Susan's Place Logo

News:

Please be sure to review The Site terms of service, and rules to live by

Main Menu

The Question is: What Am I?

Started by Deborah, March 26, 2016, 11:00:54 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

AnxietyDisord3r

Deborah,

I like the puberty metaphor, because no cis person truly knows what kind of person they will become when it starts. They don't know what it means to feel like a man or a woman either.

I only started HRT recently, and I just realized, at 36 years old, I don't know what my face looks like. This feminized face is not my face. I've never seen my own face.

Each of us has a gestalt of what we think a "man" or a "woman" is because we've been on the outside looking in. We can only BE ourselves.

I've also noticed that cis people have their own variations. Some enthusiastically embrace their gender identity while others are aggressively "meh" about it. Looking back, I've had quite a few friends who weren't trans at all but thought gender was silly, an unavoidable annoyance of life.
  •  

AnxietyDisord3r

I've been looking in the mirror since childhood, sometimes pushing my hair back, looking for the face of the man or boy inside. I've suppressed so much, even though I thought I was "out" and wise. In tears right now, I guess T doesn't turn you into a Vulcan.  :laugh:
  •  

Satinjoy

I rarely come in this section.  Its been years.  But on this one i will.

I am full transition on hormones, no ops.  Love the body.  I have accute physical dysphoria.

There is a place that balances between binary and nonbinary trans.   Its a grey spot, for me its a sweet spot.

Its an opportunity for wholeness, all the parts of who you are, remaining you.  Yet you get the body you need.  And you can live socially however you wish.

That is nonbinary trans.  I am nonbinary trans.  And I am very happy.

Hi girls.   

Satinjoy
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

JoanneB

Quote from: Satinjoy on April 20, 2016, 08:46:41 PM
I rarely come in this section.  Its been years.  But on this one i will.

I am full transition on hormones, no ops.  Love the body.  I have accute physical dysphoria.

There is a place that balances between binary and nonbinary trans.   Its a grey spot, for me its a sweet spot.

Its an opportunity for wholeness, all the parts of who you are, remaining you.  Yet you get the body you need.  And you can live socially however you wish.

That is nonbinary trans.  I am nonbinary trans.  And I am very happy.

Hi girls.   

Satinjoy
WOW!

Livin in the Grey has been my life for a good 5 years. Still presenting as male yet having a body I now can love

I do it because I can balance all the conflicting needs/wants in my life. (according to today's criteria).

Tomorrow I'll worry about when it is tomorrow and not today
.          (Pile Driver)  
                    |
                    |
                    ^
(ROCK) ---> ME <--- (HARD PLACE)
  •  

Satinjoy

Love it.

Do you find it hard, dysphoric, or easy?

Its easy for me cause i know who I am.

My carry letter for the bathroom says "i am a nonbinary transgender woman".

I always feel me.  But its natural to present guy, andro or girl.  All truth.

Thats very nonbinary.
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

Violets

Quote from: AnxietyDisord3r on April 12, 2016, 05:54:02 AM
I only started HRT recently, and I just realized, at 36 years old, I don't know what my face looks like. This feminized face is not my face. I've never seen my own face.

That's how I feel also, though as a MtF it's the other way around. I'm 49, and after 10 months of HRT, I finally caught that first fleeting glimpse of the real me in the mirror. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but it literally took my breath away.




Deborah:
I can relate to virtually everything you've written in your original post, with the exceptions of having a love/hate relationship with my steadily growing hair, and that I don't pass at all.

My own philosophy at the moment is to try not to put too much emphasis on labels. I'm content knowing that I fall towards the transsexual end of the scale. For the moment, I'm just focussing on reaching a point where I can genuinely be content with who I am. I haven't found that sweet spot yet, but I do know that I'm on the right path.


  •  

Satinjoy

This is such a cool thread.

I think if you ditch the nb vs binary question, which seems to muddy the water, it frees us to really see it better.

What is nb or standard ts narrative anyway?

