It's sounding like this thread is going in that direction of misleading definitions.
You can indeed go through an androgynous stage that leads you to full transition as a transsexual.
You can indeed be Androgyn and go through a transition that is full in expression.
But they are two different things.
The distinction may seem like too fine a line, but it is not.
It's not a grey area. You may discover that you are one or the other, Androgyne or Transsexual.
This happens all the time. We wonder about it, at times as individuals, who we are.
And why not? We are Transgender, it covers a lot of ground when it comes to expression of gender.
Trans, the word itself, is about moving through that expression, but it is also about just having an expression.
Gender can be a binary, defined as Male or Female. A distinction of qualities.
Gender can be non-binary, defined as qualities that may or may not include those of binary, a different distinction of qualities.
It is a mistake to view Androgyn as simply being a part of expression.
Expression and gender are two different things, regardless of the way they go hand in hand with each other.
Expression is not a linear thing, a line that is traveled from one point to another.
Transsexual can be a change in expression, of one binary to the other, to adjust ones expression to their gender.
With many places to pause in between, if one desires or circumstances dictate that it happens that way.
Androgyn is the same, in expression, but the difference is that Androgyn is non-binary, regardless of expression.
One does not simply change from Transsexual to Androgyn and back to Transsexual.
One does not simply change from Androgyn to Transsexual or vice versa.
But one can discover, whether simply or not, that they are one or the other.
Androgyny is a part of being an Androgyn. It is not a stepping stone to change your gender.
Androgynous is a stepping stone for many in expression of gender.
Androgynous is a part of being Transgender, it is something we have in common.
It's something that we can share in a positive way to understanding the differences and similarities of binary and non-binary.
It may seem like a small point to some of us, but to those who are newly discovering or even admitting their own gender,
interchanging or blurring the definitions becomes a much bigger point.
It is confusing when the differences are defined in blurred or interchangeable ways.
It does make discovering who you are, your gender, difficult.
For those who are making these discoveries, good for you!
Sometimes I think that is the biggest accomplishment of all. Just knowing who you are.
Expression becomes a way of saying, "Yes, I am".
Ativan
