Tag Archives: trans man

The First Trans Man Elected Into Public Office In Japan

Tomoya Hosoda, a 25 year-old medicine graduate, is the first trans man to be elected into public office in Japan.

He has been elected as a councillor for the city of Iruma, in the region of Kanto, by winning 21 out of 22 seats.

Hosoda is not the first trans politician to be elected in Japan. In 2003, Kamikawa Aya was the trans woman who was elected as a municipal official in Tokyo. As for the global state of affairs, New Zealand was the first country to have a trans member in its parliament elected in 1999, Georgina Beyer.

Hosoda is a very accomplished man. In just 25 he has finished his studies in medical sciences at the Teikyo University, during which he also came out as trans, and he has also been active for a while in the political world. While he was studying he also worked to lower STI rates in Japan, raise visibility of trans issues and, from his position, he wishes to advocate for the rights of LGBTQ, elderly and disabled people. This is what he told Stonewall Japan, an LGBTQ support organization in Japan.

He also told Stonewall Japan:

Until recently, people have acted as if sexual and gender minorities do not exist,” he said. “We have many hurdles to overcome, but I hope to live up to everyone’s expectations.

For me, coming out is just the starting line. It is now time to build a foundation for the people who need to move forward. Some walls can not be overcome by one person. We have to work together, and help each other out.”

Hosoda also took part in the Out in Japan Campaign, an initiative to raise awareness and visibility for the lives of non-straight and trans people in Japan.

He speaks about his coming out and transition process, as well as about the election process, thanking his family and friends for their support through all of it.

My parents, friends, colleagues and old schoolmates support me. While there were so many troubles, a lot of suffering, we can move forward one step at a time.

The more we meet people, the narrow-minded way of thinking will expand.”

Hosoda says he’s received a lot of support and validation from the members of the LGBTQ community since he announced that he would run as a candidate.

Are Lesbians Who Date Trans Men Really Lesbians?

NOTE: The opinions and statements in this article are only a summary of the views stated in the two videos below. This article has absolutely no relationship to my own views on the subject.

“Trans men aren’t really men.”

Transgender men are tired of hearing that.

Recently, two transgender men – Ryan Sallans and Sky – sat down with vlogger Arielle Scarcella to talk about their experiences with lesbians. They answered two questions: If a transgender man transitions to male while in a relationship with a lesbian, what should the lesbian do? And is a lesbian who says she “only dates women and trans men” really a lesbian?

Question 1. I’m a lesbian and my partner transitions. What do I do?

This is tricky. When your partner transitions, standing by his side isn’t always easy – he will experience physical, emotional and personality changes, for example. And if your female partner becomes biologically male, then you suddenly have to wrestle with your identity.

If you loved him as a biological woman, shouldn’t you love him as a biological man? Are you transphobic if you leave?

“It depends,” says Sallans.

According to Sallans, it comes down to the reasoning behind your decisions. If you leave your transitioning partner because his transition is straining the relationship and you’re not emotionally equipped to handle his changes, then that’s okay. However, Sallans believes that if you leave the relationship automatically without even considering attempting to date your partner in his new body, then that’s transphobic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwQ3cz3AqBg

Question 2. I’m a lesbian who dates trans men. Am I a lesbian?

Perhaps you’re a lesbian whose partner suddenly transitioned from female to male, and you find yourself dating a man for the first time. Or perhaps you’re a lesbian who only feels comfortable dating women and transgender men. Either way, can you call yourself a lesbian?

“Call yourself whatever you want,” says Sky. “Labels are for community, not for defining love.” In other words, it doesn’t matter what you call yourself as long as you treat your partners with respect.

However, Sky reminds lesbians who date trans men that calling themselves lesbians belittles the transgender man’s identity – it implies that you don’t see him as a “real” man, since you don’t want to date cisgender (read: “real”) men.

You could have a lot of reasons for not changing your label. Coming out again is hard. Wrestling with yourself is hard. But Sky believes that if you date a trans man, then it’s worth wondering whether your lesbian label negates his male one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=87&v=9kZgduudq3k

For more, read “How to Tell Your Girlfriend You’re Transgender” and “What to Do If Your Partner Comes Out as Trans.”

Transgender Model is Leading a Contest to be on the Cover of Men’s Health Magazine

Bodybuilder and model Aydian Ethan Dowling may become the first out trans* man to grace the cover of Men’s Health magazine.

Dowling, is currently in the lead on Men’s Health’s Ultimate Guy Search, and has close to twice as many votes as the runner up.

Aydian Ethan Dowling

The winner of the search, described as MH as “fit and fearless, a doer who gives back and leads by example”,  wins a cover spread on the magazine, and Dowling is currently in the lead by over 13,700 votes.

The battle that can come with the mirror can be completely dark and engulfing. As a Transgender Male, having a healthy body and mind is my ultimate goal to find peace within my soul. Although I may always have some kind of battle with my body, I continue to work everyday for a happy peace within.”

Aydian Ethan Dowling

Aydian Ethan Dowling 04

On his Twitter page, Dowling, from Ohio describes himself as: “An entrepreneur, owner and creator of Point 5cc Clothing, a vlogger, a motivational speaker, an artist, and an advocate for Transgender rights.”

Aydian Ethan Dowling 01

The fitness magazine, known for featuring manly cover models with six-pack abs, says its judges are looking for a male “who is fit and fearless, a doer who gives back and leads by example. Those are qualities that I do my best to instill in myself, and I always to try to lead by example.”

If the Men’s Health judges select Dowling as their cover model, he would be on grocery store newsstands across the country. The magazine says it has a combined audience of more than 13 million readers, who are mostly men with an average age of 40.

Take a Look at ‘Living Different’ – Oxygen’s New Docu-series About Inspiring Young Women

Oxygen’s has a new docu-series out called ‘Living Different’, which premiered this week.

Each week the show profiles inspiring young women “out to change the world by simply being themselves”, with the first episode, #LoveWithoutLabels, featuring two queer women and a trans man.

The episode feature Lizz, who came out to her very conservative Mexican Catholic family, but after her longtime partner Stacey begins transitioning to male, Lizz struggles with explaining their relationship to her mother.

Post by Oxygen.

The other lady featured was firefighter-turned-model Rain Dove who walks in both menswear and womenswear, and dates men and women. She struggles, however, with a lack of real acceptance from her father and, during the episode, she tries to reconnect with him.

Post by Oxygen.

Catch Living Different on Oxygen and join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtags #LivingDifferent and #LoveWithoutLabels.