Identifying as trans? and identity in general...

[Rossiter]

Idk exactly where I'm going with this, but I was wondering, how many of you guys identify as trans? Do you identify as anything? And if so what does it mean to you?

I've been thinking about this a bit lately and I'm not sure I identify as anything at all...like, people who aren't trans sometimes say things like "I don't identify as male/female, I'm just perceived that way because that's how society works and I go with it." And I kind of feel the same way?

I don't really understand the sex/gender distinction as it applies to trans issues. The way most people define "gender" it seems like it's "gender roles" and I don't identify as a gender role, that would be weird. I don't really care that much how other people perceive me, just how I feel in my own body. Being ftm for me seems like more of a sex-based thing and not much to do with gender. It's always been about the medical side, not the social. I was pretty sheltered as a young kid and I knew I wanted the medical stuff before I even knew what the options were. I still remember being 11 years old and finding out hysterectomies were a thing. I was so happy. When I was 13ish I found a livejournal ftm community and realised the full extent of the possibilities and even then I was like "I don't know if I'm trans, I just want surgery/hormones." Eventually I decided that was a bit silly and I must be trans if I wanted those things, and I came out as trans. But I'm not sure how I feel about that now.

I mean, I've been on t for years now, I've had top surgery, I plan to get bottom surgery, I've never been anything less than positive that this was the right path for me. But "trans" to me doesn't really feel like an identity but a thing you do. I'm trans because I transitioned, not because I was born female and identify as male...I'm male in the "gender" sense because everyone sees me as male and even my not-very-supportive family members use male pronouns because I simply don't look like a girl, but that happened because of the medical aspects. I didn't change the way I acted and I never objected to people using female pronouns for me before I looked male. That just seemed like a language thing. It seemed even more like a language thing once the people who knew me pre-transition and thought it was weird started using male pronouns anyway, because they would've felt even weirder if they didn't.

I don't really know if I "identify as male" either. I find my current genitalia strange and rather unpleasant and intend to change that, and I feel much more comfortable now that other aspects of my body aren't so female, but I see a lot of trans people talking about how happy they are to be perceived as male/female, or about how good they feel looking or acting a certain way. I can't relate to that. And I can't relate to genderqueer people at all, for whom it seems like perception is one of the biggest issues, and their desires just change randomly? Nowadays it seems like "transsexual" is out of vogue and "transgender/trans*" is the new thing but the transsexual label has always seemed more accurate for me.

Right now I know a couple of trans people who haven't transitioned yet as well as a genderqueer person and the whole "preferred pronouns" thing doesn't make a great deal of sense to me...I mean personally I'd rather just be called by whatever is most accurate to a stranger so I'm not getting outed to everyone in the world. Apparently other people like getting outed, and I don't get it...

This is quite rambly and I wouldn't mind some equally rambly posts explaining your view of things (esp if you identify as trans or genderqueer)...also I know I've read some posts on here by guys who said they don't identify as trans, but I can't remember who they were. If you wouldn't mind explaining your own experiences I'd appreciate it.

[Natkat]

I identify as trans, but take in mind I identify as alot of things.

bottom line is you can identify as pretty much everything beside what it is.

It's like small posters you put on the refriguator to tell whats inside.
Not everything makes sense to identify as, and I dont think it worth identifying as something who just seams pointless or you dont like. it would be pretty pointless exemple for me to say I identy as someone with brown hair. neither do I often say I identify as a white person, but if I travel somewhere where im the only white person around then I start to feel abit more like identifying into the minority.

like I heard a woman once who said she moved from africa to amarica. while being in africa there where mainly black people but as she got to amarica she became a minority and she started to identify as a african and a black woman.

For me I identify as trans
I identify as a creative person, as a comic lover as a writter/illustraitor and so on.

I dont feel I identify trans so much due to my body as for my mindset. I feel being trans gave me a certain way to look at the world and some knowlegde or experience with some others may not have, its a political fight also.

[chuck]

I identify as male. Not trans-anything. Just a guy with some medical issues.

[FTMDiaries]

Trans is the road I have to travel down to get to where I need to be.

[Adam (birkin)]

I find the identity question rather interesting, because I don't really understand the concept of identity or self to begin with.

I can say that I definitely do not identify as trans, in any sense of the word - I am male. For me, the trans issue really just stemmed down to the body dysphoria I felt, the sense I should have been born male. That's not something I really care to identify with. For me, it'd be like, taking antidepressants and saying "I identify as depression" lol. Not that being transgender is a mental illness, but it is something being treated medically, much like mental illnesses can be.

As for "identifying" as male, I don't really get that either tbh. Yes, I do feel my body should be 100% male, and I experience dysphoria when it doesn't feel right...but I don't cling to my maleness as an indicator of self. I just transitioned that way to alleviate the pain it caused me to be female-bodied. I hear the "grrr men" thing all the time, from trans and cis males, as if it's some core part of who they are. What does that even mean?

