Little things you can't do because of being trans/andro/genderqueer

[Alex37]

I was just thinking about this earlier today.  I have been wanting to join a club or organization at my university, so I can meet people and put something on my resume.  Every club on the list was either something in which I have absolutely no interest, or is something that would be difficult to participate in since I'm pre-T and trans.  Then I noticed a flyer for a study abroad program in Spain for next summer, and realized that I won't be able to change my legal name or start T before then, and I don't want to travel while my gender appears to be in limbo.

Also, I hate binding, and I wish I could go swimming.  And I'm apathetic about dating because I know I'll have to out myself, and gay cis guys usually aren't interested in trans guys. 

[blake]

Peeing at the urinal. Pre-surgery, it wouldn't matter how well you passed. I have strong doubts an STP device would go unnoticed.

Haven't been swimming in years. Miss it. But being forced into the female changing areas, and then into female swimming gear, is an absolute nightmare.

[darknavy]

I wanna join the army.

[Jayne]

Like most people here i'd love to be able to go swimming but even though i'm still male I couldn't go into a mens changing room without feeling like a fraud & a pervert.
Swimming would be great for my asthma but i'll have to wait a few years before I can take the plunge.

I also hate seeing attractive men as i'm constantly afraid that they'll notice how i'm looking at them & take offence.

This isn't a little thing & it's tearing me apart right now. I can't keep my dog because I can't afford a big enough place with the upcoming costs of elecrolysis, travel to appointments in London & a new wardrobe.
In exacly 2 weeks he's going to my ex girlfriend when I move to a shared house, i'll still be able to visit him whenever I want but it wont be the same going to bed each night with him taking up 3/4 of the bed whilst I hang on to the edge.

Here's some pictures of my dog on my facebook profile http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.145458425493142.17809.100000869560195&l=7bba9fb6c2&type=1
I don't know what my security settings are for photos being viewed so if you need to send a friend request to view them then please include a message saying that you are from this forum, I tend to ignore friend requests from people I dont know.

[Lily]

Swimming is a big one for me too.

I *never* took my shirt off when I swam, I never felt comfortable going bare chested. I would come up with these elaborate plans whereby I could keep my clothes on and swim without drawing much attention. The most successful one would be to sit by the pool with my feet in the water and wait for my friend to sneak up and push me in (which he loved to do) and then I'd say "oh no, my clothes are all wet... well since they're wet no point in taking them off now."

[Jayne]

Lily, I covered my discomfort with stripping off as a child by saying that I didn't like people seeing my excema.

I avoided the problem of changing for school sports by having my parents write a note excusing me from all PE lessons due to exercise aggravating my skin, whilst others were running around sweating I would pass the time with my head in a book.

[Nemo]

Being able to walk around the house topless. Or sit at my laptop (the window looks into those across the road), let alone walk down the street like that Damn house-mates/goldfish bowl of a house.

Also, peeing in the gents is still a bit of a problem. Work's fine, but when out with a friend recently, I came across the lack of lock on door - or just no door - for the first time. Was a harsh reminder to practice with the Peecock, or at least remember the Snee-kee next time

Oh yes, and wearing form-fitting shirts. I love them, but until I get the twin peaks flattened, I have to hide in baggy shirts.

[Kentrie]

1. Not being able to produce sperm
2. Not being able to get who I want
3. Not being able to walk around shirtless. It kills me when cis guys walk around without their shirts on.
4. Not being able to use a urinal.
5. Not being able to join the army and be in special forces
6. Not being called "he" 98% of the time.

[blake]

A couple of armies (e.g. British, Canadian) let you join if you're trans. I strongly hope that more armies will adopt this attitude in the future.

AFAIK, you need to fulfil the eligibility requirements of your gender, e.g. FTM must fulfil the male requirements.

[Jasper]

A couple of armies (e.g. British, Canadian) let you join if you're trans. I strongly hope that more armies will adopt this attitude in the future.

AFAIK, you need to fulfil the eligibility requirements of your gender, e.g. FTM must fulfil the male requirements.

That's interesting. I never knew that. I'm going to be a half Canadian citizen soon so that means I could actually enlist haha you just kinda made my day!

[JungianZoe]

That's interesting. I never knew that. I'm going to be a half Canadian citizen soon so that means I could actually enlist haha you just kinda made my day!

Which half are you nationalizing?

Er... I couldn't resist.

But on the topic at hand, the biggest one for me is dating.  Sure wish I could find someone and date, but I'm way too upset about my body.  And I could never get close to anyone with the parts I still (unfortunately) have.

[Zelane]

I miss swimming a lot, ever since puberty started swimming became a no-no for me. Things will improve once surgery its done for sure (and once I lost a LOT of weight)

[blake]

That's interesting. I never knew that. I'm going to be a half Canadian citizen soon so that means I could actually enlist haha you just kinda made my day!

Here's the information if you're interested:
http://blogout.justout.com/?p=25100

It made my day, and I ain't even Canadian!

[Jasper]

Which half are you nationalizing?

Er... I couldn't resist.

But on the topic at hand, the biggest one for me is dating.  Sure wish I could find someone and date, but I'm way too upset about my body.  And I could never get close to anyone with the parts I still (unfortunately) have.

I'm becoming partially Canadian. I'm from the US.

I like the new avatar, btw.

@Blake: Thanks!

[Nemo]

Looking back at the original post, I realise I forgot to mention a positive thing about my situation.

Whoops, knew I forgot something

Positive aspects of transitioning? Confidence. Even without the other surgeries, I feel so much more able to stand up for myself, go out etc. - I even have a social life these days! That never happened before!