That is a wonderful thing you are doing and I hope that your paper has good reviews, as well as promotes trans awareness. You can use this if you like or consider it a testimony.
Living as a man in a "mans world", was quite easy for me since I grew up as one and learned how to be one. In societies eyes I was a normal "straight" male, but inside I was struggling with self identification and belonging. Being a man seemed quite a laid back type of exsistance with a high expectation on being manly, strong, and a good provider later on in life. I was always ok with the views on gender roles, but I always felt and thought about equality and non gender binary rules should apply to either sex. I grew up how my parents wanted me to, but secretly did a lot of things that girls would typically do, girls toys, clothes, makeup, etc. I would cringe on the inside whenever I was called the wrong pronouns because I was not able to identify with them. But would to the best of my ability, try and ignore it. Finally after years of slowly hating myself and who I was on the inside, I decided it was enough. I stopped living my life the way everyone around me was expecting me to live and began transitioning to female. I had always felt that I could think and identify better as female then a male, so it was quite obvious that I was making the right choice.
Over these past 10 months of living as a female during my transition, I have seen quite more clearly how much more work and effort is involved in being a woman. As well as how men truly view and treat women. It has been quite a amazing journey so far. I am still the same kind hearted, loving individual I have always been, but now I am free to express my femininity and outer self as I choose. From how I dress, to how I choose to speak. It's not simply the idea of being able to express myself in a feminine manner more freely, as it is to finally look into the mirror and be more at ease with how I view myself. Softer, smoother, more shapely. It's a matter of self identification, no more different then showing off a new tattoo. It's the freedom of showing my inner self on the outside. The same would go for FtM, who choose to show their masculine nature and gender on the outside the same as the way they feel they are on the inside. I did not choose to be transgender, and I did not choose to live in a society of judgement and discrimination. I did choose to live freely and in the open, and I did choose to present my outer self the same as how I viewed my inner self. "I am female and always have been, you are just simply seeing it finally on the outside".
