#saw somebody saying that somebody shouldn't be open about liking trans men and that we trans men...

[uncanny-tranny]

Begging people to learn that fetishization is a specific form of dehumanization that sees the target primarily as a (often sexual) tool for somebody to achieve their own goal. A person who fetishizes somebody will often not recognize somebody's humanity because they are primarily focused on their own desires.

Fetishization is not when somebody likes a person (especially a marginalized group). Fetishization is not when a person in an out group sees a marginalized person as an equal and appreciates them as an equal. It is not dehumanization for somebody to treat a marginalized person like an autonomous person who can make their own decisions.

It leaves a very bad taste in my mouth when people assume that the only reason you can be "into" a marginalized person is that you want to dehumanize or ultimately abuse them. It sends the message that our marginalization is preventing us from "truly" being seen as a person from anybody. You aren't placing the blame on systems of power, you are punishing marginalized people for their marginalization.

#politics #fetishization #i find it ESPECIALLY frusterating when people treat 'dont EVER like [x group]' as activism #i know so many people are hyper-vigilant of fetishization because of how dehumanizing it is and how many are traumatized from it... #...but not every instance of us being treated like an intrinsic equal will be because of fetishization #saw somebody saying that somebody shouldn't be open about liking trans men and that we trans men... #...should 'love ourselves more' when trans men were like 'that's awesome for you i'm glad you're open about it'... #...yes i have met many a chaser who made me feel like a worthless piece of wank material... #...but that was THEIR choice to treat me like that. it was THEIR fault they treated me like that... #...and that is by no means not the fault of Some Guy who sees their fellow man as an intrinsically equal man to his own... #...you can denounce fetishization without implying that marginalized people are broken goods who need to never be touched or seen