“I’m an attack helicopter!” he proclaimed.

“I’m a man-cheetah!” his friend declared.

“What are you two talking about?” they asked.

“You said you’re gender fluid,” said the attack helicopter, “everyone knows there’s only two biological genders.”

“Yeah!” agreed the man-cheetah, “So if you don’t have to be male or female, then I can be a man-cheetah, and he can be an attack helicopter!”

“Oh, great! I’m happy for you,” they said, “let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Um?” stuttered the attack helicopter, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

“It must be pretty hard to identify as an attack helicopter, or a man-cheetah,” they said, “I know I prefer to pronoun ‘they’ and would like to be able to do, or wear things that are considered either masculine and feminine without issue.”

“And I know it seems simple to respect my views and identity, but I get constantly harassed and often physically threatened for it on a daily basis. I can’t even imagine the type of abuse you two get for identifying as an attack helicopter and a man-cheetah,” they said. “So if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I’m not an attack helicopter or a man-cheetah, but I understand what it’s like for people to assume you’re one thing, and then have them get irrationally angry when you ask them identify you as something else.”

Upon hearing this the attack helicopter and the man-cheetah turned away grumbling. For they weren’t really an attack helicopter and a man-cheetah, but rather, they were two cis men that were just too lazy and stubborn to try to understand anything outside their personal experiences.