For those of us over 60, how many of us would have transitioned if born in the 80s?

[Jeninus]

As, I think many of us, I yearned to have been a girl while growing up in the 1950s - actually, from about age 4 on. Of course, I knew nothing of transgenderism or GID and my parents were old-school British. There was no opportunity to become the first Kim Petras, that's for sure. There was high school, college, Army, marriage and a career as an attorney. However, my GID remains undiminished and I often wonder if I had been born in the 80s, would I have transitioned, or stayed as I am now - reasonably content in my role, but still feeling somewhat unfulfilled/unfinished. I believe if I were born 25 years ago I would have gone for it while still in my teens and by my early 20s would have joined the other team.

This question is aimed at those of us for whom time and the opportunity never happened. Would you have taken the plunge and, perhaps, sacrificed your family, childhood friends and probably the chance to have your own children, in pursuit of the dream? How important would that have been in your life?

[Teresa]

At last something I qualify for, the over sixties !
Whenever I was born I wouldn't want to change, whatever sex you're born as there must be good times and bad, and somewhere along the line the thought may have been there that the grass might have been greener !!

[Jodi]

Nope. I just like the clothes and dress.

Jodi

[Martha G]

Nope. I just like the clothes and dress.

Jodi

Same here! Also like to create characters I am dressed at as well.

But that's all.

[S. Lisa Smith]

I agree with the ladies who posted above. I love presenting as a woman, but I am also happy as a man.

[Ressie]

I'd have to say that being born 30 years later would have made a difference. I would have been more apt to come out as a CD, not a TS.

[Bria]

No

Hugs, Bria

[AKKaren]

:battingeyelashes:This topic comes up once in a while and it really makes me wish I was born in this day of information! I would have made much more informed choices in my life and not gone through the misery of denying who and what I am. Transition? Maybe...not a lot one can do with a frame as large as mine!:heehee:

[Deedee Skyblue]

Not a viewpoint that is always acceptable around here, but I sometimes fantasize about being a totally straight male in a beautiful female body - with the exception of genitals. I doubt if being born in the 80s would have changed me enough to go through that process, though. (I would love to look like Misty May, with my male apparatus intact!)

Deedee

[Stephanie Sometimes]

Good question Jeninus. I don't spend much time wondering about hypotheticals but I have thought about that on occasion and the answer is that I don't really know but I know that I would have seriously considered it. As you say, the life context of the 80's is so completely different than the 50's.
Hugs,
Stephanie

[ArleneRaquel]

I would certainly consider it, but in the long run, it is very unlikely.

[Laura28]

No I wouldn't have. I might be more along in dressing though as it is more acceptable now with the younger generation.

[suchacutie]

All else being equil, I need both of my gendered selves. I only wish I had larger blocks of time in each gender.

[Michelle (Oz)]

Have never wanted to be female - even now. Thankfully I was blissfully ignorant of liking dressing through my children's dependency period so life remained less complicated.

[Lorileah]

This question assumes that you are transsexual and not CD. So answers from CDs will be "no".

[Robin777]

Well I'm not yet sixty, but I'm close. I turn 58 in a couple of months, so I think I'm close enough to chime in. At one time I had serious thoughts of transitioning. They started when I was around 15 or 16. Then I would forget about it for a while,then something would happen that would start me thinking about it again. That went on for years until I met my wife. I haven't thought about transitioning since. I like the way things are. I enjoy the dressing, having a wife who approves and encourages it. I like my life the way it is.

[Lacelover]

No, the thoughts had entered my mind in the past but I would have never gone through with it. I guess I just love the clothes and the way they make me feel. I'm 66 !!!

Lacelover

[RebeccaLynne]

As, I think many of us, I yearned to have been a girl while growing up in the 1950s - actually, from about age 4 on.

Pretty much when I knew what I preferred as well, but even at that tender age, I accepted the realization that the die had been cast at birth.


Would you have taken the plunge and, perhaps, sacrificed your family, childhood friends and probably the chance to have your own children, in pursuit of the dream?

Given what I knew then, as I know now as well, I was born male. I adored girls as a boy, and women as a man. I find them extremely attractive and desirable, and although I wished I was one, I knew it wasn't in the cards to have been one.

So my answer would have to be... No.

