Thanks, Popchyk I suppose I was thinking out loud about the interaction between my personal responses and my own personal politics and ethics. I’d like to think I try - as much as the next person, I’m not perfect - to be as open and non-discriminatory as possible. But for a couple of years it was quite difficult.
But it was several years ago and in another country.
However, a couple of times when I’ve talked about that experience, I’ve been told my trauma response was racist. Well, yes it was, but it was also self-defensive.
Similarly, most women are cautious around unknown men in certain situations. Because of our experiences of harassment and/or assault.
It’s tough for all men to understand this, particularly the “good” ones who would never dream of violence against women.
But I think we have to be tough back, and say tat this is the price of masculine privilege. And that men need to take on the burden of calling out and stopping such behaviour by other men.
I think that this is what a lot of transwomen and transactivists just don’t get - they don’t have the physical bodily experiences of growing up as a girl or the bodily experiences of being female.