That’s definitely an important distinction, and I’ve seen some folks in a Reddit post on my essay having a similar discussion.

Ultimately, my experience is a fairly specific one in the trans community due to my queerness manifesting so early in life.

All TERF arguments are ultimately irrelevant, self-contradicting, and antifeminist. Their assertion that male socialization or masculinity in trans woman invalidates their womanhood is such a bizarre take. Cis women are frequently masculine, and some even experience masculine socialization as children (the old “my dad wanted a boy so I was taught to play baseball” trope), but they’re still very much women.

However we were socialized, it shouldn’t be a point of shame. We are not in control of how society decides we should be socialized, and whether or not we aligned with that socialization doesn’t inherently validate or invalidate anything about our lives and experiences.