As to Lorileah's presumption regarding transsexuality versus crossdressing being the determining factor... I'd like to gently remind her that gender identity might well be another perspective to be considered.

[Polly R]

Often wondered but still happier as a man most of the time, just like to get dressed up and present as female from time to time. In the late-70's when I really started CDing, I tried psychiatric treatment to try and understand what was happening but understanding of CDing was not good in the medical profession (is it any better now one asks - perhaps a little more tolerant but even those who CD still don't understand why it happened to THEM and it is something that you have to live with, and deal with primarily yourself). So, my SO and I just carried on as best we could. Been some difficult times between us but my SO now helps me to dress better. Now getting wrinkly, the only thing I look back on is that I wished I could have been a bit more open and dressed more tastefully and of my age instead of, as she puts it, as an old maid which used to totally put her off... Now I hope I dress nicely but the body isn't what it was. Still don't think I would have transitioned, too many 'man things' that I like doing which I don't believe would have been acceptable in the circles I move in either then or now. Plus I have a good wife and I would have lost her and my family, that would have been too much of a sacrifice.

Polly

[shelley johnson]

without a doubt!

[Tinkerbell-GG]

This question assumes that you are transsexual and not CD. So answers from CDs will be "no".

Exactly! Even a GG can see this. The other side would be - 'for those living now, in the modern generation, do you feel more pressure to transition because it's more acceptable??'

Again, if you're a CD you'll say 'no'. TS isn't a choice. It's innate. Time is surely irrelevant.

[LaurenS]

Early fifties here. I'm not sure, but I think I might have. Having recently begun to accept me for what I am, I have really enjoyed my femme moments. I likely would not have stayed in the closet.

[Megan70]

Nope. I just like the clothes and dress.

Jodi
ibid... same here definitely

[JamieTG]

I don't think I would have transitioned but I would have come out and been myself much sooner. I'm 60 now and do wish society had been more tolerant when I was growing up. I spent way too many years deep in the closet and feeling guilty because I wasn't what society expected of a man.

[Jaylyn]

I'm in my mid sixties and love life just the way it is. I just love dressing and acting the female parts but I like my male self also. I have some beautiful Grandkids and wouldn't change anything. My wife accepts and I am at peace with my life. I just simple enjoy dressing to the top from time to time. No transition for me. Now new taller heels maybe....

[Rachel292]

I don't think I would have transitioned but I would have come out and been myself much sooner. I'm 60 now and do wish society had been more tolerant when I was growing up. I spent way too many years deep in the closet and feeling guilty because I wasn't what society expected of a man.

I'm 58 , and i'm more or less the same.
However this is very timely, as my mum basically asked me the same question on the phone today.
Answer = "It was in the past and i didn't even think about it then. As for now, i'm reasonably content with a male side and a femme side".
But to be honest, the femme side is getting more prominent.
In the past I had dreams and fantasies. Dressed occasionally and very ashamed of CDing. But that was then, it's different now.
And going back to the original question, I would definitly have been more open and no longer hidden away, and I really don't know, what I would have done. I still don't know if i'm CD or on my way to TS, time will tell.

[Aprilrain]

What does the 80s have to do with anything, I was born in the 70s and I transitioned. I know plenty of women born before me that have also transitioned. If you're not TS you're not TS and transition will do nothing for you except ruin your life. Transition is nothing to aspire to it's not the "ultimate" in crossdressing, in fact it has nothing to do with CDing. I've met more than a few women who have transitioned who never CDed a day in their lives.

[cdinmd206]

Hell no would I would want to transition. If I had to put up with as much crap as today's females I would probably go insane or take a few people out of the gene pool. Maybe even both.
I enjoy being able to wear silky under things and dress in frilly blouses and short skirts when the desire strikes me but no way could I go through that much work every day. I have always admired well dressed females, but after seeing what it takes to do that I will stick with my occasional illusion of being a lady for a bit.

[sterusjon]

I am in my mid sixties so allow me to chime in. Tinkerbell-GG is exactly right. This is a question that will filter the CDs from the TSes. If you are strictly CDer then nothing, nor any timing make any difference. For those of us who are are on the TS end of this spectrum, The issue is much more complicated. From my perspective, becoming a woman would be a serious consideration, no matter when I was born. While I was young, the '50's, 60's and early 70's, I would have seriously considered it if I had the access to the info that became available since and at that age been able to discern what my situation actually was. Wisdom comes with age.

