Awesome personal accomplishments a cis person would shrug at?

[Ms Grace]

When I first tried putting on a bra with the hooks at the back there was just no way that was going to happen. I think I spent the first nine months of being full time putting it on with the hooks at the front and swinging it around. But then I started to challenge myself to hook it up from behind. Clumsy and hillarious would probably describe those attempts but now I am rather adept at getting it on and it takes me a second to remove one. I know a genetic cis woman woman would probably say "la de dah, big deal" but I'm quite pleased with that accomplishment.

I'm also getting really good at shaving my legs!

What are your awesome personal accomplishments that a cis person would shrug at?

[suzifrommd]

Perfecting a female voice, and presentation, and ultimately passing both in appearance and speech, is probably the most daunting accomplishment of my life.

I was convinced that these would ultimately be impossible for someone as clueless, oafish, uncoordinated, and physically inept as I am. When I realized that I passed most of the time and that my voice was sweet and feminine, in my mind it rivaled winning the Olympics or getting elected president.

[Mariah]

My voice by far. It's funny when I wasn't even trying for years I would get mamed on the phone, but once I started transitioning and started putting effort int he opposite happened at first. It took a good 3 or 4 months tell I got the voice where I wanted and needed it to be. Now I'm consistently mamed on the phone without any problems.
Mariah

[Ayden]

Shaving my face...There's so many dents and dimples. I didn't even know I had dimples! And my chin? I think my partner laughed at me for weeks over the cuts.

Now it's my socks. I have to pull them up with slacks. I've folded them over years. How does anyone deal with socks half way up their legs??

[KarynMcD]

When I first tried putting on a bra with the hooks at the back there was just no way that was going to happen. I think I spent the first nine months of being full time putting it on with the hooks at the front and swinging it around.

My cis girlfriend always does it like this. Many do it like that.
I always joke with her, "You know it's backwards, right?"

[marsh monster]

Learning how to boil an egg without it exploding or something. I was quite proud of myself.

[cindy16]

My cis girlfriend always does it like this. Many do it like that.
I always joke with her, "You know it's backwards, right?"

LOL

I'm also getting really good at shaving my legs!

Me too. For years, I didn't do anything about body hair because I thought shaving it would be too painful. But once I started, it seemed easy and natural enough.

[cindy16]

Learning how to boil an egg without it exploding or something. I was quite proud of myself.

I'm going to try this tomorrow. 

[Contravene]

I think I spent the first nine months of being full time putting it on with the hooks at the front and swinging it around. But then I started to challenge myself to hook it up from behind.

My cis girlfriend does this all the time too. I always thought that's how it was supposed to be done.

I don't have a beard yet but I do have tons of peach fuzz that I shave. The first few times it felt strange. There's something instinctive about not wanting to put something sharp, like a razor, that close to your face.

[Rejennyrated]

This topic only really makes sense if you see cis and trans as being immutable properties, and inherently different from each other in some fixed way.

I don't, but perhaps detailed dissection of that view that is food for another thread, which I might start if people are interested?

For here I will perhaps merely observe that breaking out of the fixed "trans" mindset, by means of using a massive self-mindf**k thought experiment, and managing to reach a place where I can switch headspace, virtually at will, to see the world through cis eyes, is something that I am immensely proud of. 

That took a lot of time and work. Though ironically I suspect it is something that I am proud of, while both cis and trans would shrug at it, because both groups would be puzzled as to why one might want to be able to do that...

[Asche]

For here I will perhaps merely observe that breaking out of the fixed "trans" mindset, by means of using a massive self-mindf**k thought experiment, and managing to reach a place where I can switch headspace, virtually at will, to see the world through cis eyes, is something that I am immensely proud of. 

I'm curious to know what you mean by the "fixed 'trans' mindset."

For me, the cis mindset is simply one in which a certain view of "how things are" seems obvious and immutable and people (like me) who don't fit are inconceivable, like something being red and blue at the same time.  It's a mindset that can hijack my perceptions and my reactions if I don't pay attention, giving me a confusing double vision when I look at myself and the world.

My 'trans' mindset, if you want to call it that, is more about opening my mind up to more possibilities "than are dreamed of in your philosophy" and seeing people for who they are rather than for what my preconceptions would tell me they are.  In that mindset, cis and, for that matter, binary trans, are simply two points in an infinite universe of possibilities.  (My favorite metaphor is "an infinite-dimensional vector space of gender", but I'm not sure anyone who hasn't taken college math would understand what that means.)

[Beverly]

In that mindset, cis and, for that matter, binary trans, are simply two points in an infinite universe of possibilities.  (My favorite metaphor is "an infinite-dimensional vector space of gender", but I'm not sure anyone who hasn't taken college math would understand what that means.)

Would the dimensionality of your infinite vector space be countably infinite or uncountably infinite? How many ways are there to be trans or cis? We could, of course, extend the vector space descriptions using Dirac's notation also called bra | ket notation. The MTFs amongst us would be the "bra" component leaving the "ket" for the FTMs I guess. Quite what the field matricies  would describe I am unsure of. I dread to think what the complex conjugates could turn out....

[Rejennyrated]

I'm curious to know what you mean by the "fixed 'trans' mindset."

For me, the cis mindset is simply one in which a certain view of "how things are" seems obvious and immutable and people (like me) who don't fit are inconceivable, like something being red and blue at the same time.  It's a mindset that can hijack my perceptions and my reactions if I don't pay attention, giving me a confusing double vision when I look at myself and the world.

My 'trans' mindset, if you want to call it that, is more about opening my mind up to more possibilities "than are dreamed of in your philosophy" and seeing people for who they are rather than for what my preconceptions would tell me they are.  In that mindset, cis and, for that matter, binary trans, are simply two points in an infinite universe of possibilities.  (My favorite metaphor is "an infinite-dimensional vector space of gender", but I'm not sure anyone who hasn't taken college math would understand what that means.)

I like that viewpoint (a lot actually), although it is different to mine.

As to what I meant, I was referring the view that one is either cis or trans and that this is in effect an absolute property which permanently affects ones perspective. However I don't want to Hijack this thread so perhaps we should get a room... I'm happy to start a thread or indeed if someone else would like to I'll happily join in...

[Ms Grace]

Jeeze folks, this is just meant to be a light hearted thread, please take your nit picking derailment elsewhere...

[Asche]

Would the dimensionality of your infinite vector space be countably infinite or uncountably infinite?

At first blush, I'd have said countably.  But (I'm a little rusty on this -- it's been 30+ years) I think that would mean that it wasn't a complete vector space.  On the other hand, I kind of like the idea that the set of genders is "incomplete."

I dread to think what the complex conjugates could turn out....

I dunno.  It might be fun to do some, ah,  complex conjugating (wink, wink) with your besties....

[LoriLorenz]

Haven't done it yet, but I'm looking forward to going topless! (in more ways than one hehe)

[ainsley]

To the OP:
My wife of more than 2 decades has always done the hook in front and spin to the back method.  I was watching a tv show one time where a girl was getting out of bed and they obviously didn't want to show her breasts, so she put her bra on and hooked it in the back.  I was intrigued and tried that next time I thought about it when I put mine on.  It's doable, but I have always done it like my wife, and apparently many cis girls. lol

[kittenpower]

I learned the hook in front method from cis women as well, and if it's good enough for them...

[iKate]

I learned the hook in the front method from my mom.

[marsh monster]

I've always hooked it in the back even though I did know of the other method, just easier for me and less work overall.