PDA

View Full Version : What being TS means to me.



becky77
07-26-2016, 09:55 AM
Sitting here feeling crappy again I thought I would share my perspective on being TS and a little of my transition experience.
Maybe some can relate maybe not, it’s going to be a long post so I don’t blame anyone that gets bored.

The Early years:
First off I have always known from the start.
The problem is/was I didn’t know that I knew if you get my meaning. My definition of knowing is this, I was screwed up nothing was as it should have been and everything always felt wrong. I couldn’t find friends I hated how I looked and I just didn’t fit in at school or anywhere this led to me feeling isolated and I mentally retreated into my own world. I would spend the majority of my time doing anything that averted me from facing the misery that was life, monster books, ghost stories whatever it was I well and truly disappeared into that Narnian closet.
Added to this I knew I wanted to be a girl and having only brothers I had no idea where this idea came from but I crushed it as being a weirdo and it must be kept secret.
At a very early age I learnt to hide my feelings.

Time passed school got harder and harder and I didn’t have a social life, puberty was pure misery but I didn’t click why. I can only say that I truly suffered it crippled my confidence and destroyed any education and career possibilities. So when I say ‘I knew’ it wasn’t some definitive realisation I was a female stuck in a man’s world it was just that I couldn’t function as a normal human being and I had this underlining need to be a girl it wasn’t until much later that I connected the two as being the same issue.

Adult Life:
I was fortunate to meet a wonderful woman whom I married and was very much in love with, I told her early on about me as I just couldn’t hide something so integral to my personality. She taught me so much and helped give me some self-esteem. I was very happy with her but still dreadfully sad within myself, time moved on and I continued to contain my emotions and use hobbies and work to hide my inner feelings.
I managed to maintain this self-denial for quite some time until finally I just had enough, I reached an all time low and I either had to do something or say goodbye to this bleak life.

I had tried Crossdressing off and on over the years and mostly it left me feeling worse, angry and despondent. I guess the crossdressing was a way to get in contact and see in the mirror the person inside but the subterfuge and fakery made me want to rage quit everytime. Just wearing a dress had zero appeal I was looking for the physicality not the clothes but I couldn’t process that idea at the time.
I certainly never thought it was fun (more like stressful) and anyone calling it a gift I could have hit if in front of me. Being a Crossdresser made me even more miserable, of course I now know that’s because I never was a Crossdresser.

Transition:
It’s fair to say transition has gone well for me on the outside. Only lost a few friends, family all supporting me and work was a dream, I’m lucky to live in Britain where things are definitely more liberal. I seem to pass and it’s generally been a non issue.
So I could say a successful transition and what’s all the fuss about which is why I want to add the next part.

Transition the stuff no one sees:
I’m tall with large feet and typical male shoulders (no one seems to notice these details), I have an adams apple and my hair mostly fell out. My voice isn’t the best and after several years of stress my face doesn’t look as it could.
I tackled the hair with a hair transplant last year and recently had the adams apple removed, SRS is due within the next 6 months (fingers crossed) and day to day I’m treated as female, so what's my problem??

Well the thing is as a guy I didn’t care, from the very start I hated being male it was such an aversion that it affected everything in my life added to that because I wasn’t male of mind I just couldn’t bond with other boys/men (mostly). This meant that life had no worth to me, I really wasn’t bothered about my future as there was nothing to look forward to, my appearance could go to bits I hated it anyway so there was no point in looking after myself. I was emotionally shutdown until transition.

So I started with Hormones you know the stuff that helps get rid of all the Testosterone that poisons your body and mind and also Estrogen that unlocks your emotions so you can finally allow your real personality to shine. Oh as a side note it can help feminise your body which is a great bonus (note to all those who think it’s a magic pill for boobs and arse, grow up!).
This made a huge difference in my life, for the first time ever I felt mentally balanced and I started feeling happier and optimistic about life.

