Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Community Conversation => Non-binary talk => Topic started by: Edge on May 30, 2012, 06:42:04 PM

Title: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on May 30, 2012, 06:42:04 PM
Yeah I know it's called genderfluid and I can't actually shift my shape (much as I'd like to). I also know I talk too much and I would apologize, but I'm bored.
Sometimes, I feel male and I want to look male and be perceived as male. Sometimes, I feel female. Sometimes, I feel like both and it's an inner tug-of-war. Sometimes, it feels like both are there, but the tug-of-war isn't bad. Sometimes, it feels like a mixture, but that usually means I'm in the middle of shifting.
And then sometimes, I feel male, look down at my female bodied self, shrug, and go, "Meh." At these times, even though I personally identify as male at that time, but... I guess I feel kind of like Loki or Alucard when they take female forms. I don't care what pronouns people use or what form I take and find it kind of fun to play at being female.
I'm not really sure why I wrote this. Maybe I should ask for a blog or something.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Annah on May 30, 2012, 06:45:33 PM
 I dont understand. Shapeshifting is fictional...i try not to get philosophically deep if a shapeshifting dog is its own gender.

Sam Merlott is a guy
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on May 30, 2012, 06:55:38 PM
I don't understand the part about a shapeshifting dog. I guess I was just rambling about being genderfluid. Genderfluidity exists I hope or else there's yet another reason I don't exist. *pats self* I'm pretty sure I exist. Who's Sam Merlott?
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Devlyn on May 30, 2012, 07:09:56 PM
Edge clearly identifies with the term "Shapeshifter" by using it as the Custom Title in their avatar. I respect that. Hugs, Devlyn
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on May 30, 2012, 07:12:26 PM
Thanks, Devlyn. :)
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Shang on May 30, 2012, 07:22:59 PM
That sounds like genderfluid to me. -shrug-  It doesn't matter what word is used (to me), though.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Annah on May 30, 2012, 07:49:33 PM
Ohh you were talking about genderfluidity. I thought u were asking what the gender of a shapeshifter would be. Thats why i mention Sam Merlott because he identifies as a human male even tho he could shapeshift into a dog, hawk, and cow.

He's on TrueBlood (HBO)
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on May 30, 2012, 07:56:35 PM
Oh! That makes more sense. He's the main character's boss right?
I don't really care about the word either. I just ramble a lot. I'd apologize, but I like doing it too much.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Amazon D on May 30, 2012, 08:00:04 PM
Quote from: Devlyn Marie on May 30, 2012, 07:09:56 PM
Edge clearly identifies with the term "Shapeshifter" by using it as the Custom Title in their avatar. I respect that. Hugs, Devlyn

thats because your so respectable Devlyn  :D
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Ariel on May 30, 2012, 09:00:10 PM
Maybe genderfluid people would be happiest if they could shift their shape? I know I would be.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on May 30, 2012, 09:07:43 PM
Oh I definitely would. My dysphoria was so bad as a teenager, I felt like I was suffocating.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Jamie D on May 30, 2012, 09:19:16 PM
Shapeshifter, anyone?

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fcult%2Fst%2Fgallery%2Fimages%2F340%2Fds9odo02.jpg&hash=e3990cdef8ead871d93dc3b3ececde41964cd7d2)
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Annah on May 30, 2012, 09:33:57 PM
omg if i was a shapeshifter...i would have way too much fun!  >:-)
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: dalebert on May 30, 2012, 10:07:40 PM
Quote from: Annah on May 30, 2012, 09:33:57 PM
omg if i was a shapeshifter...i would have way too much fun!  >:-)

IKR!

I really liked Sam's little brother and had hopes that he would redeem himself and become more likable. Those bastards.

My co-host brought up the idea of future medical technology and if people could casually change genders, back and forth, extremely effectively and how that might change how people look at gender and how they behave. We had a nice exploration into how we would personally act under such circumstances.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Ariel on May 30, 2012, 11:03:24 PM
Quote from: Jamie D on May 30, 2012, 09:19:16 PM
Shapeshifter, anyone?

I approve!

Quote from: dalebert on May 30, 2012, 10:07:40 PM
My co-host brought up the idea of future medical technology and if people could casually change genders, back and forth, extremely effectively and how that might change how people look at gender and how they behave. We had a nice exploration into how we would personally act under such circumstances.

