I don't really like it, but at the same time, I really only use labels to find more people like me, so it's not a bad thing, either.  When I meet new people, I try to come off as just a male so I don't get questions about what I am... and if I do get questions, I'll say I'm a guy.  With people I already know, who are probably going to see me as a female no matter what I tell them, I really don't care what labels they use for me as long as they're not female. 

The words I tend to use the most applying to myself are "transguy" and "trans". I might use ftm but I wouldn't say (aloud) female to male. Funny how these terms seem to hit us different ways. I don't like trans-man but I think it's only because it rhymes. LOL


--Jay

I dont have a problem with the term female to male.

Because I know I was born in a female body, it is just the technical term for it, now I DO have a big problem with the term girl, or woman, because that is a more social term.  So if someone were to say I used to be a girl, or used to be a woman, I always either feel very uncomfortable, or I correct them and say.. no, I used to be female not a woman or a girl.

Quote from: Elijah on May 28, 2013, 12:31:01 AM
I dont have a problem with the term female to male.

Because I know I was born in a female body, it is just the technical term for it, now I DO have a big problem with the term girl, or woman, because that is a more social term.  So if someone were to say I used to be a girl, or used to be a woman, I always either feel very uncomfortable, or I correct them and say.. no, I used to be female not a woman or a girl.

This! Yeah, beginning my transition I'm fine with being considered anatomically and physically female, but I've never been a girl or woman and would take offense to being referred to in that sense but not as female. The FTM label for me is technical over mentality. Others have different opinions or interpretations, which is fine, but as a person who has studied anatomy I can't equate female with having anything to do with mentality, to describe that aspect I'd refer to the term femininity. For me, I accept, for example, that I will always be part female because my pelvis is that of a female.  And for me, personally, I find accepting this helps my mentality because bottling up or ignoring something has never worked well for me. I tend to look at it the way I do to acknowledge what this process truly entails and the limitations of it so that I can accept those limitations and plan to cope with it without fear of explosions when I can't bottle it any more. For me, acknowledging that my pelvis will be something I can't do too much about, means any minimisation of accentuated hips through redistributed fat becomes a bonus and something exciting over depression that it's not as male defined as I'd like. Personally, and again, maybe because of the med school side of me, I need this because I know all the anatomical differences so when that is minimised or harder to tell, that will excite me over expecting perfection and being potentially disappointed.

There are plenty of masculine females that are happy with their bodies or just going through the tom boy phase. The difference for me is that they're happy to describe themselves as girls or women, whereas I may be female, but I'm not a woman.

Haven't really thought too much into that? Except on tumblr the term ftm seems to be a fad acronym. Like my dysphoric ass is a trend...NO! I always have had dysphoria and as I grew older it came out as a masculine person who liked women. Always hated the Lesbian word or dyke, I took to stud because men could be studs. I always have had the women I date call me there man or Daddy, Papi, etc. Never anything female related since I was 12 (I'm 21 now). Any who, even before i knew I was trans I did not like being referred to as a female. So FTM is bothersome but I've some what shunned the thought of me once being a female yet I'm not super ew gross dont say that cause the point blank f'in truth is, I was dropped off into a female body, not saying I'm a female but truth is, it is what it is and thats why I'm transitioning to where I should of been dropped. Labels are social construction crap and I'm a status quo rebel I guess. I'd love to be stealth, I've moved half way across country already and I distanced myself from extended family when I HAD became a "stud" to escape the crap. Only problem is I do music and take it seriously people will see me transition so...my profession in aerospace doesnt matter so much but hell buddy dont label yourself that and be stealth. I plan to be if possible. Your a man for all I know. I'm a man to all you guys.

NOt sure it is a fad acronym, but the use of things like this does go up and down a bit. For instance, transsexual is not used to much in the groups I go to. And when I hear it seems a bit odd. But I wouldn't say it was a fad term or something. Most of the guys I know personally are not stealth, but I do know people on FB and so on that do not like any of these terms at all.

