February 16, 2017   119 notes

Grumpy-TG On: Transformation Going Viral

grumpy-tg:

It’s been one hell of a day for the TF community, and despite my specialty being of the visual sort, I have taken it upon myself to make a short post here regarding some of the recent events.  For those of you who still aren’t aware, a good friend of mine, Sortimid just took the brunt of a massively unwarranted attack from the internet regarding one of their recent commissioned pieces.  The source of the attack was quite simply: misinformation.  Many people who viewed the work out of context inferred a message, and a tone that they believed reflected poorly on the artist.  Eventually it came to light that the artwork is in fact erotica, and some of the outrage has died down.  

Philip DeFranco, whom many of you are probably familiar with, recently posted a video where he examines the situation, and makes a brief foray into the realms of transformation art.  Many of my own pieces were featured in the video, and I do want to make this statement, as I will undoubtedly be receiving a lot of traffic from the larger internet community in the coming days.  

Firstly I really just want to talk about fetishes in general.  It is my own belief that we fetishize what we cannot have, what we wish for, what we were raised to find inappropriate, and what we fear.

At this point, I’m going to move to talking about my own art and thematic material, as I feel more qualified to do so.   I do receive a lot of concerned questions regarding “transphobia.”  I think that a lot of these come from the belief that we fetishize what we fear, and also the misconception that I am misogynistic in my agenda.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  We like what we like, and there are two main groups of people who regularly view my work.  A major portion of these viewers do identify as transgender, or are unsure of their own gender identities.  They view the work as an escapist reality, or a fantasy.  Others view my work purely from an erotic standpoint, and as a non-binary individual who is also interested in the erotic nature of the subject, I cater to both of these groups.  

That’s right.  I’m trans.  

This leads me into a long-winded explanation of why I do what I do.  I am a firm believer that many of those who fetishize M-F or F-M (Male to Female / Female to Male) transformations, like myself, were brought up in an environment where the media, our peers, and our families taught us that being transgender was wrong or inappropriate, and so many of us grew up hiding our identity or kink for fear of ridicule and punishment.  

In my own childhood I began to question my gender identity and sexuality at an early age, and when I finally began to search for these things on the internet, there wasn’t a lot to be had.  There still isn’t but, as I have grown, and eventually joined this community as an artist, I have marveled as the TG/TF community has grown and flourished.  I like to believe that more youngsters curious about their own identities, will have an easier time finding and learning about these subjects that have been seen as taboo for so long. (If you are under 18 please view my gallery with caution.  Some material may be inappropriate)

 So, transformation going viral might seem like a terrible, terrible thing for those of us who have been, and will likely continue to be attacked for what we do, but in the long run I see this as a wonderful opportunity to begin to normalize transformation.  Sure, we have been comfortable under our rocks here, and in the shadows of the internet, but I firmly believe that we are slowly paving the way for a new generation of non-binary, curious, and boundary pushing individuals.  The path to progress is a difficult one, but I am really blown away by the support and caring messages that I have received both recently and in the past. It really means the world to me that even in such a strange way, I can make a positive difference.  So wether you’re ten, or ninety nine years old, I encourage you to explore the unknown, feel compassion for those around you, and make this word a more accepting place.  

You guys mean the world to me.  Thanks for reading.  

(via grumpy-tg-deactivated20181209)

  1. thedepravityofgwen reblogged this from sortimid