I Am a Faerie
Hello, my gender identity is Faerie and I go by Faerie pro-nouns which, for me, are "Fae" or "Faerie" instead of "He" or "She".
I came across this identity through a long and sometimes arduous process that began when I was a small child, assigned female at birth, who would throw tantrums if I could not wear dresses or quote "girly" clothes. At the same time I would argue vehemently with my parents and grandmother that I should be able to do all the things a "boy" gets to do and vise versa, such as taking off my shirt in public to go swimming or because of the heat and play any sport I wanted alongside male-bodied people. I also never understood gender segregated bathrooms and changing areas, which to me just seemed to reinforce the concepts in our society that with certain biology came certain privilege that people with different anatomy weren't able to access no matter how ridiculous.
As I got older I began to truly question my own gender identity and thought about what it meant to me to be a "boy" or a "girl", a "man" or a "woman". I played with my gender a lot, switching my representation back and forth from one gender to the other and not really finding my place in either. Children began asking me whether I was a "boy" or a "girl" and I would answer honestly that I hadn't made up my mind yet.
It didn't occur to me until a few years later, after struggles with homelessness and various family issues led me towards Gender Variant people that gender is all in ones mind. And so I created my own gender.
Faeries had always been, in my mind at least, a sort of femme leaning androgynous creature that embodies all the types of qualities I have and strive for: love, mischief, a connection to the earth and the elements, boldness, light, spirited friendship, good sex, and the ability to make people smile. Plus, an ability to make us question societal norms.
So, I am a Faerie.
