DYING IN LA | WHY DON'T WE SICKFICS

GENDER DYSPHORIA - zach

Regular high school au

Semi based off song "the village" by Wrabel

They're all the same age btw

(Definition if you don't already know what it is)

Gender Dysphoria is the distress a person experiences as a result of the person's assigned gender at birth. (The assigned sex and gender do not match the person's gender identity)

I kinda took two definitions and put them together to make more sense. Hope that did make sense.

—

It was hard accepting yourself for who you were when no one else around you did. When something in your head constantly told you no, something isn't right.

It took Zach awhile to figure out what that something was.

The ideas and beliefs of his family being shoved down his throat at every waking moment was one of the things that took him so long.

The mindset that the world was divided into males and females and a relationship was between a male and a female and nothing else. The thought that what body part you were assigned at birth defined your gender identity and who you were and how you acted and how you dressed. 

It wasn't until Zach's tenth birthday when he was forced into a beautiful dress from his parents that he thought something was wrong. It wasn't until he was twelve did he actually figure it out.

And now, at sixteen, Zach was getting tired.

Having to hide who you were was exhausting. Day in, day out–told who you were was wrong. And all by the people who were supposed to love and support you no matter what.

Zach had never thought that there wasn't something wrong with him, that there wasn't something wrong in the village.

Standing in front of his mirror Sunday morning before church, Zach stared at a body that didn't belong to him.

His chest was too big, his hips were too wide, his arms were too scrawny—he couldn't stand looking at himself. How could no else see that nothing was right?

"Zoe! Are you almost ready? We're leaving in twenty minutes!" Zach quickly wiped the tear falling down his face, turning to the bathroom door as his mom knocked on the door.

"Yeah, mom." Zach's voice cracked, him quickly clearing his throat as he tried not to show he was upset.

"Good. We'll all be waiting downstairs. Wear the dress I laid out on your bed! And do something with that hair!"

"Whatever." Zach whispered to himself, frowning at his reflection.

"What did you say?" Myta yelled through the door, Zach huffing out in frustration at his mothers persisting need to always pick a fight with him. It was exhausting.

"I said okay!" He yelled at her, irritation creeping up on him to longer he stared at himself. The longer he looked, the more frustrated he became with what he saw. The more things he could point out that were wrong.

Zach pulled at his hair with a frown as he heard his mother walk away, mumbling to herself about his attitude. Sighing, he pulled it back and wrapped it up at the base of his neck, desperately wanting to cut it as it wouldn't do what he wanted. He'd never do that, though. His parents were already upset he cut it shoulder length, he can't even imagine what they'd do if he got rid of the rest.