To speed things along several years later and now fulltime I’m dealing with a whole new set of issues and this isn’t often talked about. The GD is pretty much gone, I don’t spend anytime worrying about my gender, female clothes are just clothes and I feel right now, I fit and everything is as it should be.
I know I’m female because it just works and being male didn’t work, that’s as scientific as I can get on that.

However…… I now care, I really care. The years of loss of being female hurt, the fact I can never be a mother hurts, my appearance hurts. Today I was washing my hair and my hair is still too thin on top and I probably need another hair transplant, from the side I look ugly with male pattern baldness hairline and I just burst into tears, I can’t afford with everything else to fix this. The money to transition is endless and I feel desperate that time is running out.
I know it sounds selfish but I am 40 next year and I just want a little more time to appreciate being a woman before I’m too old I know it’s all superficial but I have spent so many years dealing with my inner feelings because my outside doesn’t match the inside and now I have a chance to correct the outside I don’t have the means to achieve it. It’s incredibly frustrating.

I feel reborn, my life is exciting and full of promise and it’s like i’m twenty again with another chance to do things the right way, except I’m not twenty and I feel the bitterness of the last twenty years wasted in denial, self-hatred and fear. Mostly it doesn’t bother me and I put on a smile and go out into the world but today I feel it, today it hurts again.

I can’t imagine how much worse this is for those who can’t pass, who constantly get misgendered and maybe never feel what it’s like to be truly accepted as female in a group, those who get abandoned by loved ones or lose their job, those who can’t access any finances to make crucial changes or those in religious or other social situations where the very idea is life threatening.

Transition is hard, really hard even for those of us that get the easy ride.
But I would still do it, it’s still the right choice for me despite these bad days. Probably due to the hormones and feelings I feel worse sometimes but I also feel happier on other days, yes it can be an emotional rollercoaster but its way better than the meaningless automaton I was before.
It’s so hard sometimes being a Trans-woman and transitioning but I would never go back, I only have to think of life before trying to live as a man and I know deep down this is still the right road for me but I certainly haven’t driven off into the sunset, there are still many obstacles and road blocks ahead and sometimes I will have bad days but I’m so much stronger now.

‘Don’t transition unless you have to’ well I had to and it was a good thing however it doesn’t fix all problems but the one it did fix makes all this craziness worthwhile.

Marcelle
07-26-2016, 10:53 AM
Hi Becky,

Definitely a mixed emotion post. On one hand I can read your joy at doing what you need to do in order to be the woman you were meant to be and then I read so much hurt and desperation. I wish I had a magic answer because if I did, I would use it myself. All we can do is move forward from a position of darkness to one of self-acceptance. You are doing that . . . one step at a time and I can sense in your posts that you are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel :) While it is easy to say focus on the internal self and self acceptance . . . sometimes appearance can be a miserable reminder and that is always a hard pill to swallow. I have good days in which I fully understand that when people see me they see "dude" not "woman" and while they are polite I know in my heart of hearts I will never pass or be seen as a woman. It is a hard reality to wrestle with but I just tackle day by day and slowly it gets better . . . kid might not be pretty but I am slowly coming to terms with that and things seem a bit brighter.

I hope things get clearer for you and in the meantime a big hug and support goes out to you.

Cheers

Marcelle

tgirlamc
07-26-2016, 11:06 AM
Hi Becky...

I see so much of my life reflected in your post... The coloring of my childhood and pre transition adulthood by the GD,... The pre-transition lack of connection to life and to others and the post-transition anxieties brought on by body, face and voice concerns. The fact I didn't start to even live "my" life until age 52...I know these are all the demons I also do battle with.. Most days I can put them into their place... Many days very successfully... Some days enough to function only ... a few days the demons win and they are some of the lowest days I have known in my life...

Still... I persevere and I carry my positive attitude into battle each day as best I can... My life now is priceless to me... Hard? Yes!!!... But finally my own... I own it all ...the good parts and the not so good parts...I would never go back to what I had before!!! ..I truly hope that the good parts always win out for you!!! You deserve nothing less!!!!.. Onward we go!!!

