What do you think?-

QuoteI wonder how full of a gender experience any transgender person can every truly get. Can a transgender man without a penis ever experience life exactly as a genetic male? Can a transgender woman ever experience life exactly as a genetic female without even having the capability to bear a child?

No one ever experiences life like anyone else really, everyones experiences and even perceptions are different. I think it's a question based on a false premise really.

It's better to worry about how to get the best experiences out of your life, not how they compare to someone elses.

not every woman has a children!  Some women cant have children at all.  Does that make them not women? 

and you dont need a penis to be a man, there are men who have very small penis's, there are men who lost their penis's somehow.  plus the only difference between men with penis's and men without penis's is the sex they can have, and peeing standing up

Quote from: Elijah on February 23, 2011, 12:41:44 PM
not every woman has a children!  Some women cant have children at all.  Does that make them not women? 

and you dont need a penis to be a man, there are men who have very small penis's, there are men who lost their penis's somehow.  plus the only difference between men with penis's and men without penis's is the sex they can have, and peeing standing up

And not even all men who have a penis pee standing up.

Also I find the term genetic male to be problematic.  Cis male would be the best tern imo. 

Gender to me is not in the genitals, it is in the mind and who you are.

Yes I would love to be penetrated by a man, but that inability does not stop me from being who I am.

In my mind, soul and life ... I am Sarah.

Thinking about this more it makes me wonder what a genetic male or female incapable of bearing children or with erectile disfunction or any of the myriad disorders out there that prevent them from living the exact gender experience perscribed in the quote would say to this? Are they somehow not considered a member of their gender, or unable to experience life as their gender?

It just seems narrow minded and insulting really.

Hell yes!

I sometimes wonder if not having the proper genitals does make a difference.  There is always that reminder that you were not born as your gender.  And that can weigh very much on ones mind.

And that can keep one from enjoying their life to the fullest.  But even this can be overcome, with a lot of hard work.  I know that it takes hard work because I am struggling with this myself.

One of the only things I can think of that transguys might not be able to experience (with current tech) is the first time you accidentally sit on your balls.

Ever see a guy go to sit down then all of a sudden STOP and go to stand back up again even if only partly before fully sitting down.... Just thinking about it makes me break a sweat.

i definitely think so, but only if they feel they can, a.k.a. non-op for the reason being they dont feel the need for bottom surgery. obviously this couldnt work for someone that needs surgery to feel complete and such, as would I. but if someone feels totally fine and like a complete man/woman without getting the full surgery, then there you are! you are just like any other man/woman at that point. just like when transmen/women that feel they need surgery to be complete; once they are post-op, then there you are, a complete man/woman in your own sense.

Yes.

Many cis-men out there with very small penises (less than 1").  Lots of cis-men are insecure or feel inadequate due to their penis size.

Many cis-women can't bear children.

TBH I'm 3 years into transition and I honestly forget that I used to be different than I am now.  My main reminders come from my 2 kids.


Jay

Of course. Google Howard Stern small penis contest, if you haven't already seen it.

Quote from: LivingInGrey on February 23, 2011, 07:15:34 PM
One of the only things I can think of that transguys might not be able to experience (with current tech) is the first time you accidentally sit on your balls.

Ever see a guy go to sit down then all of a sudden STOP and go to stand back up again even if only partly before fully sitting down.... Just thinking about it makes me break a sweat.

You can get testicular implants.

Quote from: Silver on February 24, 2011, 02:25:46 AM
Doesn't compare, methinks.

Yeah I'm gonna agree with that. Seriously owwww. As for the original topic I'm gonna say every genetic male lives a different life so yes I think they can. I tend to think Rex has it right.

I think not and it pains me.

Quote from: LordKAT on February 24, 2011, 03:03:53 AM
I think not and it pains me.

What he said in reverse. We have to be real sometimes.

Cindy

I'm sure squashing an implant still sucks.

Quote from: LordKAT on February 24, 2011, 03:03:53 AM
I think not and it pains me.

I respectfully disagree because everything is in your head. When I was younger seeing a pregnant women would make me feel an acke in my gut, and I will feel sad and miserable because I knew i would never be pregnant. Later on I found out that that is the way most women who cannot get pregnant feel! It is all on your mind.

Quote from: LivingInGrey on February 23, 2011, 07:15:34 PM
One of the only things I can think of that transguys might not be able to experience (with current tech) is the first time you accidentally sit on your balls.

Ever see a guy go to sit down then all of a sudden STOP and go to stand back up again even if only partly before fully sitting down.... Just thinking about it makes me break a sweat.

Are you serious? I was obviously completely inadequate then, because they literally never dropped so for me sitting on them was totally impossible.

To answer the original question though I think yes because to say otherwise would neuter the many many men who remain celibate.

Being a man is as much an attitude of mind as it is about anatomy and reproductive ability, just as being a woman is.

To me, the answer is no because there is no way I can experience life like everyone else. The only life I want to experience is the one I create and live on my own. Do I get male privilege? Sure. Do I have to out myself with every doctor or specialist I see and thus lose that privilege? Sure. Could I experience peeing standing up or have a full penis? Sure.

Are those the things that make me a man? No.

It is how I am with others and how I treat them with respect that makes me the person I am. Unless I was treated male right from day 1 of birth to now I wouldn't know what it's fully like. I have insights into it but not the full 100%. And to be honest, I personally wouldn't want it. I like the things I've had to face that make me the person I am today. If I hadn't faced those things, I think I would be less than appreciative of the fight I have to go through to be who I am (if that convoluted sentence makes sense).

Quote from: kate durcal on February 24, 2011, 02:34:14 PM
I respectfully disagree because everything is in your head. When I was younger seeing a pregnant women would make me feel an acke in my gut, and I will feel sad and miserable because I knew i would never be pregnant. Later on I found out that that is the way most women who cannot get pregnant feel! It is all on your mind.

According to parents , some "friends" of the past and even doctors, so is being a transsexual. It isn't real it is all in your head. Guess what, I still think the way I do as I can not experience the life a guy born with correct genitals has. It just is a physical impossibility. I will get as close as I possibly can but that is what it is, close without ever quite getting there.