A trans man claims he "gained privilege" after transitioning and is treated better now than when he lived as a woman - despite "daily transphobic online comments".<br /><br />Samuel Giardina, 24, came out as transgender in 2020 aged 21 - after previously thinking he was a bisexual female.<br /><br />He came out to his family and close friends, started testosterone, cut off his long hair, changed his name - from Samantha - and adopted male pronouns.<br /><br />He had top surgery so he could finally bin the chest binders - and he has never looked back.<br /><br />Samuel says an unexpected part of his transition is he "gained male privilege" -compared to when he was still living as a woman.<br /><br />He said as a woman, people would constantly talk over him, objectify him and he didn't feel safe walking home at night - and now it's the complete opposite.<br /><br />Samuel, a self-employed photographer, from Berlin, Connecticut, US, said: "In high school I came out as bisexual then I came out as a lesbian in college, but something still felt off.<br /><br />"I did some research on the transgender community and realised that was who I was.<br /><br />"I realised I needed to stop caring what others thought, and do what made me happy.<br /><br />"Three years on, I am at a point where I'm happy with myself and I'm confident for the first time in my life.<br /><br />"One thing I talk about is how I experienced all the things a woman experienced including sexism - and now it's so different being a man.<br /><br />"I have gained male privilege but I can still relate to a lot of the things my female friends go through - it's very humbling."<br /><br />In high school, Samuel had come out as bisexual before coming out as lesbian and getting a girlfriend at university - but realised the label "still didn't really fit".<br /><br />He revealed how he felt to his close friends and family in November 2019 - who were all shocked but supportive.<br /><br />He said: "I was scared but I asked myself ‘if I could come out tomorrow and it didn’t matter to anyone else in the world, how would I want to live my life?'.<br /><br />"The answer was to transition."<br /><br />In April 2020, during the pandemic, Samuel took the next step and started on testosterone.<br /><br />In July that year, he legally changed his name to Samuel and began to shop in the men's section.<br /><br />He said: "I finally felt able to express myself.<br /><br />"It’s a very surreal feeling to finally look at yourself and think ‘that's who I'm supposed to be’."<br /><br />Samuel's next step in January 2021 was to get top surgery - having his breasts surgically removed.<br /><br />He said: "I remember seeing my chest for the first time after surgery - I broke down sobbing.<br /><br />"After that I started to really see myself, looking in the mirror was so different.<br /><br />"It was so nice to not have to worry about binding, it was just a huge step in my journey."<br /><br />Samuel now feels confident for the first time in his life.<br /><br />But one of the most unexpected things about his transition was discovering the true privilege men have in society, he said.
