'What sort of woman do I want to be?'
Learning how to live and 'present' as a woman can be like learning a new language, only without the concrete rules, says Juliet Jacques
* Juliet Jacques
*
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 February 2011 10.30 GMT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/09/transgender-women-femininityLiving 'as a woman' was just a starting point. As soon as I entered the NHS pathway and began the real life experience I had to ask myself: "What sort of woman?"
Establishing this involved rethinking my relationship with the vague social construct of 'masculinity', and separating those traits which had been a facade to help me 'pass' as male before transition, from those integral to my character. Simultaneously, whilst I knew that changing my body carried no obligation to adopt any socially gendered behaviours, presenting as female made it prudent to at least consider my ideas of 'femininity', and how 'feminine' I wished to be.
