Hey folks, first timer here, just wanted to say Hi.
I'm a 58 year old male who thinks of himself as bi-gendered, been doing some cross-dressing lately. I've done a lot of cosplay in the past, built suits of armor and prosthetic elf ears, recently learned how to make corsets. Doing a TV outfit is a new challenge for me. One of my outfits is based on an 8th century German noblewoman's gown...I'm pretty happy with the way it came out (yay box pleats!) I recently wore it at Pantheacon, got a lot of positive reactions.
Much thanks to Sweet Forbidden, the TG boutique in San Jose, where I got makeup lessons and other supplies.
Although I am considering hormones and other interventions, I want to talk about another kind of transition that I am working on - a backup plan, if you will. I know this will sound wild and science-fictional, but bear with me for a moment.
I have a lot of hope for the future. In fact, I think there's a good chance that 300 years from now, we'll have an advanced, AI-enabled society in which bodies can be created to order, possibly via nanotechnology or 3D printing of cellular material.
So, if I wanted to undergo a really *deep* MTF transformation - all the way to the genetic level - all I have to do is figure out some way to get to that future.
The answer to this is cryogenic preservation at the point of death. There are several companies that offer this service, the one I have chosen is Alcor. The way this works is that you buy a $80k life insurance policy and make them the beneficiary, and then when you die a special medical team comes out and cryo-preserves your body (actually, they only preserve the head, whole body preservation is more expensive). They then promise to preserve your remains in liquid nitrogen until technology has advanced to the point where a new body can be grown for you.
Of course, this is a long shot - it might not work, civilization might fall, who knows what. But the cost for me is about $3K a year, which as an ex-Google-employee with lots of stock, and who lives a very spartan lifestyle, is not a huge amount. And what I find most interesting is that it gives you a completely different perspective on time - instead of thinking "oh, yeah, global warming may be a problem for my grandchildren, but I'll be dead by then", I have to consider that I might actually suffer personally because of decisions being made right now.
So as part of my Alcor "revival statement" (which states the conditions under which you want to be revived) is that my new body be female - and in fact I've given fairly detailed instructions on what I want to look like (think Michelle Trachtenburg but with copper hair).
Again, this might not work. But at least lets me live each day with the hope that I might someday be reborn in the body of my dreams. It means I don't have to fear death. And if it doesn't work - well, then I'll never know.
However, there's a psychological danger of getting so focused on the next life that you forget to live this one. And so part of what I am looking for here is advice on that - how to live my life to the fullest, which includes getting a better understanding of who and what I am. How to explore the feminine part of me which I have hidden for so long...
