The modern Genderqueer movement is reinforcing the gender norms that feminists have been trying to dismantle for decades

I rebelled against gender stereotypes as a kid in the 80s, and several adults in my life were convinced I was trans, or at very least a lesbian. It’s plausible I was genderqueer, but mostly I was into grunge and disliked stereotypically feminine things.

I wondered for a while, if maybe I really wasn’t female, if I would be happier being, if not a male, then perhaps a non-female. If I were to have grown up in today’s world, I would’ve almost certainly been interested in transitioning socially and physically to a non-binary identity. (Which might have been great, I don’t know.)

I’ve recently realized I was never uncomfortable with being female, though. I was terrified of pregnancy, or rather of lack of access to abortion, and in a world where the burden of assault falls so unevenly on the shoulders of women, being female felt threatening. And I was also just deeply uncomfortable with being relegated to second-class citizenship based on nothing but my sex.

Now that I’ve got reliable birth control, and a partner who respects me, I’m not only comfortable with my sex and gender, I’ve become comfortable with expressing more typically-feminine traits. It’s funny how that works!

/r/TrueOffMyChest Thread