How old were you when you realized....

[ShawnaB]

I vaguely remember my mom telling me my sister was a girl when I asked her why her body was different than mine at bathtime when I was 3-4ish? 

Later when 8-9 I knew about trans*, androgyny, and intersex, but vividly remember the grownups - or the authoritative - view of it, and locked it all away for far too long. 

Anyway, I'm doing something about it now and while it has it's ups and downs, I couldn't be happier

[Traivs]

Like many other people I knew I was different from a young age. I only recently came out and admitted anything to anyone and started being myself. I was about 7 when I had started asking people about sex change operations and started to get bullied and beat up everyday at school. So i pretended to be a normal girl tried dating guys but it always felt wrong. This year I decided I didn't care if I got harassed anymore and started being myself. I am now 21 and I am so glad i didn't wait any longer.   

[Demiguy]

I knew I was attracted to women around age 10 or so... Didn't even consider trans until just about a year ago and I'm still working on that.

[MiaOhMya!]

I knew I was attracted to women around age 10 or so... Didn't even consider trans until just about a year ago and I'm still working on that.

That seems to be fairly common. My route was :
"i think i was supposed to be a girl" but I cant do anything about it
then it became "maybe I'm just a straight boy" HELL NO that didnt work,
Then "maybe I'm gay?" nope, definitely not.
Then  "maybe I'm genderqueer?" Yep, it helpd but still not quite there yet.
Then "yep I'm a big 'ol ->-bleeped-<- alright so now what?!"
Then "Well, technically now youre interesexed" and therefore "not trans" so what the hell is happening.
Then I realised that trans is likely just a form of being intersexed, and that all labels are self-limiting ->-bleeped-<-e anyway, so back to my permanent home at "Ya I'm just a big 'ol ->-bleeped-<- lez do somethin about this for real!"

It's a winding road, lots of tears and fear. Best wishes on discovering who you are. Please remember you needn't fall into a specific category or label, that's what I tried and it really doesn't work so hot. Labels are for documents and containers.

[Demiguy]

That seems to be fairly common. My route was :
"i think i was supposed to be a girl" but I cant do anything about it
then it became "maybe I'm just a straight boy" HELL NO that didnt work,
Then "maybe I'm gay?" nope, definitely not.
Then  "maybe I'm genderqueer?" Yep, it helpd but still not quite there yet.
Then "yep I'm a big 'ol ->-bleeped-<- alright so now what?!"
Then "Well, technically now youre interesexed" and therefore "not trans" so what the hell is happening.
Then I realised that trans is likely just a form of being intersexed, and that all labels are self-limiting ->-bleeped-<-e anyway, so back to my permanent home at "Ya I'm just a big 'ol ->-bleeped-<- lez do somethin about this for real!"

It's a winding road, lots of tears and fear. Best wishes on discovering who you are. Please remember you needn't fall into a specific category or label, that's what I tried and it really doesn't work so hot. Labels are for documents and containers.

Wow, thanks Mia... that's probably one of the most encouraging things anyone has ever said to me. I feel like a pre-teen trying to figure out what I'm feeling and what's going on all over again... I think I change my mind every day! Back to transmasculine again today... *sigh*

[Peppy]

I don't know. I only realized it was a possibility that I was trans about six months ago (around the time I found susan's.) I'm still not totally sure how I identify but being aware of the fact that I'm of a gender minority is kind of eye opening. It really makes you take a look around you and see how everyone presents themselves. (I'm kind of hesitant to identify as something because I'm still pretty young, but I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough. These years are supposedly the most confusing and frustrating so...and for the most part that's been right for me.)