r/ShenComix • u/YoungShitheel • 8d ago

To those Transvestigating Shen

https://youtube.com/shorts/ob1ZwUI-Zqk?si=PzgUkN9tOB8AGDJn

This has probably been done to death, but I feel like this video has a pretty good message in relation to what I've been seeing in some of this sub.

That being;

I don't think it's our place to care about whether or not Shen is cis, a repressing trans person, or some secret third option.

I'm sure those telling him to stop "repping" aren't doing it out of genuine malice. They probably just don't want someone to go through what they must have on their way to finding their true selves.

Yet my point still stands.

Whatever he is, it's HIS BUSINESS. Leave mothafuckas alone.

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u/Aethelrede 7d ago

You do realize the genderqueer doesn't just mean "trans woman", right?  He might be GNC male, he might be nonbinary, he might just say fuck it and just be Shen.

The assumption that questioning one's gender should lead to transitioning (the whole egg concept) is faulty, and encourages an odd gender binary. 

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u/LustBunnOfForests 7d ago edited 7d ago

Yes? I never said that Shen was trans femme?? I just specified that I am a trans woman because it's the internet and I wanted to make sure people knew I was queer to avoid someone jumping on me for no reason, but here we are, apparently.

I am well aware that "Figuring things out" and "gender queer" does not mean "hasn't realized they're a trans woman". I was making a joke about how the process of figuring out one's gender and Knowing But Fucking With People For The Bit are similar and inscrutable. You decided to be mad for no reason and read words that I straight up did not type.

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u/Aethelrede 7d ago

Perhaps I judged you too harshly.  Let's back up a second, because I'm genuinely interested in understanding your point of view.  Please note that this is not intended to be a "gotcha" moment, I am baffled about how (some) trans women view GNC men and enbies and am hoping for some enlightenment.  Also note that every time I use the word "joke" in this post, assume it is in paranthesis, because I don't think any of it is actually a joke.

You say you were making a joke implying that a GNC man is actually a trans woman and either doesn't know it or is just claiming to be GNC to fuck with people.

How would you feel about a joke implying that a trans woman is actually a femboy / drag queen and either doesn't know it or is just pretending to be trans to fuck with people?

It's exactly the same joke, except one targets GNC men and the other targets trans women.

Do you think the joke about trans women actually being drag queens is okay?  If not, why is a joke about GNC men okay?

You see, trans used to encompass both trans women and GNC men, and I'm trying to figure out why that changed.  Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated.

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u/LustBunnOfForests 7d ago

You say you were making a joke implying that a GNC man is actually a trans woman and either doesn't know it or is just claiming to be GNC to fuck with people.

Forgive me for apparently being illiterate, but where the hell did I say that? I do not know why you are fixated on the idea I think Shen's gender is one way or another. I don't know, no one does. That is the joke I was making.

I was making a joke about how gender-queerness, regardless of what your gender ends up as, has moments that are virtually indistinguishable between "I know my gender, but I'm not saying shit and keeping people guessing for fun" and " 'This is totally a thought everyone has had, right?' - person saying very gender-queer thing unknowingly". That's the joke I was making. I do not know how that's such a foreign joke that I needed to spell it out, and I fundamentally do not understand why people are being so aggro over inventing a sentence I did not say to be mad at instead of just reading the words I wrote,

trans used to encompass both trans women and GNC men, and I'm trying to figure out why that changed. 

I genuinely don't know. I know people who are non-binary who use trans as a label for themselves, I know people who are non-binary who hate that idea. I'm not a wizard. Other than "Gender-queer" I did my best to avoid using labels and terms for other people because I don't know.

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u/Aethelrede 7d ago

This is tiresome.  Here is a quote from your own comment: "I was making a joke about how the process of figuring out one's gender and Knowing But Fucking With People For The Bit are similar and inscrutable".

Suggesting that there are trans gender people or GNC people who  "Know...[their gender but pretend not to in order to] Fuck with People For the B it" is transphobic as shit. The mere fact that you would even believe that people would do that makes it clear you don't take gender identity seriously.  No trans gender person or GNC male would ever pretend they didn't know their own gender just to fuck with people (unless you were referring to yourself? That would explain a great deal).

And making a joke that it's hard to tell the difference between someone figuring out their own gender and this hypothetical person who fakes gender confusion for fun is fucking vile.

You are either a transphobe or bigoted against GNC men; I'm inclined to the latter, because suggesting that GNC men are actually trans women who are pretending not to be is a common lie among that group of trans women.

Anyway, the fact that you lied about what you wrote makes further conversation pointless.  I do suggest in the future if you are going to claim you didn't say something you should go back and edit the comment where you said the thing.

Yet again, the similarity between your little group of haters and TERFs is shocking.

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u/LustBunnOfForests 7d ago

Suggesting that there are trans gender people or GNC people who  "Know...[their gender but pretend not to in order to] Fuck with People For the Bit" is transphobic as shit.

I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the message there. I'm saying that until anything is confirmed in any way about Shen's identity, no one knows shit, ((which, by the by, you are assuming that Shen is a GNC man and not say; Gender Fluid, Agender, or Non-binary among many other things that fall into genderqueer.)) and that's funny to lean into to poke fun at an audience for wanting to know. I'm not saying anyone's faking being questioning, I'm saying leaning into the fact that one's gender is inscrutable instead of confirming anything is a good bit. It might also be that Shen doesn't know, but I don't know. Either way, it's fun to see this unfold in the comics.

You are either a transphobe or bigoted against GNC men

Not a transphobe. And I'm literally saying that it's funny to fuck with people's perception of your gender for the fucking bit. That was the premise of the original joke. I am trans and have introduced myself at functions as "She/Her, but if the bit is funny enough, I'll roll with it". That's the energy I'm talking about in the original joke.

because suggesting that GNC men are actually trans women who are pretending not to be is a common lie among that group of trans women

Again, when have I implied Shen is "actually a trans woman"? Unlike you, I have mostly, if not entirely, avoided even using pronouns for Shen because I am unsure (none of Shen's socials have pronouns in bios).

I do suggest in the future if you are going to claim you didn't say something you should *[n't] go back and edit the comment where you said the thing.

Three hours later I saw a typo and fixed it. What I edited: changed " has' " to " hasn't ".

And if you're gonna come marching back in here to cherry pick something that could be construed as "mean if you squint" again, I'm just going to block and report you, because you have chosen to to take everything I say in the worst light humanly possible since I made my first clarification.

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u/Aethelrede 7d ago

That last part is certainly true.  I have had multiple arguments with people over Shen and GNC men in general over the past few weeks, with people accusing him of pretending to be cis, and calling him bad names for daring to draw a GNC cis male character.  The language you used is very similar to the language they used, so I assumed the worst.  It seems that our priors were so different that our posts were mutually unintelligible.  At any rate, if you want to block and report me, feel free, but I won't block you.  It is quite possible we'll cross paths on some less complicated and controversial topic, and I'd hate to rule out the possibility that we might agree on something.  Without any sarcasm, I hope you have a nice day.

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u/Trick_Yard_4609 7d ago

don't bother, this person was also yelling at me while refusing to read anything i was saying too. i think they just assume anyone not enthusiastically agreeing with them 24/7 is some basement-dwelling caricature of a 4tran user they have to epically own to defend GNC cis men