[kaiju]

I don't know if I like to use "identify" at all. I'm a guy with a slightly different body and I have to deal with it as best as I can while I work to make it better for myself. I just am, and that's the best way I can put it. People who ~know~ often question me based on gender roles, and I think that's ridiculous personally. I'm not transitioning because I liked cars more than dolls as a little kid or because of the people I'm attracted to, I'm transitioning because the relationship with my body and being physically "female" has been negative for me to the point where I've resorted to self harm and suicide attempts. "Being a girl" and "accepting [my] birth sex" were things I tried and failed because I found that I am just not female. At all. Transitioning has not erased my dysphoria, but it has helped me a lot and I certainly feel more comfortable with myself now than I did years ago.

If anything, I shy away from using trans in reference to myself, as I just want to be thought of as myself and not something I consider to be a medical condition I'm treating, I guess?

[Liminal Stranger]

I'm a boy, I don't identify as "being trans" or as anything other than being like every other guy my age, i.e. myself. I just need a little help becoming a man because there's a bit of extra assembly required to get the finished product.

[Psycho]

I think of myself as a guy born with a girl's body, and I'm going to transition it to a guy's body, because I'd feel more comfortable with myself if it matched how I am on the inside.

If that makes any sense...

[Proton]

I guess I do identify as trans, because I think being transgender is a relevant part of my experience as a human being and given the choice, I would not want to have been assigned male at birth.

I think having the "right body" so to speak would have been much easier in many ways, but being read as female for so many years was more often than not a relevant factor on the interactions I had and will probably still be important, even after I feel I've completed my transition.

[aleon515]

I identify as trans. I feel that I am not entirely binary where I don't see myself as completely male but a bit in between but more towards male, if that makes any sense at all.

--Jay

[Leo.]

I am male. There is no trans to me it is no part of my identity. I was born with a birth defect and have a hormonal imbalance. These issues will be corrected. Regardless of my body I am male and only ever have been. I have no clue about anything female. Trans to me would feel as if I had been female to begin with and 'become' male which couldnt be further from the truth. I never was in the first place. Im not changing, I am correcting

I have no issues with those who do identify as trans, we do need more awareness to make our lives easier during the difficult phases where we're not seen for what we are. At the moment I would likely have to disclose as trans cause I dont pass and it would be obvious but its still not how I identify personally. Probably more for other people's sake than my own to do that if I had to. The experience has made me whatever I am now but given the choice I'd rather have been born correctly to begin with than the 20 odd years of pain its caused me. I cant deny that it has likely made me a better person though in terms of understanding and acceptance. Without going through this I'd like to think I wouldnt be as ignorant as the average cis person but I can never know that. I dont regret what I have gained from this but I still could have done without it too

[chuck]

I am male. There is no trans to me it is no part of my identity. I was born with a birth defect and have a hormonal imbalance. These issues will be corrected. Regardless of my body I am male and only ever have been. I have no clue about anything female. Trans to me would feel as if I had been female to begin with and 'become' male which couldnt be further from the truth. I never was in the first place. Im not changing, I am correcting

I have no issues with those who do identify as trans, we do need more awareness to make our lives easier during the difficult phases where we're not seen for what we are. At the moment I would likely have to disclose as trans cause I dont pass and it would be obvious but its still not how I identify personally. Probably more for other people's sake than my own to do that if I had to. The experience has made me whatever I am now but given the choice I'd rather have been born correctly to begin with than the 20 odd years of pain its caused me. I cant deny that it has likely made me a better person though in terms of understanding and acceptance. Without going through this I'd like to think I wouldnt be as ignorant as the average cis person but I can never know that. I dont regret what I have gained from this but I still could have done without it too

Well stated.

[Robin Mack]

There is no shame in confusion, or in not knowing.  You apparently know that you are happier with the thought of having different genitalia.  You are obviously willing to take measures to correct this.  But you are uncertain of your gender.  Fair enough.  I know CIS women who present as masculine, CIS men who present as feminine.  It's all a spectrum.  Sure, *most* people aggregate at one end or the other, male or female, but there is so much room in between. 

If you are strong enough to be happy in *you* and do not depend on society to validate your choice, if you are not bound by socially imposed gender norms, you are indeed special, and on a very unique path, and I salute you!  I do strongly recommend you make certain you have a supportive therapist who can help with issues that may arise; society (even the hugely accepting trans community) can be a bit harsh when someone steps out of a binary system. 

For most people, you are going to be classified as one or the other.  In math, the binary system uses two digits, 1 and 0.  You are throwing yourself into that system as a decimal value, and it will cause all sorts of issues for systems designed to understand either 1 or 0.  By blurring the lines further, you become something altogether different.  So the world will be 1 or 0, and now someone throws something completely different, like "purple" into the system.  Things will not go smoothly.  But little by little, thanks to explorers like yourself, the system will be improved and there will be room for much greater diversity.

