“in your
ideal world,
what does
the future
of gender
look like”
pronoun coronation
human elocution
border dissolution
frequent faggotry
gorgeous gayety
sacred impiety
campy pageantry
constant questioning
mutual strengthening
boundary trespassing
differents welcoming
t4t
i read that things used to be different for us. that we used to hide behind heavy coats, from ourselves. i read that we’d get compared to cigarettes on the street in broad daylight just for walking the wrong way. things are different for us now. not because we are the majority, but because we are not, and we know that. our difference is our value.
things changed because seasons did. the old trees that once ruled the forest have fallen, been subsumed into the soil. things changed because our elders fought for us and their enemies dwindled. life is no less complicated here and now. it may be more so. but that complexity, that intricacy, that is part of what makes this worth it.
i went on a date yesterday. they had two faces and three names. his lips felt like safety and possibility and becoming. we didn’t need to connect our brains with wires to see. we spoke the same language, we knew the same songs. our bodies united like an antique lock and key, lubricated with the oil of our passion. i want more. no, i need it.
all my friends are trans. i broke up with the ones who weren’t.
they understood.
change is good. the people that don’t get that will never get us. not all change is for the better, but the potential for growth and for flourishing is all we have. the possibility that tomorrow will be a new day with new rules. and that we’ll be here for each other when it arrives. that we’ll nurture the seeds and each other. that we can.
matthew bischoff (@mb) designs, writes, and podcasts in new york city. they’re a thirty-something trans, nonbinary, bisexual, vers switch. they’ll take a little bit of everything, including what you’re having.