Take Care,

Ashley :)

jentay1367
07-26-2016, 11:22 AM
however it doesn’t fix all problems

I don't care who you are. Everyone has problems. Seems like all we can do is mitigate them to the best of our ability and roll on. Unlike many who wallow in their issues, you have fought and corrected many. I think if many of us woke up an "average" GG of our own age, and looked in the mirror, we'd be absolutely appalled. Muffin top, cellulite, batwings, drooping breasts, sagging skin, female androgen driven baldness, the occasional or more whisker on your face.....and the list goes on. We tend to be hypercritical of ourselves because we feel like we weren't born in the club. But I think in many instances, it's just that. Your pictures reveal a beautiful woman that many GG's would kill to be. So I write this in hopes that it might give you some pause and realize all you do have. Tons of women are walking around with wigs on, tons. You just don't know it. The ones that look like they forgot the chinstrap are the ones you notice. So if you're hair is your main problem, there's an answer that is common to women everywhere. Some people from everywhere on the spectrum are never ever happy. If there is a bell curve on this stuff, those of us that are trans and proactive, are at least happy some if not most of the time. I'll take that win. After all, what other choices are there?

pamela7
07-26-2016, 11:41 AM
Hi Becky,

I’m so sorry to hear of your suffering, and so pleased you shared this with us. You are not alone here, and I’m sure most of us see some echoes in your story.

I actually wrote a book on my own spiritial journey, that I called “the spiritual closet”; and years later I got the irony of the suppressed message of my own trans-ness (the closet). I felt different and alone growing up, and I did not join the dots either; the times I was happiest were the parties when my sisters had all their girlfriends present; I just got on better with them, but my local society at the time was against playing with the opposite sex, segregating playgrounds etc.

I don’t expect hormones to change emotional connectivity, and in fact I feel (I know) they’re a red-herring there. Emotional connectivity and sensitivity come from having no dissociations that result in the loss of something that is natural to all animals. I connected all that up in 2001 and ever since I’ve been super-sensitive to feelings - mine and other people’s.

I’d been hoping the hormones would create a little breast enlargement, albeit not a lot, and maybe redistribute some fat, but nothing bone-structurally. Maybe I’ll have to rethink, and go for breast implants.

I’m lucky to have my hair; reckon i’ve always been low-T. It’s my saving grace given my figure. Only yesterday I was feeling “I’m a large woman” as an identity realisation, and dressing accordingly. There are many women out there who are not Disney-beautiful, and that’s a good thing. We are all shapes and sizes, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of us can see the inner beauty shining through.

Sending you best wishes to get through this.

xxx Pam

PretzelGirl
07-26-2016, 12:11 PM
Becky, this looks like a tough post to write. It is real and it is raw. Thank you for sharing it, even though I know it wasn't a easy thing to do. Transition is an extremely difficult thing and very tough in the best of cases.

For those reading this, realize this is not about being a woman. This is about being real to yourself and those around you. Changing what is on the outside has varying effects on us (hair, surgery, hormonal effects, etc...) but the most important is how it settles the mind that we are being real and who we should be. Or as Becky shows, as close as we can get because services are not always obtainable either because of money or availability. While it is a great feeling to achieve a feeling of congruity, the price is high in the best of cases.

Teresa
07-26-2016, 12:34 PM
Becky,
It's a very brave thing to open your life up to others, I hope in some way it's helped you to share your thoughts.

The thoughts I can add if they are of any help to you at all is age is never against you if you can find happiness. I was talking to a couple of TSs at my social group one is late sixties and the other mid seventies, she completed SRS several months ago is is much happier. The other member commented on the ages attending the Nottingham clinic, she said some are in their eighties and just starting transition, they obviously still see a happier future.

