@AYoungTransWoman hello pal, I’ve not had time to read through the thread but hello to you. Im sorry this is very long and quite rushed, I’ve tried to read through it but haven’t had the chance so please forgive any errors, I’ve got a bit on today so I’ve done my best!
I have trans women friends, much older than you and they transitioned in their 30s/40s, but prior one friend would wear my dresses from when we were wee kids, the other friend dressed secretly in womens clothes and came out as trans once her parents passed away and was able to without the fear of parental rejection.
I hope for you that you’re shown respect and kindness, I hope that you’re never subjected to cruelty and I hope you’re never belittled. I hope society can evolve with the trans community. We shouldn’t have women fearing using bathrooms or changing areas due to them being used by non biological women, nor do I believe you, my friends or anyone else should be forced to use bathrooms or changing areas that makes them uncomfortable. I hope trans sports people can be celebrated in categories that specifically can not ruin sport for women who are competitive athletes, because I think that is causing huge damage to the trans community. I hope we find solutions to benefit all. Not at the expense of anybody, just creating more safer and welcoming spaces without it being the detriment to anyone else.
I hope for the trans community that being a trans person is enough, you or my friends or anyone else doesn’t need to be a biological woman, or man, let’s accept that and embrace the person you are, being a trans person is an amazing accomplishment, being apart of a small and vulnerable community that has existed for many many years, to be authentically yourself despite the rise in hate crimes etc is something genuinely brave. Even if not everyone sees it. You can’t be a biological woman a male or vice versa and that’s absolutely fine, your experiences aren’t the same as mine, you’re still worthy of respect and safety and to be proud in yourself as an individual.
But I hope for trans people more than anything they don’t ally themselves with people who groom or abuse children. I want them to be fussier with who they welcome into their community. My friend who I mentioned earlier welcomed a newly trans woman (I am sceptical this person is someone struggling with identity and is instead just a filthy man trying to hide his past to be honest) into her friendships group to discover this person was a child abuser. Unfortunately I hear lots of similar stories. I believe not vetting people, especially the new wave of men who just one day went from Alan to Jenny and wearing a dress is hugely detrimental to the trans community. I understand this may be controversial to say, but welcoming anyone into your circle just on the basis of a shared journey concerns me, especially when the trans community has attracted a lot of bad men who are a risk to women and children. It would be disingenuous of me to pretend these people don’t exist and pose a risk. I hope the trans community choose ally’s more wisely.
I hope people one day feel comfortable to dress/behave exactly how they wish without feeling they need surgery and meds for life. I fully believe my trans women friends would have had much easier lives had they felt they could dress how they liked, wear make up and have nails done and weren’t made to feel like freak shows, or were able to be part of predominantly female based friendship groups and not made to feel “odd one out”, I say this because one friend’s surgery left her very unwell for a long time.
I think trans people have always existed in the sense people have been miserable living as their born sex and never felt that was who they truly are, I hope those people are able to start living happier lives without hate.
I also think there is also people out there claiming that’s how they feel when they’re just predatory or even attention seeking in nature and I hope they can become less involved as society learns more about trans folks and we can also spot the wronguns using the trans umbrella for personal and nefarious gain.
I mostly wish for you the same as I wish for every single person on the planet, you cause no harm, nor do you suffer it.