#so of y'all seem to think that trans men get access to male privilege the same way that cis men day

[itty-bitty-kitty-titties]

every time i see another transfem bashing the concept transandrophobia it makes me fuckin uncomfy. likewdym you're ignoring the things a marginalized community is telling you stop fighting in the crab bucket. we're smarter than this.

[noteoftheturnabout]

apocalypsedykelord

fuck it we ball

WHY THE FANDOM DARLING BASIL BONERATH IS NOT TRANSMASC

1. y'all are projecting onto him because you like him.

wouldn't be that bad on its own, do whatever you want forever (I'm going to grit my teeth and grip my phone so hard my screen almost shatters regardless, but it it was just that I'd leave everyone alone about it). we all know that phenomenon, where queer teenagers will see a character they enjoy and will slap a queer label or two onto them regardless of whether it "makes sense" or not. multiple characters in textually homophobic/transphobic franchises have been headcanoned as gay, bi, trans, you name it. male characters with canon female love interests have been made gay, characters whose childhood we've seen in their canon gender have been made trans, - all because the person making the headcanons either finds making the headcanons themselves extremely fun, or because they love the character they're making the headcanons for so much, they want to see themselves represented in this character. and it's fine! really! good even! trans boys/transmascs who saw basil and fell in love with him at first sight, because you think he's quirky, or amusing, or just extremely funny, or interesting, or well written, (or smart.. or misunderstood... or justified...) and now he's a trans man because you said so - I really have nothing against you. however.

2. transmascs and male privilege.

I'll keep this side tangent that has the possibility of being thousands of words long really brief, because I'm definitely in no way shape or form an expert on this topic. do transmasculine people, trans men in particular, have access to male privilege? I'm leaning no. at least definitely not over cis women. this will be useful going forward.

3. basil bonerath and male privilege!

aka, literally in the next sentence. bonerath's entire character is rooted in male privilege and the entitlement that comes with it. he's canonically misogynistic, and the limited line of archetypes women fall into for him is definitely reflective of that. (him dismissing maya more than phoenix because of her age And gender is also definitely reflective or that). he's canonically an entitled, egotistical, entirely self-centered asshole, who feels like the main character of the universe and that the entire world around him exists as a background prop for his story. I mean. hell. his storyline is about him singling out a woman to be his intellectual equal, only on the condition that he fits his idea of that - a stone-cold, perfectly composed, feelingless and dangerous femme fatale, and then murdering her for falling out of this role and expressing weakness, humanity, vulnerability and dare I say, femininity? his and hanma's storyline is specifically about heteronormative relationships under the patriarchy, or, more broadly speaking, gendered dynamics. can we all agree that this behavior is almost exclusively reserved for men?

which trans men are, but this sense of entitlement is either something you're raised with as an award for conforming to patriarchal masculinity, or in the narrative where basil is transmasculine it would be something he specifically chose. he chose to position himself above women, he chose to act like that after he transitioned, getting the most out of the social capital he has gained, knowing that he can get away with it now. escaping womanhood to reap the privileges of manhood - doesn't it seem like a very weird narrative to you? as a person who can maybe kind of call themselves transmasculine, it deeply irks me on a level I can not explain. of course, it's utterly stupid to complain about somebody's literal headcanon being bad trans representation, but there's just one other reason why the story this provides for basil is bizarre.

4. it justifies him (it doesn't).

what do we have, then, if basil is a trans man - why does he act the way he does? out of desperation to prove himself as a man. he is misogynistic out of dysphoria, placing the reason he's not a woman and doesn't feel like one onto the fact that he's smarter and more ambitious than an average woman. he behaves in outrageous ways that are allowed and encouraged in men in a desperate attempt to fit in with them as a social group, to be seen as one of them, to essentially just prove his gender. him being transgender adds a layer of panic, hopelessness, desperate struggle and tragedy to his story, allowing people if not to justify it, then at least feel bad for him. while the Point is that you shouldn't.

he acts the way he does out of desperation to prove himself, period! prove himself to the world as the person he thinks he is, which is - better than everyone else! he struggles not to gain equality, but to gain superiority! he's already on equal footing with all the other men and he wants more. he's already privileged and he wants more. he wants fame and recognition, praise and adoration, his issue is not that he doesn't get his basic objective dignity and achievements acknowledged. even if he thinks what he's asking for and what he wants is entirely reasonable, even if he thinks he Is oppressed - in being a genuis and not having that acknowledged, not for being transgender. he'd be FINE if he didn't do what he did, even if he doesn't think so and thought he had no choice (waow hanma parallel). if you're looking for tragedy in basil there is none - sorry I have to be the one to break it to you. you are obviously allowed to like him, adore him, be insane about him, etc - I'd just prefer it if you did so while seeing him for what he actually is.