FAQs.

A: Yes! Community knowledge is invaluable, and I'm so grateful when people take the time to reach out with recommendations of media that I'd otherwise not find. At the moment the site is being reworked, and options to get in contact will be back once the changes are finalised.

A: I got tired of reviews which claimed to recommend great trans movies, but inevitably just amounted to a bunch of trans female movies and Boys Don't Cry (1999). I got tired of trans men consistently taking a backseat, whenever trans media was discussed, and knew that I needed to carve out a space where trans male media was actually prioritised... I was even more motivated in this mission when I watched Disclosure (2020) and found it profoundly lacking in terms of trans male media and chest binding depictions.

Trans men have always suffered from invisibility, erasure, and isolation. In the interview titled Then and Now, you can listen to two older trans men talk about their experiences. Dale, one of the men, describes trying to transition back when trans men simply weren't believed to exist. The local medical opinion, at that time, was that trans women were the only trans people. That's one root of trans male invisibility, echoed worldwide through the erasure of trans men and the damaging hypervisibility of trans women; a double-edged sword for all involved.

Things are changing and trans men are getting more visibility nowadays, which is good. Nonetheless, this is a little corner of the internet where trans male media can actually take centre stage. We have so much history. Before I started building this site, I mistakenly believed that there were two, maybe three, films about trans men, and I don't want other trans guys feeling that way. We should not be feeling as if we have no history, or our history does not matter.

A: In all likelihood, I just haven't heard about it yet. Either that, or it's on my long list of media to review, and I'll get to it soon.

A: For now, I'm simply dedicating this site to films, shows, documentaries, interviews, talking head videos, and games.

A: This is a site primarily devoted to trans men, hence the title. That being said, I have always felt a kinship with all AFAB trans people (especially masculine folks), even though my journey has coalesced into a binary female-to-male transsexual experience. An important part of my journey, earlier on, was engaging with media like Break Free (2014) and Tomboy (2011), which are also deeply significant for many AFAB non-binary people and butches. I adore the solidarity I found in those early years, and I also recognise that non-binary people and certain butches were negatively impacted by those films (due to the traumatising scenes in Tomboy and Ruby Rose's unsafe chest binding), as I was too. Trans men come first on this site, but this is also a space for all AFAB trans and gender-diverse people. Our journeys are unique, but we are united in so many ways, including being impacted by irresponsible media. For a deeper understanding of the language I use on this site, and why I have included certain identities, see this page.

A: No, I'm not against chest binding. I'm against unsafe binding and media which puts my community at risk. That's why I'm always on the lookout for media which shows people binding with bandages or duct tape, for example. See this page for more details.

I am aware that binding is never completely safe, and is not a natural way for the body to be compressed. I have also experienced body dysphoria firsthand and greatly benefitted from risk-aware binding prior to surgery. Ultimately, we need plentiful objective, science-based, well-conducted studies on the risks associated with binding, because we shouldn't solely rely on community knowledge... which, while valuable, is subjective anecdotal evidence.

A: Not inherently, insofar as it is used by people (myself included) who identify with that term and consider it validating of their experience. See this page for more information.

I capitalise ethnicity/race descriptors because they are proper adjectives, and to differentiate colour descriptors ("a black cat") from identity descriptors ("a Black American trans man"). I mention the ethnicity/race of actors and interviewees when it's known, and I've been able to find that information somehow. Otherwise I avoid assuming.

A: Nope. Not a dime. This is a labour of love, and a productive outlet for my frustration related to the erasure of trans men.

A: This is a website for media reviews. I am not a doctor, psychologist, endocrinologist, or medical researcher. Once the contact section is back, questions about hotly-debated trans topics won't be answered. This is partly because I usually don't have an answer, period, but also because I am not qualified to provide a medical opinion of any substance. One of the worst things on the internet is when laypeople claim insight beyond their lived experience, and I do not intend to do that. If you ask me to offer guidance related to the medical decisions of yourself or someone you know, you will be met with firm refusal and an encouragement to seek actual medical support which is appropriate, safe, and culturally-appropriate in your circumstances. Just because I am a trans man does not mean I am a medical expert. That's why, even on a media review site, I frequently clarify that all reviews are my own opinions only... and, on the page discussing chest binding, I've deliberately included disclaimers about the limits of my knowledge.