My situation is one where I am GID, but not so severely that I have been suicidal, often, or dysfunctional, usually. My wife of nearly 46 years, God bless her, and I have come to an accommodation in the past few years that allows me to experience what I need to get along with myself and her. If, however, the hypothetical were true and I found myself, unattached, informed and understanding of my true self, I would jump at the chance to transition as a relative youngster. As things really are now, I am content with where I am right now.

Stephanie

[Sallee]

I qualify as fara as age but the question of what I would have done differently is a tough one. When I first started experimenting and going out ot clubs (60's and 70s)it may have been easier at least to meet others but I still don't think I would have gone for a total transition. That is a very big step and I think, at least for me, that would have brought happiness to my life. Actually I think it would have made life a lot more difficult. I do believe for some a transition is the right step but please please please give it a lot of thought as to how much just looking different is going to make your life better. I think many TSs today jump into soon and end up worse off than before.
This is just my opinion and I don't mean to disparage any one from looking into HRT or SRS just give it a lot of thought and see a good therapist.

[MssHyde]

I wouldn't have missed muscle cars for the world.. with leaded high octane gas.. how ever the internet back then would have changed my life.. this country boy felt alone in life wanting to be country girl..
(even a city girl)

[Ressie]

This is a question that will filter the CDs from the TSes.

I had wished that I was a girl when I was 17, but I didn't quite feel trapped in the wrong body. I agree this question is for TS that somehow felt they couldn't come out when growing up in the '60s, but the OP with GID seems to be closer to being TS than the average CD.

Growing up in the '90s or early 2000 would be a much different atmosphere. We certainly didn't hear much about SRS back in the day compared to now days. (remember one had to go to Sweden or some place?) There were occasional articles in magazines and newspapers about CDs or TS, but not many of us could count on family for support. For me, there was tremendous fear of my older brother. Maybe if would have been the oldest sibling I would have been more open about my feelings. But none of us can do it over again anyway so does any of this matter?

[Candice Mae]

You have to ask yourself has acceptance really increased enough to make a difference? Or has technology made you aware of people that are accepting that you would not have known about in the 1960s due to not being able to google TG/TS acceptance? People are still people and feel the need to voice their opinion whether it be politically/socially correct or not.

Families still disown TS, TS are harassed, beaten, and killed for being who they are, post 1980 is not a fairy tale would for TS. The danger of loosing your life as you know it is still as real as it was in past.

Also some people today tend to be tolerant of TG/TS people just so they are not labeled as a hater, just because they are tolerant does not mean they are accepting.

[Sharon B.]

I might have done some things different then what they are now, I know my parents and family would never accepted me. Back then I thought I was the only one that like dressing as a woman. Like many I thought once you got married it would quit but it didn't if anything it probably got worse. Even after my divorce for the last twenty years plus I have had less body hair on my body. I would have taken better care of my figure, when I don't dress I seem to drink more beer. If I dress more often I usually drink wine, For the last couple of months I haven't dressed as often as I would like and I have been putting the beer away.

[flatlander_48]

This question assumes that you are transsexual and not CD. So answers from CDs will be "no".

I think that many facets of sexuality are very fuzzy. For many I suspect the delineation between being a crossdresser and a transexual has a lot of grey area. There are those who regard transition as a MUST. I think others may have some of the same thought processes, but not strong enough to be moved to transition. For them, crossdressing to an extent may be enough. Anyway, none of this is absolute.

For me, the 48 in my username is my birth year. While I would admit to a certain amount of appeal in living as a female (mentally and physically), it was never strong enough to warrant even doing counseling about it. I am content enough in being male (mostly) so it isn't an issue. I don't think the timing would have made much of an issue. The beginning of the 80's was about 20 years before I started dressing. Second child was born in '81, so changing my life at that point wouldn't have even been on the radar.

[Vickie_CDTV]

On the other hand, over the years I have met few TS who had SRS in their early 20s much less late teens. With age comes (to some extent, in most cases) comes more financial security, and SRS is out of reach for most TS of that age.

[janetcgtv]

If Christine Jorgensen had been fully accepted in the 50's I would have had SRS surgery instead of going deep underground.
When she came back from Denmark after her surgery she was deeply hurt by the press and lost her job. The prevailing joke was "There's something wrong in Denmark".

