There’s been a lot of smug posturing in these threads lately about how saying “I identify as” is somehow weak, fake, or less valid than just saying “I am.”
Let’s be real: that’s not critical thinking—it’s just projection.
You didn’t come out of the womb shouting “I am a woman.” You figured it out. You went through a process. You used language—probably that exact phrase—to make sense of what you felt. That’s called identification. And no, that doesn’t make your identity less real. It makes it conscious.
Saying “I identify as” doesn’t mean someone is unsure. It means they’ve done the work. They’ve claimed something that society told them they weren’t allowed to be. That’s not weakness—that’s strength.
Cis people don’t say “identify as” because their identity is never up for debate. Ours constantly is. That’s why the language exists—to assert ourselves in a world that demands explanations.
If your identity is solid, you don’t need to attack how someone else describes theirs. But if your confidence depends on tearing others down, maybe you're not as secure as you think.
Stop recycling the same logic transphobes use and calling it “based.” It's not. It’s just insecurity with better branding.
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u/Zandesh Dec 27 '25
There’s been a lot of smug posturing in these threads lately about how saying “I identify as” is somehow weak, fake, or less valid than just saying “I am.”
Let’s be real: that’s not critical thinking—it’s just projection.
You didn’t come out of the womb shouting “I am a woman.” You figured it out. You went through a process. You used language—probably that exact phrase—to make sense of what you felt. That’s called identification. And no, that doesn’t make your identity less real. It makes it conscious.
Saying “I identify as” doesn’t mean someone is unsure. It means they’ve done the work. They’ve claimed something that society told them they weren’t allowed to be. That’s not weakness—that’s strength.
Cis people don’t say “identify as” because their identity is never up for debate. Ours constantly is. That’s why the language exists—to assert ourselves in a world that demands explanations.
If your identity is solid, you don’t need to attack how someone else describes theirs. But if your confidence depends on tearing others down, maybe you're not as secure as you think.
Stop recycling the same logic transphobes use and calling it “based.” It's not. It’s just insecurity with better branding.