Gender[queer],  Q&A,  Queer[ness]

Q&A: “I am a Muslim who wears hijab and I wanted to know if I have the right to use the label genderfluid to describe myself?”

anonymous said:

I am a Muslim who wears hijab and I wanted to know if I have the right to use the label genderfluid to describe myself? Even though I identify as either male, female, androgynous or something else, I am AFAB and have always presented myself as female, so does this sort of question the validity of my claim as genderfluid? Because I wear hijab all the time, I feel like I can’t claim to be anything but female as many people see hijab as a gender indicator rather than as a religious concept?

anon, you have every right to identify as whatever feels comfortable or right to you. how you present yourself neither validates nor invalidates your identity, regardless of what anyone else thinks or says.

gender identity is one thing, gender (or self) expression is another. for some people, these two things happen to coincide with one another. sadly, people assume that this is the case for everyone even though it most certainly is not.

because people view how you present yourself (and your hijab specifically) as being feminine or female, they will assume that you identify as female. however, they’re the one’s who are mistaken and they have no right to question who you are or how you present yourself.

i know it’s hard not to let what people  say get to you, which then makes you question yourself and the validity of your own feelings and identity, but please try to fight that internalized transphobia and self-doubt.

if identifying as genderfluid feels right to you, even if it doesn’t exactly feel comfortable yet because of self-doubt etc, then identify as genderfluid. even if you end up identifying as something else down the road, own that identity now rather than simply claiming it. make it yours and be confident in who you know yourself to be, identity labels aside. prioritize your comfort both in terms of how you express yourself, your religion and your identity. no one else’s opinion matters.

also, check out this really awesome post that’s among the many posts that i’m eventually going to reblog but haven’t gotten around to yet because ugh.

YouTuber and Blogger, Vesper is an American expat currently living in Japan.

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