That lead me down the rabbit-hole of research because I wanted to know more about why her actions would offend others. Accept that the world is not stagnant and that as long as we have people, there will be different experiences. This seems like a “duh” kinda thing but people love to hold on to ideas of what they feel “grounds” them. Exploring who you are without it threatens their existence.
I felt like accepting non-binary and trans identity would erase what I know as “womanhood” or that it’ll erase me in some way. I had to acknowledge that that fear is similar to how white ppl feel about their reality with accepting blackness. There’s a difference between acknowledging and accepting. I acknowledged that they were there and still had the privilege to turn away. Accepting, I feel takes it a step further; doing my due diligence to understand and then accepting that their reality merges with mine. Acceptance. This word reeks of power because who am I to finally “accept” you as if doing so finally solidifies your existence? No, the acceptance is for my brain to acknowledge that there are others with a reality that differs from mine and that my reality is not all that is.
There’s nothing wrong with me educating myself about the unfamiliar and challenging my unchallenged and guarded thoughts. And then asking myself candidly, “what is it that you fear?”
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