The way in which people interact with me because I’m disabled (I use a wheelchair most of the time) and the way in which people interact with me when they know I’m trans are quite similar. People think that this gives them some sort of a right to my body, a right to information about it, they’ll ask personal or invasive questions and not realise why those might not be appropriate. “Do you have a dick yet?” and “so what’s wrong? Why are you in a wheelchair?” don’t feel that different as questions, both uncomfortably invasive, and yet other disabled people ask me those sorts of questions about my transition, when I’m out, and other trans people ask me those sorts of questions about my disability when they know about it. I’ve had to work hard to reclaim the right to privacy about my body. Asking someone whether you can help them (and taking no for an answer), or asking someone their preferred pronouns, are far more appropriate than personal questions about somebody else’s body.
(via kittiesinqueerland)