At the end of the day we are just people who live with gender dysphoria and want to be happy and whole.

I identify with the op quite a bit.

And id rather die than stop my high dose injections.  I need my body, my female emotions, my life, my heart.
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

Satinjoy

If we lose the binary nonbinary thing for a moment...lol that actually is an identity....

Trans puberty for me resulted in a huge swing to feminine, as all that was held back and fought inside me came to life.  She began to dominate, he in me fought it, and I could not handle what was happening to me.  It brought me to a number of breakdowns.  That was exascerbated by pressure to live the traditional ts narrative of immediate full time transition, with all of the terrible collateral damage that can come with that.

I know I am different from other TS, yet I am as TS as anyone is.  Its just that its not my entire truth, its my body and sex truth, and my emotional truth, yes.   Estrogen is a necessity, I would crack up without it.  Same with detransitioning.  It would kill me.

But I live to take advantage of social norms, as an effeminite or androgynous male, as an androgyne, as a fullout female.  Even as genderqueer.

That does not change the fact that I am TS in my body needs and in my need to be out as sh'e.  Just because social pressures demand that I blend in to not be oppressed (I transitioned on the job in FL and lost everything, paid the price) - it in no way invalidates who I am as a transperson nor does it define my gender.  My gender is my own.

I was out last night with many nonbinary, queer, ftm and mtf transpeople.  I find myself comparing myself to them, and I see no difference between myself and older mtf's- except - full time living as a woman is not my desire or need.

I race cars.  I get wild.  I have a motorcycle.  I have a wife and when with her outside on the street I revert back to decades long interactions.  My personality changed, but I am still me.  I feel more deeply, sh'e is healed from the years of torment I experienced fighting my gender.

Puberty is over, I am 3 years into this.  Some predicted I would be nonbinary androgyne, some transsexual, and most, dead.   LOL.  Not dead yet.  Not even unhappy.

Because I know who I am, regardless of what I put on.  I don't need my wig to be sh'e.  I am sh'e.  I'm wired female, my spirit, well, I am not a man, I am not a woman.  I am a transperson, full transition hormones.

So I run the spectrum, I do it at will.   But somewhere long ago, and this took work and it was hard, my past, my male self, my female self, and my body, all became one.  I have another name I won't say here, its my street name, nonbinary and very feminine and very me.  It captures me as a whole transperson.

So I don't worry about the male and female stuff.  I relax and be real, whether male, female, andro, queer, whatever.  Most times I am sitting around in lingerie and satin, no makeup on, my hair combed to the feminine side, female eyebrows, the works.  And then grab the bikers jacket, toss my hair back, or not, and head out the door, either knee high boots on, or guy boots, it doesnt matter.

I am never in male under things, I cant stand them.  My body is trans female.  That will never change.  My sexuality is trans female.

But I am just trans, and am tired of facades, and am very happy to be free to just be real.

I found my truth.  It took a while, but the key is accepting myself, and hating no part of me, running from no part of me, it is learning to love the whole me, to forgive the he me for hurting the she me, and I did.  But I didn't know any better, when he hurt her and ran from her.  When I was running away from me.  And then came puberty, and then came me.

Love and blessings to all here.

Satin Joy
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

JoanneB

I tend to always think and opine in terms of NB. Being transgender only means you are not cis. There is an entire universe of possibilities in the spectrum between cis-female and cis-male to explore. Life is always going to be a challenge as you try to balance thousands of conflicting needs and wants.

Find something that works today and just maybe it will tomorrow. If not, you got options.
.          (Pile Driver)  
                    |
                    |
                    ^
(ROCK) ---> ME <--- (HARD PLACE)
  •  

Deborah

Well, I'm still as uncertain as ever about myself but it no longer really bothers me by making me believe I am some uniquely weird outlier.  ;D

So, I updated my avatar with what I look like all the time in this trans binary/non-binary/????? journey of self discovery.  I took the pic at work last week.  I'm not really sure what I look like but I'm happy with it for the present.
Love is not obedience, conformity, or submission. It is a counterfeit love that is contingent upon authority, punishment, or reward. True love is respect and admiration, compassion and kindness, freely given by a healthy, unafraid human being....  - Dan Barker

U.S. Army Retired
  •  

Satinjoy

I think that Avatar is great.
:)

Let me say that differently and edit this.

