30 day genderqueer challenge

[Julian]

12) Discuss your relationship with the term transgender

As Pica Pica said, it does the job. My gender doesn't align with my birth sex, so I'm transgender. I don't feel overall positively or negatively toward the word. It's a decent descriptor, albeit a vague one.

13) How has your family taken it or how might they take it?

They've taken it very well overall. I haven't asked for a different name or pronouns, though my mom has started referring to me with ungendered or less-gendered words (child instead of daughter, for one). My parents paid for half of my top surgery, though I plan on slowly starting to pay them back soon. My extended family doesn't know. I don't really plan on telling them; I just dress and act how I normally do and if they want to ask they can ask. *shrug*

[Pica Pica]

13) How has your family taken it or how might they take it?

Quote from my Dad, 'We love to hear you laughing and enjoy your unique take on life.  You are a one-off character and I take much pleasure and joy in that'.

Though they feel that I am talented and under achieving given the talent I have, so it's not all sunshine and roses. I try and explain that I am not all that talented and I am doing my best towards my goals, but they aren't convinced.

[suzifrommd]

13) How has your family taken it or how might they take it?

Parents are gone, so family for me is wife, kids and sister.

Sister said, you are probably just getting in touch with your feminine side. I haven't raised it with her since then.

Haven't told son. He's going away for 8 weeks to camp, so I get a bit of a reprieve there. Don't really know the right way to come out to him.

Mentioned casually to my daughter that I consider myself part woman. She didn't think this was anything remarkable.

Wife: Ugh. She was initially very supportive, but then got annoyed at me for bringing it up when she had a school project due. When I asked her whether I should have kept it to myself, she said yes, sparking a bit of discussion. Since then she's been treating it as it doesn't exist, though she has been very supportive of efforts to expand my social horizons and to go to a gender identity support group.

[Jamie D]

Day 13

13) How has your family taken it or how might they take it?

Good thing I am not triskaidekaphobic!

My life-partner has been aware since we met of my bigendered feelings.  She has helped me when I was particularly dysphoric, with things like "roll reversal" play, and such.  I never insisted on strict gender rolls for our kids, so they grew up willing to tolerate and experiment.

[Jamie D]

13) How has your family taken it or how might they take it?

Quote from my Dad, 'We love to hear you laughing and enjoy your unique take on life.  You are a one-off character and I take much pleasure and joy in that'.

Though they feel that I am talented and under achieving given the talent I have, so it's not all sunshine and roses. I try and explain that I am not all that talented and I am doing my best towards my goals, but they aren't convinced.

I suggest, next time you have that sort of discussion, you should wear the smoking jacket and a cravat.  If they still don't understand, you will at least have the solace of being well-dressed.

[Constance]

13) How has your family taken it or how might they take it?

My wife divorced me, but we're still friends. My kids seem closer. My brothers don't really seem to be all that affected by it. I feel like things with my parents are awkward.

[suzifrommd]

I never insisted on strict gender rolls for our kids, so they grew up willing to tolerate and experiment.

Yeah, me neither, and yet they both ended up totally conforming. I insisted for one of my daughter's early birthdays that along with all the dolls, that we give her a toy truck. There's no way she was old enough to know better, but she gave me a look like "what am I going to do with THIS?"

[Edge]

13) How has your family taken it or how might they take it?
My son is two and doesn't really care. He already switches between calling me "daddy" and "mum." I told my mom and she barely reacted. She let me ramble about gender to her for awhile and even asked me what it feels like to be a guy. She told me she wanted to make sure I wasn't saying I was a guy because of perceived obstacles. I asked her if she had met me.
My siblings probably wouldn't care, but would probably accuse me of screwing up again. Former dad would have been interested and had good, long talks with me. Now dad would use it to hurt me because he's a jerk. My extended family wouldn't understand and would probably think I was screwing up again and making life more difficult for myself.

[Pica Pica]

My extended family wouldn't understand and would probably think I was ... making life more difficult for myself.

You probably are, but more satisfying and more honest also.

[aleon515]

13)How has your family taken it or how might they take it?

I haven't decided to talk about about this with my one remaining family member. I don't think she would really understand this. Not sure that it would matter much because I have not really changed physically. Not sure what I would do if, say, I took T, though I am not planning to take it.

--Jay Jay

[Julian]

14) Are you part of the Gender and Sexuality Minority community?

Short answer, yes. I'm both queer and trans.

Long answer: it's a little weird. It's like, any partnership I might find myself in kind of has to be a queer one, since there's no gender 'opposite' neutrois with which to form a 'straight' partnership. So I'm kind of queer by default, if that makes sense. I'm not saying that all nonbinary people are this way or should see themselves like this, it's just part of my relationship with my gender.

[suzifrommd]

14) Are you part of the Gender and Sexuality Minority community?

I'm the faculty adviser to the gay-straight alliance at our school. I suppose that counts. I've also been to a couple PFLAG meetings.

[Constance]

14) Are you part of the Gender and Sexuality Minority community?

Short answer, yes. I'm both queer and trans.

Ditto.

[Pica Pica]

14) Are you part of the Gender and Sexuality Minority community?

In some vague de-facto way, but nothing more.

[Edge]

14) Are you part of the Gender and Sexuality Minority community?

Short answer, yes. I'm both queer and trans.

Ditto as well.

[aleon515]

14)Are you part of the LBGT/GSM community?

I consider myself Trans* and just started going to the transgender resource center. But do I think about it at all. Not really.

Jay Jay

[Jamie D]

Day 14

14) Are you part of the Gender and Sexuality Minority community?

As I equate GSM with GLBTQ and all the others letters that are added on to the acronym, which I cannot possibly remember, and to the extent I do not identify with the 96.5% of the population who represent the "majority," then "Yes."

[Empty Miroir]

I'm a little late to the party it seems but it looks too fun to pass up.
Day 1) Do you use any other terms to define or explain your gender?
Ummm, sometimes I use two-spirited, the usual androgynous or I go into a big explanation about wanting the perfect(IMO) balance of androgynous femininity and boyish masculinity.

[Jamie D]

I'm a little late to the party it seems but it looks too fun to pass up.
Day 1) Do you use any other terms to define or explain your gender?
Ummm, sometimes I use two-spirited, the usual androgynous or I go into a big explanation about wanting the perfect(IMO) balance of androgynous femininity and boyish masculinity.

You can catch up!

[Jamie D]

Day 15

15) How do you deal with gendered things? Clothes shopping, bathrooms, forms, etc.

With clothing, I have tried to adopt items that are more brightly colored, which are largely "unisex" in nature.  Perhaps "gender neutral" might be a better description.

I tend to avoid public restrooms, if at all possible.