P.S. I was born in 1942.

[sometimes_miss]

If you had moved everything in my life oh, 40 years forward, I would have started transitioning at about 10. I was that convinced that I was a girl by then. As evidenced by what I have seen and read, gender 'specialists' would not address the rest of the things that might have identified me as male, and simply gone with what I said to them, and what they observed, and I probably would never have researched it all on my own; I hated living a boys life by then, and terribly wanted to become the girl I thought I was supposed to be so I could get on with my life. I'd have been through all the therapy and had srs by now. I think about this once in a while, and wonder how I would have made out had I wound up taking such a path in today's world.

[Aprilrain]

For all of you who say you would have transitioned, if only...... What is stopping you now?

[Desirae]

I think as much as people say on here that age doesn't matter, and, as long as you're not dead, it is never too late to transition, I still think it is a huge consideration for many, myself included. I would say that if I were born in the early 1990s, and knowing what I know today, I would certainly have given it sincere consideration.

[Sejd]

Surgical stuff is not for me, but I often wish I had known what it meant to be Trans when I was much younger.

[Aprilrain]

So I shouldn't have transitioned because I was born in the 70s? I was married and I have kids.

[Claire Cook]

Had I known in the 50's what I know now about transgendered children, and looking back at my school days, I think ... yes, I would rather have been a girl. But aside from Christine Jorgensen, who at the time was regarded as definitely off the curve, I had no idea about TG or TS. Except that I wanted boobs ... and deep down envied and wanted to be with girls, as a girl.

That was long ago, and any thoughts of transitioning are just that. Now I can enjoy my male and female balance.

[tracigirl_tv]

Nah! Complications, issues, pressures....It's a blessing to be able to visit the land of CDing when in the mood and enjoy it for what it's worth.

Good question though :) Thanks for posting it.

Traci

[juliew]

My bride of many many years loves me as Julie and as not Julie. Why in the world would I change. :hugs:

[Anneliese]

As someone who just turned 60 who hasn't posted for awhile, I think the whole topic of transformation is WAY more acceptable to the population at large than it was back in the 50s/60s.

My married 30-year-old daughter regularly mentions LGBTQIA activities. Despite living on the other side of town, she has a key. While I was raising her myself, I went through a "phase". She was a teenager living at home. Did she know then? I was very stealthy, but who knows. If she walked into the house today, she'd likely smell perfume, and if she opened my door...it's "over".

In any case...would I transition? Not until I'd experienced being with another TS/TV etc. Not that THAT'S likely to happen. (I wish!)

If I decided...after trying dressing in public and liking it...I would likely change over...

My daughter might be totally stunned, but maybe not...

By the way, when she was in college there was a memorial for Matthew Shepherd on her campus, and she got up onstage and spoke.

Very proud...

[NancyJ]

Hmmmm? Let's not pretend that it is as simple as CD or TS. Instead, there is a continuum. I believe that, if born 30 years later with the same gender dysphoria, that I may not have transitioned, but I suspect that I would have been more accepting of myself, carried less shame, probably would not have married so young! and would have been open about "Nancy" and not married a woman who did not accept her. Nancy

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Jeninus, I don't think so, it's great having the best of both worlds.

[LeannS]

knowing what I do now and only wish I could have found out about ts/ cding. I would have done it 10 years ago but being older now I will just continue my dressing and enjoying my time doing it. Leann

[Mollyanne]

Oh Yeah, I'm now into my early 70's (sigh sigh sigh) and I absolutely would have transitioned!!!!! The only things holding me back then was------no internet, no money, thought I was the only one who wanted this, etc etc. Now I have the money and the time but I'm to old to fulfill my wish, and that item will NEVER be crossed of my bucket list.

Molly

[Sometimes Steffi]

I consider myself to be a CD, not TS. I like to dress, but I don't really feel like a girl inside.

But if I was born in the 80's, my whole life path could have changed.

Suppose I was born in 1983. I would have graduated HS in 2001 and college in 2005.

Information about gender identity would have been much easier to come by. I could have been on the Internet all througout HS, and I would have known what a CD and a TS are. There would have been people besides Christine Jorgenson whom I could have emulated. My dad might have been less homophobic so I would have been less fearful of coming out.

