Who am I? Why am I here?

This widely ridiculed line was how James Stockdale introduced himself at the first vice-presidential debate he participated in as the candidate of Ross Perot's Reform Party in 1992.  Nevertheless, it seems like a good place to start.

The quick answer: because ysabetwordsmith asked for prompts which she uses to write poetry, and her April prompt request was too important to me to remain hidden any longer.

What I feel ready to say now (briefly putting on my Evil Genius hat): “Masculinity! You have failed me for the final time! Leave now before I tire of you and feed you to my piranhas, and take your idiotic Man Card with you! I have no further use for it!

( A longer answer, if you're interested )

I have more to say on this, but I would like to introduce some concepts that refer to terms some people are uncomfortable encountering, even though I would not consider any of them problematic for any reasonably tolerant person.  I'm playing safe and putting that part under an explicit cut, then continuing.

Some Terms

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Who am I? Why am I here? (continued)

If you are interested, please see my previous post for the definition I am using for "gender".

The things I wish to do, and the ways I wish to interact with others, are very poorly aligned with my culture's gender assumptions. Nevertheless, I recognize that I share many of these traits with people who identify with a specific gender, and if those people choose to recognize me as of their gender, I will acknowledge this. One common umbrella term covering this identification is “genderqueer”, and I have found that this term fits me well. “Polygender” and “pangender” are terms that are often used to describe my attitude toward gender-identified people; I prefer the former, because I would not feel comfortable identifying with a gender where those who identify with that gender would not recognize me as “one of them”.

Up until now, I have chosen to maintain enough conformity with the gender assumptions under which I was raised to be granted membership in a cultural role with sufficient influence and agency to acquire and maintain economic self-sufficiency.

I am ready to move beyond that conformity now. I am deliberately allowing my lack of gender alignment, which I have until now kept out of sight, to start leaking out around the edges of the facade I have built. As I have done so, I find myself feeling better about myself, and have gotten positive reactions to the non-normative aspects of my presentation.

Now that I am here, I am interested in connecting with friends and allies. If you feel like either of these categories describe you, please feel free to friend me and expect to be friended back.