red why are so many trans gals into IT/programming/CS? does technology make u trans?
yes
I actually have a theory about this! Ok, so I’m totally computer illiterate, but I’ve seen this running joke that all us trans girls are “lesbians who are good at web design.” And I think its because since trans lesbians are seen by society as het dudes before we come out, we don’t have that sort of moment of being forced into the lgbt category before discovering or revealing our identity. So since we “pass,” more or less, we try our best to keep passing for convenience sake while still in the closet. And tech stuff is seen as an incredibly male thing in our society; its coded masculine as strongly as being a mechanic or construction worker. But unlike those other jobs, people in tech fields don’t have to perform masculinity on a daily basis, or even interact with masculine dudes frequently. Basically its a way of broadcasting maleness without having to perform masculinity. So trans women end up gravitating toward STEM fields because they offer this weird semi-safe space of social isolation and assumed normality.
It’s totally similar why so many trans girls play video, board, and tabletop games. It’s a passing performance at first. And we often gravitate towards difficult games (dark souls trans girls) or indie games. They have fairly limited appeal, and rather small communities around them. This means it doesn’t require much interaction with the community at large, while providing a safe form of saying “hey I’m a guy look at me doing guy things” before coming out.
Tabletop, board, and card games are similar, because they can be played within a tiny community. You can know three other people who play them, and never really have to leave that community. Role-playing games in particular, allow for you to be open with yourself without other people knowing. I’m named after my own d&d character, for example, because I played a character named lydia and liked what I felt like when people referred to me as my character.
All of this commentary is spot on. I learned about computers because my parents and friends approved of it; I was into candle and soap making before that. I played computer games because sometimes they allowed me to play the game as a girl and I felt good about myself for once. It all has to do with passing as a man, rather than getting to be the woman you are.