I saw my first CD at Hallowen, my freshman year of college. I might have found a group of CDers in college to hang out with. I probably would have CDed in college a lot.

I got married at 25, which would be 2008 in this scenario. I think I would have been open to my future wife prior to marriage, and she would have probably run for the hills. Between that, and the tendancy to marry later in life, I probably would still be single.

Today I would be 31. With my better understanding of CD and TS, would I transition, or would I plan on spending the next 40 or 50 years as a male? I think I would have transitioned or at least taken the middle path.

[samantha rogers]

Oh my, this is a question that is so hard to answer...too many variables. The life we are born into takes us so many different places and forms us in so many tiny ways. But my guess, all things being equal, my answer is yes, I would have. And while very young, I am pretty sure.

[Stephanie47]

There are distinct differences between the plight of a cross dresser and a man who wishes to transition to a woman. Since I am a cross dresser happy with my male role, I would not change anything. I have had no desire to become a woman. I suspect if I was born a girl, I would have been classified as a tom boy in the 1950's. If I was born in the 1980's the Internet would have shown me that I was not a pervert (as we were classified in the 1950's or assumed to be queers, faggots and other vile names), and, there are many men out there who like to wear women's clothing on occasion.

[Kati F]

I'll be 60 soon and I think I would have (I wish that I would have had the guts to do it) and I really am thinking of doing it still... It's not too late is it?
:battingeyelashes:

[bobbimo]

WOW my head is spinning.
My entire life would have been so much different if I had been born 40 years later.
All the mysterious little things that I enjoyed but didnt know what to do with them, like enjoying dress shopping with my wife, and loving to be mystified by womens makeup, etc.
If I had the tools that are available now, I would have taken a much different path. Would I have transitioned, Thats hard to tell since my brain still flip flops on what I am.
But I might have settled down in San Fran, or New Hope, PA. where being Bobbi, would be more of the norm.
Great thread, Thanks
Bobbi

[Angie G]

I really don'y know I've been A dresser for a very lone time. I have a great family wife kids grandkids If thongs didn't turn out like they did I just may have.:hugs:
Angie

[Cheryl Ann Owens]

This may run long. I'm 61 having been born in 1953. In my very early years I did some mild crosdressing without knowing what it was. I had 3 older sisters and maybe was emulating them. It was supressed and I was humiliated for it. When I was about 10 a sudden feeling came over me to dress again and I'd try on my sister's things. I also related better to girls than guys. But I followed along doing boy things like scouts, boy hobbies, and hanging with the boys. Yet there was a nagging feeling and an envy to enjoy girl things like dolls and playing house. One day I even pushed my "thing" to make it an "innie" though I didn't realize what I was doing. I kept it all hidden and even through tough dating experiences and a failed marriage I could enjoy CDing on a limited basis. I always felt inhibited about sex with women. I also felt inhibited about experimental sex with men.

Now let's fast forward to the original question. If I were born in the '80's or 90's to open minded parents, I could have explored more about myself and defined my sexuality. If there was an accurate test for GID at an early age I would welcome delaying puberty with hormone blockers as they do today. I hated growing tall and growing facial hair. I felt very awkward throughout my teen years and was a social recluse. The feeling of relating better with the other girls was gnawing at me and I wnated to "be on their team."

I know for sure that I've always felt awkward making love to a woman. Today I feel like I would feel better with a male partner who would take the dominant role. I've always done male things that any female can do. For me it's not about getting all dressed up, but just to enjoy being who I am. Throughout my life I've felt pressured to put on a male facade and conform to what is considered "normal" for a male. If I could just let go and follow how I feel, I'd transition. However, all of the socializing building a persona after all these years, it would be very difficult for me to do so today. If I could start young, yes I would transition. Yes, I'd truly enjoy the clothes, socially interacting, a job as a woman, and a relationship with a man. I could still enjoy the things I enjoyed as a boy. I feel that femininity is a wonderful sense of being.

Cheryl

[BillieJoEllen]

If I would have had the necessary information back in the eighties I most certainly would have transitioned. My problem has always been too little information too late. Then of course I also met my wife.

[HelenR2]

I definitely would have, absolutely. When I was in my mid-teens, at the start of the seventies, I dressed pretty much as a girl all the time, just stopping short of a skirt or bra. If I had thought it was possible I would have transitioned then and there.

