This gender based dream I had last night has broken my brain!

[Ms Grace]

So in this dream a five or six story building was collapsing and some super hero dude swoops in to save the day and rescue the damsel in distress. Just so happens the only costume the super hero dude is wearing is a cape... yep, completely naked otherwise. But you know, manly body and all that, standing there hands on hips.

The heroine is appreciative for being saved, and picking herself up, being at waist height totally checks out his vulva (and I think she likes what she sees!). That's right, super hero dude has a vagina but he is totally male. In the context of the dream he wasn't trans man, he was... a man with a vagina. Within the unspoken "dream logic" this all made sense, apparently superhero dude wasn't an anomaly, the genitals you were born with were not what determined being male or female - apparently there were plenty of guys with vaginas (presumably plenty of women with penises).

At that point I woke up which means I remembered the dream in all it's glorious detail (I can do that) and it has seriously bent my brain. I mean, I think it's a great dream - but there's a much deeper analogy/metaphor here which I had hoped writing the dream out would bring to light. No luck so far!

I guess at the core of it, it means labels and preconceived notions are meaningless. Imagine if when a baby is born the first thing they say isn't "it's a boy"/"it's a girl"; or, when asked about the sex of their newborn parents said "that's up to them, wait until they're older and and ask them yourself!"

Of course, it could have all just been a weird dream, I have lots of those. 

[Robin Mack]

What a lovely, puzzling dream! 

Here's a possible slant (for some meta meaning, perhaps?)  Perhaps Super hero dude is the male persona you projected prior to transitioning to your true self... maybe in your subconscious you are celebrating the male you created, saluting "him" for protecting you and carrying you through the dangerous times while you were growing up?  Now you are free and no longer need "him", but at least his efforts are appreciated.

Just my two bits... I love puzzles!

*hug*

[JillSter]

Is it possible that both the super hero dude and the damsel in distress are you? Two parts of the sum of yourself? If that were the case, it sounds to me like you're subconsciously very content with your gender. You see what masculinity you have as being female at its core. Part of you was in distress, feeling helpless, in need of saving, and another part of you (your strength, your power) was able to come forth and "save the day."

Obviously, I don't know you well enough to make any assumptions about what it might mean, but in my own experience when I'm the fly on the wall observing characters in a dream (not people from real life) they usually seem to me to be representative of some part of myself. The vagina on the super hero dude and the damsel's "approval" just screams self-assurance to me, but only you would know for sure.

*shrug*

[Jessica Rush]

Robin, what you said is beautiful! What an accurate way to describe how I was before admitting to myself I am trans.

[Ms Grace]

Robin, Jillian... thank you both for the fantastic insights. Typically, I was leaving myself out of the picture without realising the entire dream was about myself (including the collapsing building). Definitely now I see myself in both those roles. I guess super hero dude being naked also shows a degree of self confidence as well as vulnerability. All very curious!