""It's okay to say you're trans online without having transitioned IRL right?" asks one r/asktransgender poster. "Is it okay to be trans only online?" asks another. No matter how many times newbies ask this question - and they ask it a lot; in terms of overall popularity and frequency of repetition, it's second only to this one - the answer is always "yes.""
"I had an extremely public life elsewhere on the internet, one that was heavily linked to both my real name and my job as a writer, and I was terrified of someone linking the anonymous, almost silent, possibly-trans Reddit user I'd become to the person I was "supposed" to be. Without knowing it, I was taking part in one of my people's time-honored internet traditions."
From late 2019 through summer 2020, the narrator presented as trans only on Reddit, using a pseudonymous profile to seek advice on r/asktransgender and r/ftm. Participation remained quiet: occasional likes and brief supportive comments to avoid any writing patterns or personal details that might reveal identity. A highly public internet presence under the real name and job as a writer prompted fear of being linked to the anonymous account. Reddit communities reassured newcomers that living as trans online without transitioning in real life is common and acceptable. The internet enabled many transition steps through anonymity, although that anonymity increasingly feels illusory.
Read at The Verge
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