[Melissa18]

I'm in my 50's and if the Internet was around in my teens, I know my life would have been a lot different to the one I enjoy now! To answer your question I'm pretty sure I would be Mrs. Instead of Mr.
Adelaide

[Christie ann]

If I knew then what I know now, yes!
When I asked questions in the 1960's I was just told that I had a sickness that needed to be cured. So, of course I hid everything and pronounced myself cured.

[adrienner99]

Yes. No. Maybe. I don't like being male--never been aggressive enough--and that may be part of why I began dressing...I don't know. The older I get, and I am past 60, the more I identify as female....

[Valerie Sparks]

I'm nearing 60 and I found what Stephanie (sterusjon) said to be closest to my feelings:

"My wife of nearly 46 years [30 years in my case], God bless her, and I have come to an accommodation in the past few years that allows me to experience what I need to get along with myself and her. If, however, the hypothetical were true and I found myself, unattached, informed and understanding of my true self, I would jump at the chance to transition as a relative youngster. As things really are now, I am content with where I am right now."

I'm not sure I'm totally content, but I accept my situation.

[Karen_Ski]

I was born in 1953 and things were sure a lot different back then. To say girls such as were in the closet was polite. :sad: I suppose had I been born 20 or 30 years later I may have transitioned at a younger age but who knows the coulda's. woulda's and shoulda's of life? :daydreaming: I did blossom as a woman in the 80"s and it was a fun time for those who were around. Granted the number of girls out back then was miniscule compered to today but we were a close group and had a lot of fun together! :) In some ways I miss the good old days!

The opportunity presented itself to me 6 years ago and I took it and have never looked back. :) It has been everything I hoped for and yes I do regret not doing at at a younger age but I didn't so I make what I can of the time I have now.

[Madilyn A.]

I would have transitioned knowing what I know now. Having been born 30 years later would have made such a difference for me and I suspect quite a few others here as well. In the end, it's all about happiness, and I truly believe as a woman I would be more happy.

[Chiana]

I don't know. Maybe. I think my life certainly would have been a lot different, if I had been born 30 or 40 years later. I think I would have experimented a lot more and who knows where that might have lead. I so admire those who have taken that step.

[Cara Lacey]

Nope, not me! I am a cross-dresser, a man who likes to wear women's clothes.

[Martha G]

Not me either. I am a man who likes to wear women's clothes at times as well as create a female character for a costume function.

[bobbimo]

some days yes and some-days no.
In this day and age its much easier to find an abundance of facts and support for anything. In the 'old days' all these feelings had to suppressed unless you wanted to be shamed out of existence.
Only a few very strong individuals had the courage and support to know they were the wrong sex and made the change.
Now also the knowledge base is growing and one can take the gender test, which helped me immensely. The first one I took told me that I need both genders in my life for me to be happy. I had no idea that I could do this, and now I am content. I would love to be able to be Bobbi more, but also enjoy those days when I can swing a sledge hammer and cuss like a sailor too.
Bobbi

[Janet Bern]

Not me.. I am glad I am male and just like to dress

[Georgina]

No. Being a child of the fifties it is the clothes of that time fascinated me and still do. I am sure I would still have been attracted to female clothes, if born in the eighties, but maybe not with the same passion. However I don't really know.

[charlenesomeone]

Not me, like female and male sides. Just enjoy fem clothes more!

[mariehart]

I probably would. But it's fair to say that I could have transitioned in the eighties if I took my chances when they presented themselves. I met a TS back then. It wasn't unknown even in Ireland particularly in Dublin where I lived. Most travelled to Britain to transition. I could have done that.
But I don't do regrets anymore. Besides I got to wear eighties clothes. Although I did have to remove the shoulder pads!

[Annaliese]

With what I know now, I would have.

[Cheryl T]

Since we're hypothesizing here then I'll answer with a Yes.
Had all the information and support and so one been available to me when I began at about age 6 or so with all the technology I'm fairly certain I would have come out in my late teens or early 20's and become much more involved in the community. With that support and information I feel I would have grown faster as a woman and in all likelihood would have transitioned by age 30.

