One thing the internet has really helped with is establishing online personas for trans ppl.

For cis people, anonymous internet IDs are imaginary personas that we use to live in a make believe world.

For me, as a closeted trans person, I think it's the opposite: The physical world gave us an undesired physical persona that we cannot control, the internet allows us to create virtual personas where we can really be ourselves.

When I see trans people online, these are their real selves. Our online personas ARE us.

The average cis person may think "it's a dude playing a girl", but after experiencing what is it to be trans, I can no longer see it that way.

When I see trans people online, their online aliases feel way more real than their physical counterparts. I see a trans girl, I imagine her voice, her appearance to match their profile picture, and somehow... it clicks.

This is who they really are, and I can only hope that they find the means to bring that ideal to life, through surgery, hormones, etc.

So, thank you for this one, internet. For giving us a space where we can really be.