I really hope you can begin to a happier future, none of us are perfect but it's what's inside that really matters if the real person can win through looks can become secondary . So many illnesses can disfigure us but it's not an illness it's a chance to be truly happy , I hope you can find that very soon and get a new life on track.

stefan37
07-26-2016, 12:39 PM
Stop worrying about it and live your life. Find a hobby to occupy your time and you won't have time to think about what you perceive as issues.
I paid my own way and spent a small fortune in electro, FFS and GCS. I could use hair transplants. Best augmentation and some other minor tweaks. But I made the decision to deal with these issues and bought a sailboat and that keeps me plenty busy to worry about my shortcomings.

becky77
07-26-2016, 01:26 PM
I have got a hobby that I love and my life is way happier I just had one of those blips and thought I would share it.
Reveal my mental gymnastics.
I don't need sympathy and being dismissed isn't particularly helpful but oh well.

I'm not sure telling someone that has no money and spent years hiding behind hobbies, to buy a sailboat as a hobby for avoidance is the best advise but each to their own.

Oh and the hair thing is my particular trigger I cope pretty well with most everything else I wore a wig for two years, is it wrong that $10k on hair and it's still no good would upset me?

ClaudineD
07-26-2016, 01:48 PM
Even after SRS there is a need for ongoing therapy....do not give up on yourself....it seems as if you have had a long journey to this point - transition in not an overnight event....

AllieSF
07-26-2016, 02:10 PM
Thanks for sharing the good, bad and the ugly on such a personal level.

arbon
07-26-2016, 02:18 PM
Thank you for writing this post Becky. There is much I understand and relate to. Raised a lot of thoughts for me.

It is a long road, and a crazy one.

I've been through so many ups and downs in transition. Sometimes I think about this journey and the magnitude of it all can be overwhelming.
I never thought that I would be here, being me, real. But here I am, somehow.
Many things are way better - like how I feel about myself, not being drowned in the shame, self loathing, and confusion that used to plague me. I feel very free to be myself today. But there are still plenty of issues. I still have body issues, with how I look. Being out a visibly trans in the community is very draining and chips away at me. I get mis gendered often which hurts. I know that with most of my women friends here they accept me as a trans woman but not as a real woman. I'm not accepted by the people I work with as a woman. My last surgery left me with chronic pain issues. I worry about my financial security after sacrificing everything. I worry about being alone...just lots of stuff to keep trudging through. Sometimes I am very tired from it all.

But still all worth it somehow, just to be real in this world. I'm not a woman conflicted by or hating being a woman. Not a woman wanting to be a guy. Pre transition I was tortured by those feelings and internal conflicts of needing to be a woman and living that lie as a man. Thats all gone now. Which is nice.

my thoughts / experience.

That don't worry about it and get a hobby reply does not fit here very well Stefan - not sure why you wrote that.

becky77
07-26-2016, 02:25 PM
. My last surgery left me with chronic pain issues. I worry about my financial security after sacrificing everything. I worry about being alone...just lots of stuff to keep trudging through. Sometimes I am very tired from it all.



Yes and I think I'm particularly sensitive lately because I'm worried crazy that SRS will go wrong, the wait is eating away at me.
As for financial security it's a very valid point, last week I had a scare at work and worried my job might be vulnerable it was so scary because getting another job will be really difficult. I can't go stealth as my CV is totally linked to my male past.
I really feel for those with work issues.

BTW I feel fine now someone just made me laugh, highs and lows sometimes in the same day.

Rianna Humble
07-26-2016, 04:08 PM
Becky, thank you for sharing your inner turmoil. I am not going to offer you platitudes, or rich peoples' diversionary tactics.

A lot of what you wrote could have been my story - except the bit about getting it right at 40 - I had another 14 years before I gave in.

I'm lucky because my hair is about the same thickness as most women of my age, but I struggle with my weight and my health issues and on some days still can't accept my lack of progress.

You have come a long way, there is much in your post to cheer, but if you need to vent your frustration, there aren't many better places than here.

emma5410
07-26-2016, 04:52 PM
Thanks for sharing Becky. Like others I see a lot of my own experience in your words. Like you I have had an relatively 'easy' transition in terms of work and the physical side. It was still an incredibly hard thing to get through and I had many moments when I did not think I was going to make it.
Try not to worry too much about SRS. It can go wrong but more often goes right. Fortunately, mine was straightforward and fairly painless.
I do not have any words to take away your problems. All I can say is it does get better. SRS was a big turning point for me. At long last I felt my body was right and a lot of other things fell into place.
Transitioning tormented and tortured me, and yet it all passed. I never believed it would but it did.

