Concurrent Panel Session Ten
Abstract Title
Trans Male Temporalities
Start Date
8-4-2018 1:00 PM
End Date
8-4-2018 1:50 PM
Abstract
“Transition”, “Female to Male” (FTM), even “transgender”, these words are used commonly within the transgender (trans) community and have deep implications for temporal movements within them. The prefix “trans,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, means “on or to the other side of: across or beyond; so as to change in form or position.” This has a specific temporal movement within its definition. The way in which transitions are conceptualized to begin with, with “coming out” narratives, an expectation of beginning hormone replacement therapy and a certain amorphous surgery, ignores other possible conceptions of transitioning, while creating a normative narrative that is hyper-focused on transition time (for example, how long someone has been on Testosterone [T] or how long they have been out as trans).
This presentation focuses on alternate understandings of time for those who identify as FTM and/or as trans men. I examine three autobiographies, as well as YouTube transition timeline videos, and discuss my own experiences through autoethnography. Inspired by alternative notions of time from different cultures, specifically Colored People’s Time and Queer Time, I explore how trans men conceptualize time and their transitioning, specifically looking at the creation of a space in which normative time is questioned. Through the use of content analysis of FTM autobiographies and FTM timeline YouTube videos, I explore the ways trans men conceptualize time and how this acts as a challenge to chrononormativity.
Trans Male Temporalities
“Transition”, “Female to Male” (FTM), even “transgender”, these words are used commonly within the transgender (trans) community and have deep implications for temporal movements within them. The prefix “trans,” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, means “on or to the other side of: across or beyond; so as to change in form or position.” This has a specific temporal movement within its definition. The way in which transitions are conceptualized to begin with, with “coming out” narratives, an expectation of beginning hormone replacement therapy and a certain amorphous surgery, ignores other possible conceptions of transitioning, while creating a normative narrative that is hyper-focused on transition time (for example, how long someone has been on Testosterone [T] or how long they have been out as trans).
This presentation focuses on alternate understandings of time for those who identify as FTM and/or as trans men. I examine three autobiographies, as well as YouTube transition timeline videos, and discuss my own experiences through autoethnography. Inspired by alternative notions of time from different cultures, specifically Colored People’s Time and Queer Time, I explore how trans men conceptualize time and their transitioning, specifically looking at the creation of a space in which normative time is questioned. Through the use of content analysis of FTM autobiographies and FTM timeline YouTube videos, I explore the ways trans men conceptualize time and how this acts as a challenge to chrononormativity.