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Outlook: The trans boxer learning the many ways to be a man

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Thomas Page McBee

10/09/2020 GMT

The trans boxer learning the many ways to be a man

BBC World Service - Outlook, The trans boxer learning the many ways to be a man

Thomas Page McBee wanted to understand the relationship between masculinity and violence

Writer Thomas Page McBee spent years exploring masculinity and its relationship to violence. It’s led him into the boxing ring at Madison Square Garden, and a full-on fight.

With only five and a half months of training, Thomas Page McBee became the first transgender man to box at the famous Madison Square Garden arena in New York City. He's an author and journalist by trade so this was quite a departure for him. His journey to that day wasn’t driven by dreams of record-breaking, instead, it was prompted by a desire to better understand the different ways to be a man and specifically the relationship between masculinity and violence. Thomas had grown up with an abusive step-father and he knew he wanted to be different. When he began transitioning from a female to a male body in adulthood he noticed a change in the way the world was treating him. Women were crossing the road when they encountered him walking late at night, rooms fell silent when his deep voice spoke up in conversations, and he was no longer encouraged to hug because “men shake hands”. So in an attempt to learn the many different ways to be a man Thomas set himself a challenge - a boxing match. 

Picture: Thomas Page McBee
Credit: Amos Mac

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