I think you look HOT.  Seriously, that is one attractive pic.  I don't know what your orientation is but all the sexes will either swoon or pounce....

Got a lion by the tail there honey?

lol

Good for you
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

Deborah

LOL.  Up until a few months ago my wife was giving me constant grief over my hair.   Lately she hasn't so either she gave up or it's starting to not look so out of place and bad to her.

My orientation . . . That's another thing I'm not really sure about.   ???  I'm soooo confused LOL  :D
Love is not obedience, conformity, or submission. It is a counterfeit love that is contingent upon authority, punishment, or reward. True love is respect and admiration, compassion and kindness, freely given by a healthy, unafraid human being....  - Dan Barker

U.S. Army Retired
  •  

Satinjoy

Oh darling we could talk about that one.... lol

I sleep, as me, in my wifes loving arms, and I do not wear things that are not eye candy.

And I find both sexes quite attractive.  I just stay faithful to the wife.  Sex is gone, my e levels are around 350, and she can't handle it anyway.  But the closeness, the intimacy, that  we now have, is simply incredible.

That was because my transition was so slow she could catch up to it emotionally and accept it.  It took years to do it.
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

Satinjoy

Its about feeling the feelings isnt it hon?  And trans feelings are scary.  Amped on hormones, big stuff to face, and not fitting the typical path...
But its exciting and real, and very rewarding.

You aint seen nothing yet darling, you are about to become your diamond core.

Satinjoy
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

Deborah

Quote from: Satinjoy on April 23, 2016, 09:46:23 PM
Its about feeling the feelings isnt it hon?  And trans feelings are scary.  Amped on hormones, big stuff to face, and not fitting the typical path...
But its exciting and real, and very rewarding.

You aint seen nothing yet darling, you are about to become your diamond core.

Satinjoy
I just flipped back over to the forum to see what's new and saw this gem of a post.  I say gem because it fits in so well with my mindset tonight.

I had earlier read the posts in "The Non Binary Transsexual" thread and have been contemplating the various self descriptions and thinking about how I would describe myself right now.

It is still just a flicker as I develop the idea but I see us not as defectives or as something to be pitied, "oh how I detest it when people say they feel pity"!  A third sex, maybe.  But more.  We can be a prototype of Nietzsche's ubermensch, "supermen".  Rejecting the common ethos with its foundations built on fantastical sand we see and live reality, the world as it really is.  Our "Will to Power" lies in seizing the opportunity to remake ourselves as we see fit to achieve happiness and self actualization.  For this we are hated as we expose the ridiculousness of the emperor as he parades by quite arrogantly in what he thinks are his resplendent robes when in fact he is clueless, dirty, and quite naked!

Maybe I get carried away in my inner philosophical musings, LOL.  Probably so, but I'm going to keep at this one for a few days until it either solidifies or falls apart completely.

And it fit so well with your comment about finding my diamond core.


Sapere Aude
Love is not obedience, conformity, or submission. It is a counterfeit love that is contingent upon authority, punishment, or reward. True love is respect and admiration, compassion and kindness, freely given by a healthy, unafraid human being....  - Dan Barker

U.S. Army Retired
  •  

AnxietyDisord3r

Quote from: Satinjoy on April 23, 2016, 11:23:54 AM
And I find both sexes quite attractive.  I just stay faithful to the wife.  Sex is gone, my e levels are around 350, and she can't handle it anyway.  But the closeness, the intimacy, that  we now have, is simply incredible.

