The Complexity Black Trans Masculine Folks & Black Trans Men Face

Isolation isn’t a personal flaw. It stems from the complexity of masculinity/manhood, blackness and transness.  Black trans masculine folks and Black trans men have to navigate anti-blackness, transphobia and the double edge sword of manhood/masculinity.  Because we can't find mental health care, community, peer support, friends, or family to help us navigate this complexity. Out of frustration, we may give up and avoid seeking the help we need, which pushes us into isolation and loneliness.   This episode opens up a frank, unhurried conversation about how black trans masculine folks and black trans men are pushed into avoidance and loneliness. 

We talk through the double-edged nature of masculinity and manhood: punished as toxic when it conforms, dismissed as weak when it refuses harm. The different factors that contribute to avoidance, isolation, and loneliness; and how forced conformity by the larger society through legislation and violence damages our mental health.

If you’ve felt alone inside complexity, this episode offers language and understanding in a way we as Black trans masculine folks and Black trans men don't hear often. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more people find care that affirms who they are.

Transcript

Mission And Focus

Speaker 0:00

Welcome to the Band of Brothers Mental Health Podcast, where the focus is on the mental health and well-being of black trans masc and trans men and black trans joy. The podcast is a mix of solo episodes focused on improving the mental health and well-being of black trans masks and trans men, interviews with black trans masks and trans men, sharing the mental health journey, tips for improving their mental health and well-being, their mental health struggles, and how they are overcoming them. And also interviews with mental health professionals, therapists, community health workers, and organizations trained in and focused on gender from their mental health care. The podcast was started because 60% of young black trans mass consider suicide according to a research study by the Trevor Project. And 45% of black trans men consider suicide according to the Williams Institute. When I'm questioned or receive pushback, Why just focusing on black trans masc trans men. I cite these two statistics. The podcast will also talk about the importance of peer support groups by Band of Brothers to find their mental health and well-being through social support for black trans masv, trans men, and what that will look like. The podcast encourages getting gender-affirming professional mental health care from a licensed gender-affirming mental health therapist and participate in peer support groups like Band of Brothers. The podcast does not provide mental health care nor diagnosis. The podcast does not condone ostracizing or isolating those who are diagnosed and/or suffer from any form of mental health conditions. The podcast tries to be a safe and healing space. The podcast is educational, provides tips and resources to improve mental health and wellness. The topics the podcast covers may be triggering. Therefore, listen at your own discretion. If you are suicidal or suffer from suicidal ideation, call Trans Lifeline 877-565-8860. Black Line 800-604-5841. Thrive Lifeline, which you can text at 313-662-8209, and or the Travel Project 866-488-7396.

Community Shoutouts And Welcome

Roots Of Isolation And Loneliness

Double-Edged Masculinity

Systems, Stigma, And Erasure

Building Support And Courage

Closing And How To Support

Speaker 1 2:23

Hey, welcome to the Band of Brothers Mental Health Podcast, focused on the mental health and well-being of black trans masculine folks and black trans men. I'm your host, Solomon. But before I start, I want to give a shout out to new listeners in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Uless, Texas, Glen Burney, Maryland, East Point, Florida, Horm, Utah, Cold Spring, New York, Marseille, Bush, Duron, France, and Singapore. Welcome to community. I would also like to shout out our current community of committed and loyal listeners. Appreciate you. Listen, follow, and subscribe to the podcast, share the podcast with other black trans masculine folks and black trans men. We need to share the information and support one another in our collective mental health. Now it's time to begin the episode. As black trans masculine folks and black trans men, we may suffer from isolation and loneliness due to several factors. Current social groups may not agree nor understand our decision to transition. We may have a formal mental health diagnosis, lack of social status. We are in various stages of transition, sexual orientation, we don't adhere to traditional definitions of masculinity, manhood, or because we do uphold these traditional definitions, some of us are just as impacted. The current political climate, which has been hostile to trans folks in general, anti-blackness and transphobia. We may avoid mental health care because we may feel that therapists do not understand the stress of being black, trans, and masculine andor man. Blackness and transness is seen as expendable and as a deviation from societal norms. Masculinity and manhood can be a double-edged sword. It can be seen as toxic as social norms are adhered to andor too soft if it doesn't support traditional masculinity manhood. Society tries to fix us, diagnose us, ignore us, control us, or erase us. But no one tries to help us navigate this complexity, which leads us to avoidance, isolation, and loneliness. Our blackness and our transness is the focus, not our humanity. Finding support groups, therapists, community, peer support, family, loved ones, friends who can help us navigate everyday life and deal with the stress of living in a society hostile to blackness, transness, and masculinity, andor men can be overwhelming to the point. We give up and isolate ourselves, perpetuating the cycle of avoidance, isolation, and loneliness. We avoid relationships, community, family, and sometimes other trans folks because some aspect of ourselves is constantly questioned, constantly judged, legislated against, and sometimes violently protested. Society doesn't do well with complexity. It is believed and preached that legislation and violence is needed to restore order and adhere to a perceived normal normalcy in order to dominate, live in abundance, and give the persona of unity at the expense of the mental, physical, and emotional health of those who fall outside of this societal ethos. Black folks, black trans folks, black LGBQI folks, trans folks, LGBQI folks, indigenous and two-spirit folks, and others not mentioned know this all too well. On a micro level, black trans masculine folks and black trans men are affected uniquely because masculinity and manhood again can be a double-edged sword, especially if you are black, masculine, andor man. We face the same challenges, black folks and black men who are not trans faced, but sometimes are not allowed solidarity with the black community nor black men because of shaming and not having the capacity to deal with another thing thrown at them by white society, by the black community, or by black men in general. Societal pressors within and without causes us to be placed in a vicious cycle of avoidance, isolation, and loneliness. We also deal with unrealistic expectations, excuse me, with the black trans community and other black, trans masculine folks and black trans men. If we don't have the courage to face these issues, to build community support, to address these issues, and peer support to overcome these issues, our collective mental health will continue to suffer. We will consider, continue to see the high rates of suicide ideation among young black trans men and black trans masculine folks, and black trans men and black trans masculine folks in general. And we will continue to be trapped in the endless cycle of avoidance, isolation, and loneliness. This concludes episode two, season two of the Band of Brothers Mental Health Podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, become a paid subscriber or supporter. The information is in the show notes. Music production is awesome by TransManda Search of Media. Again, thank you for listening and thank you for supporting Independent Black Trans Podcasts. Thank you.