So, for those of us in the 2016 - 2019 cohort, how would you describe the experience or what it was like transitioning then? What are community or culture moments that stood out to you at the time? What are touchpoints for trans subcultures in the era?

I sometimes think of it as the post-“trans tipping point” cohort, given that 2015 was the supposed “trans tipping point” but did genuinely represent a moment of increasing visibility and acceptance in media and in-person communities in many places. We also had much easier access to trans healthcare as WPATH and health systems/insurance companies lowered the gatekeeping barriers to accessing HRT and other care (though surgeries were still being fought over frequently). It was also maybe the peak of certain trans social media spaces and discourse, and Trans Lit in the English speaking world was beginning to finally break out of being a niche area of literature to something cis people also read and engaged with.

@JoscelynTransient I actually delayed coming out and accepting myself partially because I'd firmly gotten the impression that the only trans women out there were already married with children. It seemed to me that to be trans (or to have an acc't on Laura's Playground) you needed to have lived an entire life before coming out. It wasn't until I started surfing Tumblr that I realized you can be a kid and know for absolute certain what's going on with you.

In 2015 my main support network was on IRC. I might call this the #girlslikeus era, which is a term I haven't seen much online at all recently, but I still use IRL all the time: "She's a girl like me."