What Does It Mean To BE A Gender?

Hi, I'm AErchivist. I'm transgender. And one year ago, I started HRT. I made an entire video about it. But "I Don't Regret Girlhood" was never intended to exist in isolation. And I think it's about time I continue tugging on that thread - this is that video essay. Last year, I wanted to challenge normative expectations of trans childhood and to open room for discussion of the messier elements of trans life. Today, I want to ask what it means to transition, and what it means to BE a gender. This is only the start of a much larger deconstruction of gender, both as a broad construct and its manifestation within the trans community, and an introduction to many core concepts in queer theory. I have a lot more to say, but I'll save it for next time. For now, I am one year on HRT, and I am the happiest I have ever been. --- 00:00 - Introduction 02:03 - What Does It Mean To Transition? 12:23 - What Does It Mean To Be A Gender? 18:09 - Transition As Community 23:47 - My Gender Is Punk A document listing my sources will be uploaded soon - a bit rushed to get this uploaded in time. --- Want to hear more of my yapping? Come find me at / aerchivist most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 7:00 pm EST! Be there or get bit! You can also keep up with my shenanigans at any of the following: Discord - / discord Bsky - https://bsky.app/profile/aerchivist.b... Tiktok - www.tiktok.com/@aerchivist The support means the world. I'm working on building something incredible here, I promise. In the meantime... Signing off from the AErchive!