‘When the right deploys cringe to control trans assimilation, trans people cringe at each other.’ ‘Not transitioning is often an act of agency, and should be respected as such. Not transitioning is often derided as a form of cowardice; but in life, it usually means that someone has decided what they can and cannot afford based on other factors such as race, class, ability, and their own mental health. But it is also true that many people actively want medical transition either don’t pursue or avoid it because they feel they don’t deserve it. Only the non-cringe trans people do.’

To be perceived is very clocky; and yet we transition to be perceived. Trans people have a dysphoric relation to perception: we want and fear it at the same time. Do you think I’m hot? Please do not perceive me. No wonder being clocked often gets expressed via metaphors around sight. TERFs do not “see” us as our gender. If you can pass at work, then you’re “stealth.”