Me: Do you think FTM studies should be included in Women's Studies?

Michael: I think people studying Women's Studies - or anything to do with gender or queer stuff - should have an understanding of Trans and FTM. But FTMs and women are different.

Me: I agree that FTMs and Women are different, however, FTMs have still generally been perceived as women for at least part of their lives.  Would that be grounds for inclusion in Women's Studies or do you feel Women's Studies its self should be changed to Gender Studies?

Michael: I don't know enough about the current differences between Women's Studies and Gender Studies... Trans stuff should be a very significant part of Gender Studies. It would seem like Women's Studies would do better to just be Gender Studies, but again, that may be my ignorance.

Me: How do you respond to accusations by feminists or women who claim FTMs are just playing into the misogyny of Heterosexual Society?

Michael: There are sexist and misogynist FTMs, and I personally have no time for them. We cannot help who we are.  We are not out for male privilege.  Those who are, are not Trans and are very rare.

Me: What are some of the more common questions you get upon someone learning you're trans?

Michael: The good questions or the common ones? 

Me: Both.

Michael: "have you had the surgery" ... "so do you have a penis" ... "what was your name before" ... "do you want surgery" ... "how did your family/parents react" ... "how has it been for you at school" ...Lots of other really personal questions about sex, my anatomy, etc.  People have a tendency, when talking to a Trans person, to think that a lot of really personal information is suddenly their business.
 
 
 

Michael: LOL Yeah. I've had "so if you were with a gay guy, what would you do?  What if he wanted to suck a dick?"  Really graphic stuff that's SO not their business. I tell them that Trans people (and everyone else, for that matter) improvise where necessary and don't let being Trans stop us from having perfectly satisfying sex lives.  And if they still don't get it, they don't have much imagination and probably don't have very good sex.
 

Me: How does the average person respond?  Do you think coming out trans is more or less or equally difficult as coming out gay/lesbian/bi?
 

Michael: More difficult in a lot of ways, b/c people understand it way less and are that much less likely to be supportive. For me, most everyone's been fantastic. I'm the minority though, I think...couldn't offer you numbers to save my life. But I've heard enough horror stories.
 

Me: I can imagine.
 

Me: Would you say it is important in your life to pass?
 

Michael: Not as much as it is to a lot of folks... But yeah, at least in the sense that I want to be taken as a boy. I don't care who knows I'm Trans - I have it on my baseball cap, I have a Transexual Menace T-shirt, etc. - but I DON'T want to be seen as a girl b/c that's not who I am.

Me: Does the T patch make you feel like more of a man?

Michael: No. It just makes me feel more comfortable in my own skin. T doesn't make you more of a man...if that's what you're after, you're going on T for the wrong reasons.

Me: Do you have any concerns that being FTM is becoming a fad or that people are transitioning for the wrong reasons?

Michael: You should already be confident in your identity, not relying on T to solidify it for you.  It'll only help solidify it more if it's already got a solid base. Not for the most part.  I see a lot of soul-searching going on. Besides, the Standards Of Care (SOC) are there to help weed out people who want to transition for the wrong reasons.  That's why I support the SOC wholeheartedly even though they're a pain in the ass for those of us who know ourselves. Any doctor who hasn't heard of these isn't to be trusted...

Michael: That we're really just lesbians. That we're out for male privilege.  And that we don't exist, or that there are far fewer FTMs than MTFs, when in actually the ratio is about 1:1.

Michael and a friend, August 2001

Me: Should transgender be lumped with Gay and Lesbian and Bisexual rights or are the needs of FTMs and MTFs different?

Michael: Not lumped in. We're two circles that partially overlap.

Me: Do you feel like Women's Rights pertain to FTMs?

Michael: Sure.  I think women's rights pertain to everyone. 

Me: How common is it to come in contact with a feminist who sees FTMs as a threat?

Michael: No idea...but it's not rare.  A lot of radical feminists in particular seem threatened or offended by us

Me: Have you personally ever been confronted by a "radical feminist" offended by you?

Michael: I think so. I know I've had discussions about it. Don't remember if I've ever been specifically attacked on the grounds of feminism.

Me: What's your rebuttal when those types of arguments are made?

Michael: We just want to finally be ourselves and be comfortable in our own bodies, not undermine anyone's identity or movement... In becoming more ourselves, we're in more of a position to help others with their fight. We don't attack or try to undermine anyone else, and they should show us the same respect.