Transgender

What it means to be passable as a Trans woman!

Understanding what passing really means as a trans woman.

I believe there is this huge misconception about what it means to be passing as a trans woman. A lot of people believe that passing is this model version of what a woman is supposed to look like, but in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Why you might ask, and that is because there are hundreds of variations of what a cis woman looks like, and I can guarantee that not all cis women would pass under these guidelines of the ideal passing model look thrust upon us from movies and images all over.

Passing is not the absolutely perfect body, absolutely looking like a model, but actually passing has a lot more to do with social interactions and how others perceive you, everything from your pictures, your voice, your day-to-day interactions with people around you. The way you act, and how you present yourself are all important factors in whether you pass or not.

The thing is with all the highlighted media on trans women even cis women are becoming targets, lesbian women and masc presenting women too. These people are being accused of being trans because they do not meet the ideal image of a woman in today’s society. There are so few that actually meet this ideal image that people forget there are everyday people that don’t look like supermodels.

So passing is a flawed term, but what passing means varies greatly. So as a trans woman if you’re looked at in public and in conversation and consistently referred to as a woman, identified as she/her/hers wherever you go, and are not flagged by the people around you as a trans woman or miss gender by people you are among the passing. You don’t have to have HRT or anything else to be considered passing as a woman, but I believe that helps drastically.

Things that will draw attention to not passing are failing to work on your feminine voice as deep voices are automatically associated with men. Another common thing has a lot to do with how you present yourself to others with body language, as women have a different body language, posture etc. The way you talk to others really influences others' opinions, but using words and phrases that you often hear from men are huge signals to not passing. Changing these can honestly change how someone identifies your gender.