If you haven't already, I suggest you look up the term GenderQueer... here's a link as a starting point:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_fluid

For a time, I thought that was what I was, but as I spent more time getting to know my real self and discovering how well I fit into the world (and how well the world fit into my head) as a woman, I found the woman I was always meant to be.  It was, I admit, a little disappointing (I had imagined how wonderful it would be to chart new territory), but immensely fulfilling.

Love and admiration to you, no matter what your path! 

[aleon515]

I am male. There is no trans to me it is no part of my identity. I was born with a birth defect and have a hormonal imbalance. These issues will be corrected. Regardless of my body I am male and only ever have been. I have no clue about anything female. Trans to me would feel as if I had been female to begin with and 'become' male which couldnt be further from the truth. I never was in the first place. Im not changing, I am correcting

I have no issues with those who do identify as trans, we do need more awareness to make our lives easier during the

Makes me wonder-- I read this kind of thing, and see that it resonates with a lot of people. I wonder if there are different ways to be trans and even different causes or whatever you might want to put it.

--Jay

[AdamMLP]

Makes me wonder-- I read this kind of thing, and see that it resonates with a lot of people. I wonder if there are different ways to be trans and even different causes or whatever you might want to put it.

--Jay

It all seems to depend on how important it is to the individual I think.  Some people think that being gay is a major part of their lives, so talk about it a lot and make it clear that they identify as gay, others hate the term gay, and have never said that they're gay at any point in their life, and if asked answer with "I like girls/boys" instead.

For me, I don't see myself as trans, because that sounds like something other to being male or female.  I know I am technically a trans man, and I'll say that if I have to explain myself, but I don't make a big deal about it.  I understand that for other people being trans, and being part of the community is something which is important to them though.

I suppose we're all trans in the medical sense of the word, but some people incorporate being trans into part of their lifestyle, whether through choice or through necessity as they don't pass.

[Nygeel]

I see the word trans as an adjective that describes the kind of man I am. It's not exactly a matter of identity or not, it's a matter of just...sorta...being. I don't think white cis straight men identify as white, or cis, or straight...I don't think that they even think of their race, gender, or sexuality that much since it's all considered the default mostly.

[Alex55]

I agree totally with Leo.. well said. that's exactly how I see myself.

[aleon515]

I see the word trans as an adjective that describes the kind of man I am. It's not exactly a matter of identity or not, it's a matter of just...sorta...being. I don't think white cis straight men identify as white, or cis, or straight...I don't think that they even think of their race, gender, or sexuality that much since it's all considered the default mostly.

I'm probably opening up a can of worms here. MMM delicious. But here's why imo.
White and cis and hetero aren't identities. Their privileged statuses, so to speak. People know they are these things (for the most part) but they don't think about it as it is built in to not see those kinds of things. People identify as persons of color, trans, and gay because they are positions of less status which they are claiming in a positive sense. Not everybody does this or even thinks about it so much. At least this is my interpretation.

I think your statement that its default is true.

But I also think that some people just actually don't see themselves as trans the way others of us do. Perhaps it's political, I'm not thinking that for me it totally is. I know a guy who is very active in the community here. He had a lesbian girl friend before and she stayed with him. They REALLY do not like being seen as straight and call themselves a queer couple.

--Jay

[mangoslayer]

I don't "identify" as anything. Identifying as something generally implies choice. I simply am male (and happen to have transsexualism)

[Rossiter]

Thanks for all the responses, it's quite interesting how many different ways people see it.

If you are strong enough to be happy in *you* and do not depend on society to validate your choice, if you are not bound by socially imposed gender norms, you are indeed special, and on a very unique path, and I salute you!  I do strongly recommend you make certain you have a supportive therapist who can help with issues that may arise; society (even the hugely accepting trans community) can be a bit harsh when someone steps out of a binary system. 

For most people, you are going to be classified as one or the other.  In math, the binary system uses two digits, 1 and 0.  You are throwing yourself into that system as a decimal value, and it will cause all sorts of issues for systems designed to understand either 1 or 0.  By blurring the lines further, you become something altogether different.  So the world will be 1 or 0, and now someone throws something completely different, like "purple" into the system.  Things will not go smoothly.  But little by little, thanks to explorers like yourself, the system will be improved and there will be room for much greater diversity.

Well, I'm not very far outside the binary, I don't think. I've never really worried too much about personal gender roles/gender expression but I have no problem calling myself male and being seen as male. And it kind of annoys me when people like me make a big deal of being genderqueer or something similar, when they're not really challenging any systems and it doesn't have a big effect on their lives. Because it seems to me like a lot of people are like that, that if they bother to think about it they realise they don't feel thoroughly and utterly "male" or "female" 100% of the time, or they feel uncomfortable with being male or female in the way society tells them. But I think that's probably normal...it doesn't necessarily make anyone trans or cis or anything else, just human.

Jay...I'm not sure what you mean? I definitely know people who seem to "identify" as cis more than I "identify" as trans. It seems more like an individual thing - there are all sorts of other things people identify as besides race/gender/sexuality and some do identify as straight or cis or white, some people just seem more prone to defining themselves by identities than others.