u/Targetstarbucks

What are the prices looking like for sweatshirts, t-shirts, swim shirts, magnets, etc. when you’re on the ship? I’ve watched some YouTube videos and they take you through the shop but I wasn’t able to see prices of anything. I’m sailing in September and looking to get a general idea of what I’ll be spending for souvenirs! Thanks in advance! 🙂

I have a friend who is a transgender man in his late 20s. He transitioned shortly after high school and spent years living openly and proudly as a trans man. His family accepted him, his friends knew who he was, and his social media reflected that reality. His Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok included transition photos, videos documenting his journey, and posts discussing his experiences as a trans person. His identity was never something he was ashamed of.

But then everything changed after he began dating the woman who is now his wife. At the beginning of their relationship, she presented herself as someone who had previously dated trans men and claimed his being trans was not an issue for her. Some of her friends even followed him on social media and were aware of his transition history.

However, only a few months into the relationship, all traces of his transition disappeared from his social media. Photos, videos, and posts documenting his journey were removed. Family photos from his childhood began disappearing from his Facebook profile whenever relatives tagged him. Friends who asked questions were met with straight up denial and lies. When people who had seen his transition content asked his wife about it, she claimed “he wasn’t transgender and those photos and videos were just tributes to a deceased cousin of his”.

Since then, he has been completely pushed back into the closet. For the past three and a half years, he has not publicly acknowledged being trans. He no longer attends Pride events, speaks about trans issues, or displays any connection to the trans community… despite those things previously being very important parts of his life and identity. The situation became even more complicated after they got married. Three months into the marriage, his wife became pregnant with twins. Publicly, she presented the pregnancy as though he had biologically fathered the children. Different stories were told to different groups of people. Some family members were reportedly told the couple conceived through IVF, while others were led to believe the pregnancy happened naturally (her family was told it happened naturally & his family was told they went through IVF - neither family lives close to each other so the stories never conflicted). People close to the situation actually know the twins are the result of an affair she had with a guy friend of hers. That guy friend doesn’t know her husband is trans so he never questioned whether or not he was the father of the babies.

Regardless of the circumstances, my friend supported her throughout the pregnancy and has raised the twins as his own since birth. By all accounts he loves those children and has fully embraced the role as their dad. What makes the situation particularly more sad is that this is not the first time he has experienced betrayal in a relationship. His first marriage ended after his wife cheated on him. His second marriage ended the same way after years of helping raise her children from a previous marriage. Now in his third marriage, he appears to be with someone who not only cheats (it’s still actively happening) on him but also seems deeply uncomfortable with his identity as a transgender man. From the outside it looks as though he has accepted this situation because this is wife number three. Everyday he works hard to be a supportive husband and dad and provide anything he can. Yet there remains a lingering sadness in watching someone who once lived so openly and authentically become increasingly more invisible. Anytime I see him his demeanor is what I can only describe as down or sort of bummed out. He went from being full of life to always seeming down.

Adding another layer to the situation, it later came out that his wife had dated other transgender men before him. However, those relationships reportedly followed a similar pattern: she was uncomfortable being seen publicly with them and appeared ashamed of their identities. And it’s not like her family is super religious, judgmental, or would disown her… her family is actually chill and it’s HER that has the issue with herself. So it’s just really complicated and makes me feel sad. With it being June and Pride approaching once again… I find myself thinking about him. Four years ago Pride was something he openly celebrated. Today, he cannot even publicly acknowledge a fundamental part of who he is. More than anything, I feel sad watching someone who was once so confident in his identity seemingly disappear from public view. Maybe one day he’ll be able to go to Pride with my wife and I again… but until then, does anybody have any opinions on this sad situation? I tried being as sensitive to the issues as I possible could be and I’m sorry if I didn’t use the right language. 😔