Truer words were never spoken. There's no particular pride or glory in being transsexual that anyone shouldn't have in being true to themselves in whatever form that takes. When I attended my first getaway aimed at CDers I vividly remember attending a lunch where one of the other attendees asked if I was going to transition, or if I was "just" a crossdresser. I was thoroughly annoyed by her attitude which, if anything, may have put off my eventual realization that I was indeed transsexual. I didn't want to buy into her elitist brand of snobbery.Originally Posted by Kate Simmons
I'm also not entirely convinced about the notion that TS individuals have zero choice. There's doubtless some truth in it for those whose gender dysphoria is severe, but even then there's the choice of how and when to go about their transition. In my case I have a very clear female identity but I only felt like my path was clear once I weighed the pros and cons and came to the conclusion that I'd clearly be happier living openly as a woman instead of keeping that knowledge to myself. I might very well have waited until I was closer to retirement if social conditions hadn't changed as they did over the past twenty years.
There's no definitive test or list of characteristics that make a crossdresser, a transsexual any more than there is for a man, a woman, or any of the other categories we like to impose on humanity. Most of the CDers I've met seem to "saturate" on time spent en femme and enjoy returning to their male role ... but not all. Similarly, some of the TS women I know describe their transition as the only way they could go on living, or knew from a very early age, but neither is completely universal. The important thing to recognize is that there's a huge difference between the fantasy and reality of social and medical transition. If the risk and hardship of permanently upending your life still seems like a good thing on balance and with due deliberation, you may be transsexual.
