Being seen as a man, only until they learn I’m trans, is a violent erasure. It strips transgender men of adulthood, manhood, and safety! All in the same swift breath. This poem, “Stealth Safety,” explores what it means to “pass.” Then to be treated differently the moment you’re not assumed cisgender. Stealth doesn’t equal safety. Don’t forget, some of us never wanted to be seen as cis. Nor are we granted the privilege of being left alone. Others of us refuse to stay silent when the temperature changes.
An original poem by: Axton N.O. Mitchell 9/23/2025
“Stealth Safety”
I am a transgender man.
That one little fact makes men
who see non-men as less than them…
See me as
less than them…
Tell me how in the hell can you
sincerely say
“I am not treated any differently
than a privileged white boy.”
God forbid
you
call me a man.
Your inability to see me,
or the bigger picture when it comes
to intersectionality…
to Identity.
Is your own burden to
tote.
Empathy has always been free!
You may be blind…
That doesn’t make my
experiences
in life any less than
reality!
Passing does not mean free of bigotry.
Safety for me, living
S
T
E
A
L
T
H
doesn’t provide the same
for everyone else.
I could never be
the quiet guy in the back,
sitting in safety never trying,
to stop the “attack”
Passing
is NOT the one
Valid thing in transition.
Your Cis-tem doesn’t define
shit for trans identity.
Say it. Don’t spray it.