That sounds oddly like what happened between me and my wife pre-transition. My sex drive totally died. And hers didn't, so that was difficult for her. We found other ways to be intimate.
  •  

AnxietyDisord3r

Deborah,

that's interesting. As I recall from my school days, Nietzsche's Uebermensch marched to the beat of his own drummer and didn't care what society thought. I think implicit that society would eventually catch up and follow along. Could be a woman too because Mensch is gender neutral in German. He chose that word rather than Mann.  ;)
  •  

Satinjoy

We are warriors loves, warriors of trans.  Our swords are forged in love and pain, and with gentle eyes wide open, we overcome and destroy the bigotted hate against us, dark falling under the blazing light of the diamond hearts of trans.
Morpheus: This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the red pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the little blue pills - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes

Sh'e took the little blue ones.
  •  

Futurist

Quote from: Deborah on March 26, 2016, 11:00:54 PM
I hope the title caught somebody's attention because I would like some thoughts other than those I come up with myself.

MTF Trans or non-binary or something else, that is the question. Before HRT I was quite certain I was MTF. There was no doubt and I had been certain for over 40 years. Now after over a year on HRT I'm not certain anymore.

Please don't say that it doesn't matter and that I just need to be what makes me happy. That doesn't work for me. What makes me happy is to be certain; it's just the way my mind works. And maybe part of this is just me needing to write it all down to try and figure it out.

Here is what I am certain of:

  • Before HRT the dysphoria was not constant. But it was really frequent and when it was there it was crushing and soul destroying.
  • On HRT the dysphoria is almost non-existent.
    I cannot stop the transition dosages I am on. I tried that twice before and the crushing dysphoria comes back worse than before.
  • I am really happy with what I am seeing.
  • I pass, at least marginally, no matter what I am wearing (usually jeans and one of my old shirts or running clothes). I get called ma'am now more often than sir although most often I am called nothing at all. When I get called ma'am it is beginning to seem normal and makes me happy. Being called sir feels like being slapped.
  • I like my long hair and am really fortunate in having all of it. No wigs are needed. So no matter what I'm doing or how I'm dressed the hair is there.

Ok. That all comes across pretty straightforward and seems to confirm what I've always believed. But there are other things that introduce doubt because at least around here this seems pretty unusual. I don't really know any other trans people other than those here to compare feelings with.

  • I don't really care about clothes. I no longer have a drive to dress up and go out. Neither do I really have a drive to wear makeup and go out. Before HRT the drive was there but now it's gone. Yes, I do have that stuff but have kind of lost interest in it.
  • I don't feel an urgency on a complete public transition anymore. And yet I do have a drive to pass without makeup and flashy clothes. This confuses me.
  • When people here say they feel like a woman or feel like a man I have no idea what that means. All I know is that I feel like myself on HRT and not like myself without HRT. On the other hand I did used to be quite certain of my core identity which remained constant whether I was dressing up or parachuting out of an airplane with my face painted green. What I was doing had no effect on my identity one way or the other. It still doesn't.
  • Mentally I don't think HRT has changed me much except for eliminating the dysphoria and depression. Other than politics and religion, which I was using as a coping mechanism before, my interests, likes and dislikes, etc. seem to have remained the same. Even my emotions have changed only marginally.
  • I also don't really have any interest in body modifications other than what comes naturally with HRT and from taking care of myself. In my mind at least this is the real me. Maybe if I was 20 instead of 56 I would feel differently.

Does anybody else feel at all like this or am I the only one? Is this non-binary or non-standard narrative MTF trans? Is it just me adjusting? Or is it something else?

Maybe it's just me feeling rather happy most of the time for the first time and being hesitant to push the envelope to fast and too far and see it all come crashing down.

This is all a big puzzle. Anyone have any ideas?
If you prefer female pronouns, then perhaps "gender-non-conforming trans-woman" or "trans-woman with non-binary inclinations/preferences" might be good terms to describe you, Deborah! :) Of course, there are only suggestions and you are certainly completely welcome to reject all of these suggestions of mine! :)
  •