Each of us of course has a core layer, the female one suppressed all of our lives until we finally decided to transition. Over it was superimposed the male shell, not merely the physical body but all of the outward attitudes,gestures etc of the male that we were forced to assume in order to survive in this world. We had a male body so we had to act male.When we transition ideally we throw off the male shell,both in body and attitudes. but sometimes the physical changes are easier than the other changes.From what I have seen, this seems to apply especially to those who have served many years in the military. In that environment not only did transwomen have to pass as male, but as ultra macho
male.As a result the male shell grows much thicker than it might
otherwise.As a result, instead of throwing off the male shell some people seem to merely add another one on top. In them you have a female core, then a thick male middle layer("the mantle"), and on top of it a superimposed female layer("the crust").And the middle layer seems to dominate their attitudes. I know someone like that, She looks fairly feminine, including gestures, had long attractive hair, and spends a lot of time making herself up. But in no other way does she impress you as female.She acts more like Gary Cooper, taciturn, clipped speech,"the strong silent man". She never seems interested in any typically female things. I realize that we are not supposed to conform to old stereotypes, and not all women are interested in all these things such as sewing, shopping, chatting, etc. but when someone shows no interest in ANYTHING typically female,when everything about them but their clothes and externals is typically male, it seems pretty obvious that they have not thrown off the male layer but merely covered it up.
