Like the title says, how do you feel about being trans.  I'm just curious to see if others deal with feelings of shame and embarrassment.  Or are you the type of person that has a sense of trans pride?  If you feel proud, how did you het over the feelings of shame?  If you feel ashamed or embarrassed, how do you let that impact you?  Do you try to stay in the closet as much as possible or prevent you from transitioning?  Do you have the strngth to move forward in spite of it?  Just curious to see how everyone else handles and experience these feelings.

I'm proud of myself and every trans person I know. We have to deal with more than the average person and do. I don't and never had felt shame over it. It's medical. None of us woke up one morning and said, "I really feel like being reviled today. Hmm, Nazi or trans person?" This was done to us, however it happened. No one should ever feel shame for anything they didn't bring upon themselves.

At first, I was very ashamed of it because its not something the majority takes lightly. Then the further I got in my pre-transition phase, I began to realize that I needn't give a <edit> about what the majority thinks about me. And there ya go. 

But honestly, I try very hard not to think anything about it. I try not to focus so much on compartmentalizing myself the way society does. I now just want to identify as "being myself!" 

~Nixy~

curse words are not permitted, with or without an *.

I just came out to my close friends a couple of weeks ago. Before that I would have to say I was embarrassed and very scared.
Since finding out people can be accepting and even supportive I'm know enjoying it and very much looking forward to going full time. Getting it out in the open definitely changed my feelings and made me more accepting of myself.

I feel it's like asking me if I'm ashamed to be one of God's children. I see why you would ask because growing up I hid in shame from my parents and siblings, but then I woke up and excepted that I was born this way and given the opportunity by God to experience a very unique life,

In my opinion, if your gender dysphoria is at a level as to where it is impacting the quality of your life, and worse, your maybe not wanting to continue with life, you really need to come to terms with the fact that you have an issue that needs to be tended to professionally by a therapist.  And if they diagnose you as a being transgender then they will help you come to terms with that fact.  You are who you are and there is no reason for you to be ashamed or embarrassed of that fact.  You are not a criminal or a pervert......you are a human being.  Depending on your unique situation, transition may or may not be the best path for you to take in order to enjoy a productive and satisfying life.  I cannot speak for everyone who posts on this forum, but I would guess that hardly anyone is ashamed or embarrassed by they fact that their mind and body are not in sync.  I also do not think anyone that transitions does not suffer from some level of fear and stress when going through the process.  That is just normal.  But that is not the same thing and everyone I know who goes through the process at some point gets comfortable and content with their presenting themselves in their true gender in public.  Personally, I have not ever had any "trans pride".  I am just proud of the fact that I took the steps I had to in order to live my life without the crushing pain and frustration that gender dysphoria creates.  It is not that I had the "strength" to move forward with my transition........it is I did not have the "strength" to continue without doing that.  Read the posts on this forum and you will not only learn.......you will see that you are not alone in how you feel.  There are more of us out there in the world than anyone could ever imagine.  Good luck....and never feel ashamed or embarrassed by something that you did not choose to be confronted with!  Just move forward with what is best for you and do so with your head held high!

It does not really impact my life any more, but I could have done without being trans.

All I know is I would be better off being born a cis female than be trans, because I wanted to be a mother.

I hate it more than any other aspect of my life. I wish I could have things as easy as cis people one way or another, but I know that will never be an option to me. I also dream of being a mother all the time, but life doesn't want it to be that simple to me. With all of my problems, I still try to keep my head up and make the best of it. There's no other option, so I push as hard as I can to make everything work. The more I've accepted it, the better things have been.

Ashamed and embarrassed, no not at all. I have some resentment for a society that makes it difficult for us to be ourselves but as time goes on I become less and less bothered by what other people might think, after all, it is none of their business who or what I am anyway.

I was ashamed of being train at one time but not now. I have a lot of support at work and no one really cares except my immediate family. I think the shame was from how I was treated when I was a child and young adult.

I truly believe the only way out of your predicament is to just finally accept your self. Your fight an unwinnable battle with your nature. I tried all my life to deny because of shame.  All I knew of being trans was from the Jerry Springer's of life and of course who the hell wants to be a trans prostitute. I mean if that's what you have to do to survive more power, but it's not the safest job around. Once you say yes to yourself you can move on. I hid it for a very long time and I said no more. I'm free. I understand why people don't want to be trans , but it's what I am. The reality is what it is and absolutely nothing can change the fact I was born this way so why waste the time I have left fighting and denying.

LTL I think it helps to realise that shame is largely a social construct - it exists to make someone feel bad about themselves for doing something that is considered by society as "bad". It's been around for as long as humans have had social groups and is a close cousin of guilt. Sometimes shame is warranted (for example, murder) and many times it is not (eg, having an extra cookie, wanting sex, telling a lie to get out of a family gathering, being naked, whatever). But we are pretty much programmed to feel shame and ashamed from about the age of being toilet trained. Sometimes shame is an extremely difficult emotion to unpack and resolve oneself from. So, that said, what is there to be ashamed of in being trans? Sure, cis-centric society by and large considers it "weird", "wrong", "deviant", "inexplicable", "sinful" and worse; there are plenty of people who set themselves up as very vocal, inexplicably angry gender bullies to make sure everyone else tows the line and that those who transgress are vilified, humiliated, ridiculed, shunned and/or punished. If you grow up around and within that kind of ubiquitous attitude it can be extremely difficult to see the practice of shaming for what it is, a toxic social control perpetuated by frightened, closed minded individuals to force everyone else to do their bidding.