--Jay

Quote from: Elijah on May 28, 2013, 12:31:01 AM
I dont have a problem with the term female to male.

Because I know I was born in a female body, it is just the technical term for it, now I DO have a big problem with the term girl, or woman, because that is a more social term.  So if someone were to say I used to be a girl, or used to be a woman, I always either feel very uncomfortable, or I correct them and say.. no, I used to be female not a woman or a girl.

I agree with Elijah. I was female bodied and now my body is almost completely male, so FTM is useful for describing that. I wouldn't like to be thought of as someone who was once a girl/woman and now is a man, as that's not accurate.

It's not that I identify with the FTM label, I wouldn't refer to myself as that. I identify mostly as just a guy, or trans guy if it's relevant. But even though it's not how I choose to identify myself, I still see how it could be useful for describing me in some situations and don't mind the term.

Quote from: sneakersjay on May 27, 2013, 06:53:53 PM
I dislike all labels.  I'm male. Period.  That's what I want people to see, that's how I identify and have identified my whole life.  I want to forget I was forced to live as F for the vast majority of my life. 

I feel the same way.

I don't really hate it because at least I know there's a name for the condition I have so it's not just me.

I don't mind FTM. I used to live as a F and did for the majority of my life. I cannot deny that. It was my life for 25 years. I now identify as male and will for the rest of my life. But if people ask I say I'm male not FTM. I don't make a big deal out of it.

I have always been male,in mind and soul (my opinion on the soul part) but for me,i only had to change my body to match everything else.i dont see myself as a FtM but a *Man* and i choose not to release that to anyone,aka i would rather live stealth but thats just me.I dont accept labels and never will.They can cause alot of un-needed heart ache and misunderstandings.Along the fact that it *can-depending on how its taught and learned* it can lead to stronger biased feelings toward the community.Of course i wouldnt deny this fact to anyone and am very proud that i found who i really am and will do whatever it takes to achieve that but i refuse labels myself and those are my personal feelings in it.I dont feel that the label is to *feminine* or *soft* i personally feel that it is a label created by a community to know *how to address the situation* but like i said,thats just me.I may have been born in the wrong body but i wont live in its shadow or be known as someone *who changed* and not for who i really am.

Quote from: Malachite on May 28, 2013, 05:35:35 PM
I don't really late it because at least I know there's a name for the condition I have so it's not just me.

"Female to male" is not a condition.  If anything it's the description of the transition process, from female to male.  If you want to get technical the condition is transsexualism or gender identity disorder (soon to be gender dysphoria).

Quote from: wheat thins are delicious on May 28, 2013, 06:15:42 PM
"Female to male" is not a condition.  If anything it's the description of the transition process, from female to male.  If you want to get technical the condition is transsexualism or gender identity disorder (soon to be gender dysphoria).

k

When I mean fad term on tumblr, I mean guys that are adopting FTM who are not FTM. whom may give FTMs a bad name. Whole different environment on Tumblr and looking under the FTM tag is like looking at the FTM men who have the symptoms of gender dysphoria, and the confused lesbians.  I'm not a doctor nor do I have the rights to judge if some one is or is not. There are people lurking under the FTM label who are almost trending into it. So its not so much bothersome but the people who put themselves into something they're not and give general public confusion. 
Ex: A girl/"guy" on tumblr I had gotten cool with had never experienced dysphoria loved being a girl and just felt like she should act male not that she is male, sounds like a masculine women/butch/stud to me who adopted that term incorrectly. I'm a dysphoric guy who feels/is  male. I know there are feminine trans men/ cis men because femininity and female do not have to coexist or masculinity and male. I'd be ignorant to follow those social constructions.

I feel like those labels FTM trans should not matter in day to day life unless, telling a partner or a physician before the check up. You will soon/ or do mark male on paper not x out "or" and sketch in a "T" on the paper and mark both...so brother dont let it irritate because your male not a subgender.
(sorry for the rambles and horrid spelling/punctuations lol I'm dead tired.