[Leanne2]

I have mixed emotions about this. I was 58 when, through gender therapy, I realized that I am and always have been a woman. Of course before that I thought I was a CD and before that, gay. Well actually I am gay because I am a woman that is sexually attracted to another woman. But by age 58 a lot of water has passed under the bridge. I love our children and grandchildren. I am totally established in this society as a man. At 20 years of age, if I knew what I do now, I would have transitioned in a heartbeat. And, if I could have afforded it, undergone SRS. But that was 44 years ago. So I will always be a non-op M to F transsexual. And I can live with that. Leanne

[Krististeph]

I'm not quite 60, but it's not all that far off....

If i were born 20 years later (rather than 30), given the public acceptance, i would have been close to transitioning. With the same family, still probably not, but if they were more enlightened, it might have tipped the balance.

I'm not sorry i didn't transition, but on the other hand, had I done so, I think I would have been happy enough. Not having my wife, however, would be enough to keep me from transitioning. She would not want to live with me as a female. Much as you all may think of that as less than enlightened, it is simply how she feels, and she IS a good person, accepts my CD/GD well enough, and i enjoy playing husband to her well enough.

Had i not know I would meet her, and/or thought that i could find a life-mate had i transitioned, then yes, I probably would have.

Had I a significantly supportive upbringing, then probably yes.

There area number of aspects about my personality & life that would affect whether or not I would do well as as adopted female- I don't wish to share them here, but they would affect whether or not I would be comfortable enough being female and living as one.

One thing i have learned in the last 10-15 years is the magnitude with which many men and some women expect females to take a secondary or subservient role still, and thus decide that they are the boss or the 'big man' in any relationship- be it personal, work related, social, business, or even random interaction. There were only a limited number of times I felt or experienced this while en-femme (ostensibly passing, evidently), but it really surprised me- I got to experience first hand the gender discrimination or sexism on the receiving end. Now maybe it was more noticeable or surprising because it was my first time(s) in 30 years this happened to me (rather than having grown up with it as GGs might), but it was definitely a minus. On the plus side it changes some of the details in how I interacted with women as a man, but had i known this before transitioning, I would have had to incorporate it into the decision.

Good question, no simple or easy answer.

[Stacy S]

here is hounding yes I'm going to be 50 in the very near future, had I been born in the 80s I would have gone the full gamut without a question. Back then we simply couldn't have imagined what things would be like now the attitudes the medical advancements and everything else. So once again yes I would have definitely transitioned no problems at all

[CynthiaD]

I don't know, but I doubt it. I wanted to have children, and since I could never be a mother, the only option was to be a father.

[kathrynt21]

Yes. No question here.

[Melissa in SE Tn]

No, I too love being a man who fancies women's clothing.

[Francine]

I had my chance.... and yes, it was the early seventies. And for now, I will just leave it at that.. there would be too many other things to explain.
Francine

[Charla McBee]

For those of you who suffer from GID and dysphoria, I really don't know how you managed to hold on all those years. I'm almost 28 and happily married but lately it's all hitting me like a ton of bricks and then some. I don't think I can fight it and pretend anymore, I already lost a few years of my life to GID related depression and I still struggle every day just to do the basic things of life. I've come out as transgender to my wife and my mother and they are trying to support me but the thought that I might be TS is as horrifying as it is enticing. I'm still young but I already have the beginnings of a life established and it seems like I am going to have to blow it all up and start over or just resign myself to being trapped in a deep depression.

It might be a little easier to deal with these things today but it's no fairy tale either. I'm looking at losing friends, family, a budding career and my whole persona. I'm worried not just for myself but for those close to me who intend to stand with me and probably get tarred and feathered along with me. I don't want to do that to them. Yet it increasingly seems like my choices are between being openly TG and possibly TS or total insanity. I want to have children too which further complicates matters, how will they suffer if their dad is a woman?

If I had to keep fighting, pretending and denying into my 60's I'd probably become a suicidal alcoholic mess.

[susmitha]

It is a great IF.......; I am not able to figure out or imagine properly.

[kiwidownunder]

Hiya
Born in the 60s
Have been fighting my gender FOREVER
Meet and married my beautiful wife very young (teenager)
Thought that would fix everything NOPE
Feelings haven't disappeared but what I have got is a best friend that needs me and loves me
So its to late for me and would turn my family up side down which a couldn't bear to see

If I was born in the 80s and had supportive parents YEP IN A HEART BEAT

Kiwi