MissDanielle
07-26-2016, 08:26 PM
Thanks for opening up. I'm with you on the hair 100%.

Badtranny
07-26-2016, 10:33 PM
excellent post Becky.

You're a damn warrior.

Karissa
07-26-2016, 10:40 PM
By default in our societies, in the transition from male to female, far more emphasis comes to be placed on the physical look (and thus the ephemeral).

Feminine beauty and attractiveness are currencies of exceptional value.

I feel this is why women might tend to feel envious of other's beauty (or have down-times and doubts about their own appearance) - as for intelligent and sensitive persons, it's potentially far more difficult to 'up-rate' physical appearance and looks, than it is to make mental and psychological changes.

In general, the amount of time and effort a women spends daily on improving and up-keeping her looks is quite incredible when compared to that which a typical male puts in - though most women aren't commonly 'awarded' extra time and resources for this.

Thus, unless an MtF individual is particularly blessed in looks and attractiveness, this comparative, competitive element, however right or wrong - is almost bound to be extremely challenging.

It's really a quite vicious overall situation, that an MtF individual has to deal with.

Georgette_USA
07-26-2016, 11:12 PM
I don't care who you are. Everyone has problems. I think if many of us woke up an "average" GG of our own age, ... . Muffin top, cellulite, batwings, drooping breasts, sagging skin, female androgen driven baldness, the occasional or more whisker on your face.....and the list goes on.


I didn't just wake up being an older "GG", but I have all those problems now after 40 years Post.

The whole idea of what being TS means to me, is probably a lot different then most on here. I have had 40 years to just be the average woman growing old. My partner and I never thought of being TS anymore.

STACY B
07-27-2016, 05:21 AM
An the Struggle continues ,, lol,,, Fight,,Fight,,Fight,, To the END,,, Just one day out of a Million,,, Tomorrow will be BETTER,,,

stefan37
07-27-2016, 06:01 AM
I was not trying to be dismissive. But your are Young and worrying about not having enough years to enjoy your authentic life struck me. Being much older and spending a small fortune on transition related stuff, and dealing with misgendering despite the money I've spent on physical surgeries, can be disheartening to say the least. But as been said before. Transition is a "hell of a thing". It will be with you the rest of your life. Just as you found ways to cope before transition. You will need to find ways to cope with being a transsexual for the rest of your life. What methods you use will be up to you. But spending tons of time to change your physical characteristics (not too mention money). Does not guarantee the world will see you different. But until you comes to terms with these triggers and find methods to ignore them. Your life will be filled with torment no less severe than life before you transitioned.

Eringirl
07-27-2016, 08:20 AM
Hey Bex...

Wow, what a wonderful post, honest and definitely emotional. While each of our journeys are ours to take, many aspects, or common themes, emerge within all of our stories, and yours, for me, was no exception. I empathize with you on the motherhood issue....that is a VERY sore point for me, that I was never able to conceive. But I do have two awesome daughters, so I am learning to get over that. I am also concerned about spending the rest of my life alone, and that sometimes whacks me upside the head, and yup, it does hurt!! I don't think this journey ever ends. There are always days when doubt creeps into our minds and occupies a spot on our "heads up display" as we go about our day. Fortunately for me, they are transient, and continue on their flight path and go off my radar screen.

Like you, I am fortunate in that I never get misgendered, it is rare someone refers to me by my deadname (which they immediately correct themselves before I do), work is amazing and my friends and family are all still with me. That being said, this is a hell of a ride, and to quote one of our warriors of wisdom "this is tough sh!t". But we persevere, and the day gets better. I am trying to just go with it and not let those negative feelings hang around too long, but ya, that is tough, and easier said than done. Distractions may work, but you still are left with dealing with it at some point. For me, and this is only my experience, I still maintain my relationship with my therapist. So I go to see her every couple of months just to get a "realignment". She has been my saviour for sure.