I wonder... something to think about. Right now I think it would be going back and forth a lot as I figure things out. :D
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Sephirah on May 30, 2012, 11:09:45 PM
Quote from: dalebert on May 30, 2012, 10:07:40 PM
My co-host brought up the idea of future medical technology and if people could casually change genders, back and forth, extremely effectively and how that might change how people look at gender and how they behave. We had a nice exploration into how we would personally act under such circumstances.

You should read the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks. They're science fiction but in them, people can do just that - entirely biologically without medical intervention. It seems to be a means to an end, such as a means to get pregnant as a woman then switch back and raise the kid as a man, or just to see if it's any easier to fit into society as another gender, sort of as a fix for something lacking in someone's personality. Interesting stuff.

This (http://www.amazon.com/Excession-Iain-M-Banks/dp/0553575376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338437846&sr=8-1) is a personal favourite. The story is told partly in flashbacks of when the main protagonist was a woman, and it's a sort of lesbian love story, intermixed with current events of when he's a man again and meets his former lover.

Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Taka on May 31, 2012, 06:17:09 AM
Quote from: Edge on May 30, 2012, 06:42:04 PM
I guess I feel kind of like Loki or Alucard when they take female forms.
i always wondered if alucard actually feels that way about it

shapeshifter is a way cooler gender than genderfluid, but... that implies you could also be any other being once in a while
not that bad really, at least it would give me a better explanation for identifying as a werewolf, or behaving like a vampire
i even speak cat, so... maybe i really am a shapeshifter gender
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on May 31, 2012, 08:48:51 AM
Quote from: Taka on May 31, 2012, 06:17:09 AM
i always wondered if alucard actually feels that way about it
To quote him directly (although translated), "Appearance and shape hold no meaning for me." Also, I think I read somewhere that Kohta Hirano has stated that Alucard no longer has a gender.

Quote from: Taka on May 31, 2012, 06:17:09 AMshapeshifter is a way cooler gender than genderfluid, but... that implies you could also be any other being once in a while
Not physically, but yeah I can. It has caused me a lot of grief because I am very much a skeptic and I still struggle with it even though I have accepted that it is not going away. (I am aware of the possibility of being insane, but it has been confirmed by professionals that I do not have a chemical imbalance.)
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Taka on May 31, 2012, 09:06:25 AM
Quote from: Edge on May 31, 2012, 08:48:51 AM
Not physically, but yeah I can. It has caused me a lot of grief because I am very much a skeptic and I still struggle with it even though I have accepted that it is not going away. (I am aware of the possibility of being insane, but it has been confirmed by professionals that I do not have a chemical imbalance.)
hmm.. i'd like to hear more about that. sounds interesting
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: foosnark on May 31, 2012, 10:31:48 AM
Shapeshifting might be exactly what I would want.  I am indecisive, and can't see choosing any particular body type and being stuck with it.  Constant flow and change would be fine though.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on May 31, 2012, 03:42:14 PM
Quote from: Taka on May 31, 2012, 09:06:25 AM
hmm.. i'd like to hear more about that. sounds interesting
I can pm you if you like, but it's not very interesting.
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Taka on June 01, 2012, 05:08:51 PM
Quote from: Edge on May 31, 2012, 03:42:14 PM
I can pm you if you like, but it's not very interesting.
i'd be happy to receive one. exploring other people's worlds is always interesting, since they're never the same as mine
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Bridal Wish on June 06, 2012, 09:31:33 PM
pardon my ignorance. But what is a genderfluid person? or what does it mean to be genderfluid?
Title: Re: Shapeshifter as a gender-type
Post by: Edge on June 06, 2012, 10:23:41 PM
Quote from: Bridal Wish on June 06, 2012, 09:31:33 PM
pardon my ignorance. But what is a genderfluid person? or what does it mean to be genderfluid?
I only know how it is for me. My gender is fluid. It shifts. I don't know why it happens or how (yet). I just know that it does. Like other transgendered people, I didn't choose this. I get dysphoria, but it's not as bad as when I was teenager (that's just me and it's complicated). The main thing I noticed was the euphoria I got when I first realized I was male (at the time) and how right it feels. That said, I am not always male, hence why I consider myself genderfluid.