Interesting question. And very interesting replies. Here are my thoughts on it, for what they're worth.
Quote from: PurpleWolf on March 28, 2018, 08:50:53 PM
I always felt uneasy about that phrase. It felt almost as if I was expected to feel trapped in someone else's body, other than my own.
This is important. And something where it can very easily be said that "wrong" equals "not yours". But I don't think that's always the case. I think it's possible to see your body as both wrong, and your own. And to feel trapped within it.
Speaking personally, I feel more... hmm... trapped inside my own head. I do a lot of work with consciousness. Getting in touch with my subconscious, through relaxation techniques, meditation, trance work, autohypnosis... those kinds of things. The act of shutting the body off and letting the mind be... free, as it were. When free of the physical constraints and allowed to be who I feel myself to be, in every aspect, it's an entirely different, and wholely liberating experience. One I really can't put into words.
Coming back to physical reality can be a very jarring, very uncomfortable experience. For me personally. I suspect different people at different stages of transition will have varying feelings about this... but speaking only for myself... yes, sometimes I do feel trapped. Imprisoned, sometimes. In a world that sees one thing when you feel entirely something else. Like wearing a costume you can't remove. Where you mentally scratch yourself over and over looking for the zipper, to step outside that. And feel worse when you can't find it.
The body is mine, but it isn't right. It isn't a reflection of who I am. And every single time I'm reminded of that, I feel trapped. I feel like screaming "If only you could see the real me you would understand."
So in that sense, I do think it describes how I feel pretty well.