So, did I feel ashamed of being trans? Once. Deeply. So much so it kept me from transitioning for over twenty years. But I don't feel shame anymore. How did I get over it? I can't say for sure but I expect it is the one answer I know you hate to hear, I just stopped caring what other people thought and I realised that I was not wrong for being trans. Yes, being trans makes us different from the cis majority but "DIFFERENT" is not spelled "W-R-O-N-G".

no shame or guilt here, I am at one with myself and happy to be me. being trans may not be the easiest thing in the world to be, but it's what I am, so may as well embrace it and be happy I found myself

xox, Candi

I'm just starting on this journey and surprisingly I'm not feeling any negative emotions about being trans.  Where my emotions run high is the effect it will have when I finally come out to the world on my wife.  We are afraid of the how it will affect her circle of friends.  My friends are not the issue, that's my challenge to contend with.  However I my concern is for the looks/stares/gossiping/comments that will affect her. Being trans is my cross to handle but unfortunately she's walking beside me.

I too was once consumed with shame and guilt over who I can't help but be. Eventually I realized that if I did not express my full self I would never be happy, I would always feel false. I was not giving myself the chance to reach for my brass ring. I had to realize that I was as worthy of the compassion I showed others. It dawned on me that the onus was on me to make myself whole, no one else could. Every step I had ever taken made me feel good. So bit by bit I am trading shame for joy. That's all it is, taking the steps I need to feel whole and happy. Nothing more nothing less. I did not choose to be trans but I had to choose to embrace it. Our culture and my own sense of obligation made that happen. Therefore there is no one to blame.

My trans pride is not in being trans but in taking on my part in showing the world that there is nothing wrong in being trans. My pride stems from my efforts to end the societal shaming by being a good person who happens to be trans. Also from sharing my inner struggle with other trans folk so that they know they are not alone and that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. I also quite love my blended physical self. I am visibly female and male, in my own unique way. I have found the beauty in that.

I had shame when I was young but I simply got over it by realizing that feminity is beautiful so why not embrace it. People bashed me for transitioning but I felt strong for the first time by being myself. Why feel shameful? If anything transitioning makes you more brave and have more guts than anyone trying to shame you so they are the ones that should be shamed for trying to bring people down just because they are. I realized that the shamers were the weak ones. I know people say this a lot but it's seriously true. I realized I loved being trans because although I wasn't born female, I had something that a lot of cis females don't and that's being comfortable and confident being a woman and embracing my feminine side. Transgender women should embrace themselves being trans because we have the mindset of just knowing and embracing womanhood, that's the reason why we transition in the first place. I'm not comparing cis to trans because we are both the same, but it takes a real and strong woman to be a transgender woman. Although it takes such a journey of pain and hardships to transition, once you are fully finished or have the process going the feeling it incredible and liberating. I am transgender and I love it I wouldn't have it any other way. I ramble a lot sorry haha I have a lot of point and things to say so hopefully you understand me )) The strongest person is the one who embraces themselves I would feel so much more shameful by pretending to be a guy.

 Spent over four decades self loathing, self medicating, binge eating, and hiding from myself and the world. Reached the age of 53 with no friends, a dysfunctional family, a drug and alcohol problem, and a weight of over 380 pounds. I had come to the point where the slow process of killing my self was about to be complete. I had an emotional break down which led me to finally accept myself for who I am.
Today I am 57 (my birthday is today) I like myself, enjoy life, no longer abuse drugs and alcohol, and my weight is 180 pounds. How do I fell about being Trans?  I would of been better off if I wasn't or had come to terms with it sooner, but that is in the past now I try to look forward; though its hard not to glance in the rear view mirror sometimes.

I think that most of us who didn't have the privilege of transitioning during childhood grew up with an enforced internalized transphobia, even if we didn't realize it.  That is the source of any sort of shame you may feel during the early stages of transition after you confront the issue.

I am just now getting past that point.  I always knew there was nothing to be ashamed of any more than a person should be ashamed of an outtie belly button; it's just another way to be.  But knowing doesn't relieve the guilt at first. 

Just today, I make a list of things starting with "I am a..." and I listed "parent, spouse, witch, writer, and student".  Afterwards, I realized I did not put my gender status on there.  I didn't write man, woman, transwoman, or anything like that.  I felt that was a huge breakthrough.  My gender status isn't who I am and I would like to think about it as often as CIS people do, which is almost never.  I will cherish that milestone when it comes.

To be honest, I worry about coming out in the future, I worry about the trans label.

My optimistic side recodes the word trans as trans-ition.  I want to be woman much more than I want to be transitioning to woman.

Much of that is state of mind, and happily, that part is going quite quickly.