Returning to university has been postponed. My escape has been blocked and now i am huddled in a corner alone. I just have to wait.
The past few days i spent lying in my bed thinking very hard. Between dreams and blackness my mind found time to think of my future in all its respects. Where will my gender go? What impact will that have? Where will my degree get me? What can i do? It is really a time to define who i am so that i can live out my life as that person.
I see myself as a cloud of uncertainty. It would be egotistical of me to say that i am a cloud of potential, but the potential can be for both bad and good. I branch out and try things too see if my cloud will fit that mold. I feel that i need to settle into a shape before i can properly live out anything from study to relationships. I fail at everything if i am not a real shape. Clouds just drift unhappily through life till they break and fall on someone.
After an inordinate amount of reading and talking to those that know, i have come to several conclusions about my situation. I do not feel the same way about myself as most post-op women that i know. They knew all the way along. They had no doubts. They didn’t hide their femininity, they just thought it was the norm. When i was young i was very aware that i had to hide what i felt for fear of ridicule. They didn’t feel the purges and lapses that i get so often. I one day i want to be a woman so much that it hurts. Another day i will feel so uncertain about the whole thing that i will just sit and cry.
I cannot hope to transition until i either sort this out, or accept that i will never full be a woman and that i should be a male. I can explore the boundaries of my gender, but from the male side of the Great Divide.
I also know that the female feelings inside of me will never die even though they are not as strong as a fully trans woman’s. In response to this i will feel compelled to crossdress from time to time but not as a horny transvestite. I have no desire to sit in a bra and panties and jerk off to porn. I am still a woman; just not full time. When presenting as Alice i will still expect to be treated as a woman even though we all know that it is a temporary arrangement.
I have taken a liking to the term ‘gender illusionist’. Being a totally normal male but having the ability to transform into a woman at the drop of a hat. A convincing one at that. I do not wish to be in the closet. If i am not to be a full time woman, i will not hide what i do. It is a part of me and always will be.
I am not dashing my hopes of a full transition, i am just laying a safety net for myself should i fall. The idea of getting rid of my shame between my legs is still rather appealing. The difference between me and girls that have transitioned, is that i don’t mind being a boy; i would just prefer being a girl.
I always have the future to transition should i decide that it is appropriate. I am saddened that the older i get, the less time i will have spent as who i am. The older i get, the less successful my transition will be, but i can’t live as a cloud. I will try and enjoy my life as described above, but should it fail i have the option to transition later. Make the most of now so that i don’t regret my time as a boy if i decide to change.
Well, sorry for such a long post. I got carried away. Just a quick thanks to people on here that comment and encourage me to write more. Lynn Jones for her advice and sharp mind. Alison for her balanced arguments and breadth of knowledge. Snowdropexplodes for always being there reading. And everyone else for reading about me. This blog keeps me going.
xx








7 comments
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September 7, 2008 at 11:07 pm
SnowdropExplodes
Gosh, I feel all warm and fuzzy now, after your thanks!
If I may say, the links and information that Andrea Bathie posted in comments a couple of threads down, looked like it could really help you. In fact, she’s a friend of mine and is a professional therapist and also TS, so she has some experience in dealing with these kinds of issues.
Also, I’m sure your readers will be glad to help in any way we can.
The other thing is – there’s no need to see gender as a “great divide”, you could choose a “genderqueer” or other non-binary expression, too.
Lots of *hugs* and I hope you find your path quickly and clearly!
September 8, 2008 at 7:00 am
mezzi
^_^ keep on livin yur life as u want. we all hit little road blocks here and there which hold us back, but u jsut gotta be patient. We all hit really happy points in our lives too… but mostly we are just in the middle… not sure wut life will be like yesterday and the next day. so try nto to ponder on the future or the past too much. live in the moment! ^_^
September 8, 2008 at 8:09 am
Maggie
Dear Darling,
I don’t know your name but I do know what it’s like to wish to be a boy Wednesday through Friday and a girl Saturday through Tuesday. I’m by no means an expert and I’m not much older than you but I hope that something I say can help soothe you. Firstly, you are so very beautiful, inside and out. I know it doesn’t feel like it sometimes, but that “shame between your legs” isn’t a shame at all. You’re clever; you know that all the woman you are is between your ears right next to all the man you are. You are already all the woman you will ever be. No operation will change that.
There is nothing wrong with any of that. It’s okay to not mind being a boy and still love being a girl. I think I’m sort of the same as you. I’m a little more girl than boy. I don’t really know that there’s a word for it but I call it bigender. It might be a little more than that.
It’s okay to want to experience your body as a female and still occasionally enjoy its masculinity. I know it sucks bottom that we can’t be both or either just on command. But I have a strong feeling that if you transition to a physical woman in all ways that you won’t be completely alleviating your pain. Perhaps you don’t desire to be only one sex. Maybe you’d feel a bit better if you really are more female than male. But if you are still somewhat male (and that is completely okay), you probably still won’t feel 100%.
One thing that is sure to make you feel better is to surround yourself with as many friends and acquaintances who accept you for you and understand that your not only a boy or only a girl. I, for instance, would love to be friends with a ‘gender illusionist’. I don’t have that quality. My body is strictly female and extraordinarily effeminate. I confess, I’ve always had a bit of jealousy for those who were a bit more androgenous! ;-D
Feel free to send me an email. I hope this isn’t too disjointed, it’s rather late where I am. Good luck. And remember : ‘To thine own self be true’
Love,
Maggie
September 8, 2008 at 8:11 am
Maggie
Ah, it didn’t post my email. Feel free to contact me at subtle_incandescence at yahoo dot com
<3
Maggie
September 9, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Lynn Jones
To echo SnowDropExplodes’ comments…. thanks
I wish you lots of luck… no matter what path you decide on taking. Nothing’s forever – except maybe surgery
– and you can back out or go further at any time.
> They had no doubts
Everyone has doubts. Some decide not to share them. Is it braver to admit your fear or to hide it to spur others on?
September 16, 2008 at 10:45 pm
genderkid
“The difference between me and girls that have transitioned, is that i don’t mind being a boy; i would just prefer being a girl.”
I feel that way too, except my body is female and I’d like to make it more masculine. And I probably will. It isn’t a life/death matter for all of us; but if transitioning will make me happy, I’ll do it.
I don’t mean to be a man, either: more like a transman or a genderqueer guy. Actually, I’d like to try “partial transition” or low doses of hormones, and take it one shot at a time; I’ll only continue if the changes are making me happy.
For now (I’m still in high school) I’m coming out to my friends, so I can try living as a male without doing anything physically permanent. I still doubt myself all the time; I mean, being a woman is so cool! I don’t know why I can’t feel like one.
Good luck!
December 19, 2008 at 7:15 pm
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