There's really only one label that I've ever had someone try to push on my that I absolutely hated. That term is transmasculine. I dislike that term; it makes it seem as if we're dealing with the sociological definition of gender. Being trans is a lot more than wearing "boy" clothes and getting a "boy" haircut. Ugh, I hate it when people try to associate being trans with gender roles.

I don't have a problem with FtM. Why? Because my biological sex was female. As much as I wish I wasn't, I can't delude myself into thinking that I wasn't born with female parts. Now, however, I'm on hormones. My body is adjusting itself, becoming male. And eventually, I'll have top and bottom surgery, to fix my body even more. And by doing that, I did go from female to male, physically. That's actually why I like the term transsexual over transgender. This has never been about gender - my gender identity has always been the same, and my gender expression is irrelevant. It's completely about my body's sex.

Of course, my brain's sex has always been male. I've never been female in that aspect. But, my body had to catch up to my brain and that's why the term FtM fits.

Quote from: Sebb on May 28, 2013, 06:36:22 PM
There's really only one label that I've ever had someone try to push on my that I absolutely hated. That term is transmasculine. I dislike that term; it makes it seem as if we're dealing with the sociological definition of gender. Being trans is a lot more than wearing "boy" clothes and getting a "boy" haircut. Ugh, I hate it when people try to associate being trans with gender roles.

I don't have a problem with FtM. Why? Because my biological sex was female. As much as I wish I wasn't, I can't delude myself into thinking that I wasn't born with female parts. Now, however, I'm on hormones. My body is adjusting itself, becoming male. And eventually, I'll have top and bottom surgery, to fix my body even more. And by doing that, I did go from female to male, physically. That's actually why I like the term transsexual over transgender. This has never been about gender - my gender identity has always been the same, and my gender expression is irrelevant. It's completely about my body's sex.

Of course, my brain's sex has always been male. I've never been female in that aspect. But, my body had to catch up to my brain and that's why the term FtM fits.

Word! lol I agree 100% with that.

Quote from: Sebb on May 28, 2013, 06:36:22 PM
There's really only one label that I've ever had someone try to push on my that I absolutely hated. That term is transmasculine. I dislike that term; it makes it seem as if we're dealing with the sociological definition of gender. Being trans is a lot more than wearing "boy" clothes and getting a "boy" haircut. Ugh, I hate it when people try to associate being trans with gender roles.

Trans masculine is problematic in more ways than one.

It's amazing how many people over think this stuff. It's really only as complicated as you want it to be. It's really online for most of us anyways. I mean when you meet someone do you present yourself as a man or as a transman? Would you say "Hi, I'm (name) and I'm a masculine binary identified female to male transsexual"? Uh, more than likely no.

Online though everyone seems to want to shove everyone in nice neat little boxes on the gender spectrum. Why does it matter? All of us are different in more ways than one. We just all have this one common starting point that is really a very unfortunate thing.

In real life I'm Simon (obviously male/obviously masculine) and that's all I need.

Quote from: wheat thins are delicious on May 28, 2013, 06:15:42 PM
"Female to male" is not a condition.  If anything it's the description of the transition process, from female to male.  If you want to get technical the condition is transsexualism or gender identity disorder (soon to be gender dysphoria).

I'm not trying to say what you are saying is invalid, because you're right, but I do see how it can be seen as a condition. I myself call it a condition, not from a psychological standpoint, but from a physical stand point. At the moment, I am in a condition, a situation, a circumstance, where my body doesn't match my mind or how I identify. But that's just my outlook on things. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Quote from: Simon on May 28, 2013, 07:57:14 PM
Why does it matter?

It matters in certain contexts. If we're discussing privilege/oppression and gender politics, talking about being cis or trans does make a huge difference. There's certain things that we experience that cis people don't, and when we're talking about them, it's important to make the distinction. Usually you can just say "man" because that would be correct. If you identify as a man, be you cis or trans you're still a man. Cis and trans are just adjectives that describe the kind of man you are just as black, white, gay, straight, tall, short are all descriptors for types of men.