Hope things get better, as I am sure they will. Know that you are supported and there is much love for you around !!

Erin

Mirya
07-27-2016, 08:24 AM
Thanks for sharing your story Becky. I'm the same age as you! I turn 40 next year too! And I also have days where I wish I had somehow come to this realization earlier in my life; that I had transitioned in my 20's or something. Like you, I knew I was different somehow, but I didn't realize why until so much later.

But then I look at some of the 20-something trans friends I have. Many of them are dirt poor. A few of them are literally homeless. They're completely estranged and cut off from their parents. They are living full-time, but with no money for any surgeries, no money for hair removal, and barely enough money to even pay for food... their situation is bleak, despite their youth.

Then I look at the older trans women I know, the seniors in their 60s and beyond. In fact I just had lunch with one of them two days ago. She is 70 and finally looking at FFS. I know, FFS at 70! Oh how she wishes she had transitioned even just 15 years earlier. The testosterone has taken its toll and she does not pass. At all. Even after FFS I doubt that she will pass. Fortunately she has money from a successful career, but what good can it do at her age? She has so few years left to live as a woman, and even then it probably won't be as one who is fully accepted by society.

And then there's me, in the middle, transitioning at 39. I look at my younger trans friends, and I count my blessings. I look at my older trans friends, and I count my blessings. I have the advantage of having worked for more than a decade with male privilege in a male-dominated industry. But I'm still young enough to look fairly youthful and pass as a woman everywhere I go. Most importantly, I realize I still have many more years ahead of being able to live as my true self, and that fills me with hope and excitement for the future.

And that's what keeps me going, despite the tough days. Before I started transitioning, I had no hope. I lived my life, just going through the motions, just so I could die sooner. Now I am living to live life, not living to die sooner, and that makes even the bad days easier than my good days as a man ever were.

Angela Campbell
07-27-2016, 08:25 AM
Yeah, ......sigh......

As others have said many of us see that as our own story. I certainly do. I understand.

After the things I have gone through I feel ....different, but not what I expected. Yes very comfortable in my life, and yes also concerned since I spent EVERYTHING on this and may never get back to the financial status I once had. Too old to really start over. Also old enough that I often see younger women and girls and feel bad that I missed that completely and will never have what is so universal among others.

This is a wild ride, and the outcome will not be what you expect. But it is a unique journey and we all share many of the events, things most others never will ever even comprehend in their wildest imagination. We have experienced things most people never will.

arbon
07-27-2016, 10:10 AM
This is a wild ride, and the outcome will not be what you expect. But it is a unique journey and we all share many of the events, things most others never will ever even comprehend in their wildest imagination.

That is the truth!

JanePeterson
07-27-2016, 11:57 AM
So transitioners practice a form of radical honesty... Does that set us up for an inherently difficult life? I see most people (like everyone I know) living lives rife with delusion and a lack of purpose or meaning- maybe we lose that ability to be blissfully ignorant and unaware of time wasted, and while it makes us authentic it ends up being the ultimate buzzkill.

pamela7
07-27-2016, 12:39 PM
It's probably the consequence of all the therapy, Jane. You gotta jump them hoops to get the magic pill.
However, it's probably quite easy to rebuild some decent self-delusion afterwards by finding some people pleasers to give positive feedback.

;-))

Kaitlyn Michele
07-27-2016, 05:18 PM
If you are looking for a buzz Jane, you came to the wrong "condition"...LOL..

i dont think you meant it that way but i thought i'd chime in

Becky

That was a really really excellent and courageous post... thank you for sharing it..alot of what you talked is directly relatable to things i went through in my own life..

JanePeterson
07-27-2016, 05:44 PM
If you are looking for a buzz Jane, you came to the wrong "condition"...LOL..

i dont think you meant it that way but i thought i'd chime in


i know right? why couldn't i be one of those people who think they're napoleon or jesus or something :)