to sit down with one of these men and have an honest, open non judgmental conversation.

The life you change could be your own.