this post was submitted on 24 May 2025
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Greentext

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This is a place to share greentexts and witness the confounding life of Anon. If you're new to the Greentext community, think of it as a sort of zoo with Anon as the main attraction.

Be warned:

If you find yourself getting angry (or god forbid, agreeing) with something Anon has said, you might be doing it wrong.

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[–] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 51 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I’m not familiar with modern slang. Boy/girlmode, is that when someone is pretending to be their original gender or when they’re trying to put themselves fully in their gender mindspace?

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 62 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Moding, be it boy or girl, is presenting as that gender, regardless of internal gender.

As an example, a trans woman may sometimes choose to present masculine for whatever reason. That would be boymode.

However, a trans man choosing to present masculine is also boymode.

Obviously, it would follow that non binary people or gender fluid people would also be able to choose to present masculine and thus go boymode.

The term exists as an expression of presentation, regardless of birth assigned gender, or genital/gonad configuration at the time of moding.

I'm cishet male, and could girlmode if I so choose, as the term does exist within that frame of reference as well, albeit rarely. It isn't even about passing; my giant bearded self could still girlmode, and it would be an accurate usage of the term still.

That's actually part of what the greentext implies; the Lord of that realm isn't passing, but is still boymoding, and his subjects respect that once they're made aware of it.

That all being said, it is rarer to see the term used when presenting as your affirmed gender. It would typically only be used when presenting as your assigned gender. It's also unusual to see it happen once someone is well into transition as there's less and less point in moding assigned gender.

The caveat in that is that it is a slang term. It may not be used exactly the same everywhere, or even reliably so in the same locale. I've known people that reject it applying to anyone that's cis, as it isn't the same thing for a cis person to present as a different gender than their assigned one. There's a totally separate set of social mores around it, and that does matter. It's also fairly rare for cis folks to present as other than their cis gender, and it wouldn't be for the same reasons. But I have heard and seen it used in that context, so I included it here to be thorough.

[–] Peruvian_Skies@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Thanks for the comprehensive lesson. Not living in an English-speaking country, I was utterly confused.

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 hours ago

No worries at all :)

[–] Phen@lemmy.eco.br 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In the greentext itself I got quite confused with the multiple pronouns and terms. I'm still not sure if it's meant to be a trans women who's saying that they are out in their assigned gender, or just a trans men.

My confusion comes from the fact that they seemed to appreciate being called "ladyship" but then mention they are in boymode.

[–] Star@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

It's a trans woman who is excited to be seen as her true self, despite the fact that she was attempting to look like a man. The humor in this comes from the fact that this is a normal experience for modern trans people, and when it happens absent of danger it is cause for celebration. This is 'male failing' and most trans women would be thrilled if it happened to them.

[–] ComicalMayhem@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago

oh I totally misread it. I thought "lord's entourage" included Lord and Lady, instead of it being the lady herself but she was just boymoding. was very confused.

[–] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Would cis male drag queens would an example of girl moding by a cis person?

I've used the term, but never really considered it's edges, if you know what I mean

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Drag is such a specific thing, I don't know if most of it would count tbh.

Stage drag is as much an art performance as anything else. It's an exaggeration of feminine presentation. I wouldn't argue or fuss if someone said it was girlmode, but I don't think of it that way usually.

However! There are performers, and non performers, that "serve real fish". While that term is contentious, it's a distinct part of drag; and it's about presenting in such a way as to directly mimic standard feminine presentation rather than the exaggerated and performative side. So it would definitely count, imo.

[–] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"serve real fish"

Been around a lot of drag queens, my ex used to do make up at a gay club. Never heard that one.

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 3 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Really? Tbh, I'm old as fuck, so it may not be a thing in drag slang any more. It's been something like eight or nine years since I've even been to a show.

But, back as far as the early naughties, when I was still working, it was at least still in circulation locally. Was talking to a friend that used to do a killer Tina Turner set, and he was complaining about women, as in cis women, wanting to do drag. He said "I heard of serving real fish, but they taking it too far".

Coulda sworn ru paul got a bit of backlash for using it as well.

[–] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 2 points 22 hours ago

I'm 34, but I was only really active within that community when I was dating that guy, so about 5 years or so between 2010-2015

[–] Phen@lemmy.eco.br 30 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Modern? It's over 800 years old.

[–] tauren@lemm.ee 15 points 1 day ago

You don't need to make us feel old, jeez.

[–] Asidonhopo@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

I've always seen the former but I suppose it could be either