Shaniqua had carefully watched the makeup videos on Youtube, where confident, sassy men made it look easy. The lipstick she saw in the mirror almost worked. Disciplining her body away from the bold aggressive movements of women--movements that had never seemed natural to her--to the graceful, delicate movements of truly masculine men had been a challenge, but the testosterone had helped. Now to get rid of these loathsome chest growths. Genital surgery was only a dream at this point--she couldn't afford it, and getting insurance to pay for it was a real challenge, according to the other trans men in her support group. That was a shame--the vulnerability and sensitivity of male genitals seemed so intrinsic to the gentle, masculine tenderness she so wanted to emulate.
She pressed the send button for her social media post. "My name is Jonathan now, and my pronouns are he and him."
Jonathan sat back. The die was cast now, and all there was was to see who accepted him as his true self and who didn't.