I know that it has significant meaning to me but I struggle putting it into words to explain it to other people (especially other dya cis people). So like a few years ago I was thinking about if I may be trans femme. I have since realised that no, actually I was just struggling with it for a while because I don’t relate to the gender roles and expectations society puts on men. I now identify more strongly with being a man than ever before, and I love being a man in a gender-way. I just absolutely hate being a man in a “what role men have in society”-way.
Do you think we could use ethnicity as an analogy? For example, one “ethnicity role” might be that Asians are supposed to own little convenience stores like Kim’s Convenience, or something. That “ethnicity role” is completely ridiculous and shouldn’t exist, but ethnic identity itself should/does exist, and some people will more readily practice their ethnic identities than others.
Interesting comparison!