Do u have a, "woman inside u"? Do u ever, "feel or act like a woman"?

[Nadine Spirit]

I'm curious...... what does it mean to feel like a woman? What does it feel like to be a man for that matter?

I have never felt as though I had a woman inside of me, I've always thought that has sounded a bit odd. But the bigger question really is, how do we know what anyone feels like inside. It is not as though we have some super easy test that we can use to correlate that information with what gender people are. That makes the implication that men feel one way while women feel another, which is just not the case. Even online "gender assessment tests" are so foolish..... pick one..... do you feel like staying home and raising the children or do you feel like getting a job and earning money? Like if you pick one or the other it says anything about your gender? What rubbish. What those types of things, and these types of questions in general imply, are gender stereotypes. As in, I put on a bra and some forms and when I felt them bounce, I felt like such a woman. Ergo, if an AFAB does not have breasts that bounce she apparently does not know what it feels like to be a woman? No. If you feel breasts bounce, what you are feeling is breasts bouncing not a male or female feeling.

My point, I have never felt like a man or a woman, I have only ever felt like myself. And that self just happens to be female.

[GretchenM]

You are quite right, Nadine. Everybody feels like themselves. Nobody can know exactly how someone else feels. There is no such thing as a male brain or a female brain - in fact, they are almost interchangeable they are so similar. When a person says they feel like this or feel like that it is an illusion based on what the person imagines that other person must feel like in contrast to the speaker's sense of self. So, it is all assumption and projection of what a person must feel like on yourself. It seems real. It make sense. But it is false.

That is why it comes down to behavior - the actions a person engages in to interact with their environment. Most of that is learned and not innate and it is learned by imitation. Nevertheless, the individual's sense of self drives the basic behavior patterns even though the particulars are learned. So, it seems there are two levels. There is the basic neurological drivers of behavior and then there are the modifiers that are learned and direct the actual expression of the basics produced by the brain. Mannerisms are learned; but the ability to be empathetic, compassionate, aggressive, competitive, etc. are behavioral patterns that are driven by the neurological configuration of your brain. The actual implementation of those patterns are imitative and culturally based. They are an interpretation that is individualized. It may superficially appear like what somebody else does and it may produce emotional reactions in the person who implements it, but it cannot be assumed that what one person feels is what another person feels. They may be similar, but they are not the same. What a person feels is theirs and theirs alone. Everything else is assumption and cannot be measured. No body has invented a Feel-O-Meter. And probably that tool will never be invented because feelings are not tangible - they just are. By analogy, you can feel and see the effects of gravity, but you cannot see gravity. It is just a property of matter and mass - invisible, but powerful.

[Lana Mae]

I am the "woman inside me"! I feel "feminine" at times but this may or may not be how a female feels! Once being a man, I can not describe what feeling like a man is like! I am now a women 24/7 and I am still me! YMMV Hugs Lana Mae

[SophyV]

When a person says they feel like this or feel like that it is an illusion based on what the person imagines that other person must feel like in contrast to the speaker's sense of self. So, it is all assumption and projection of what a person must feel like on yourself. It seems real. It make sense. But it is false.

Gretchen, I disagree. There is such a thing as empathy. If it is true that we all have some form of a feminine side just for some it is more prominent than others and if it is true that the male and female brain is almost identical, then it is possible to tap into that feminine side and understand what another is feeling to some degree. When someone says they feel like a woman because they are experiencing some physical sensation uniquely associated with females to say they feel like a woman is not to say they feel like a GG but to say they feel that connection to their female side. It is not fake but it can be an exaggerated feeling compared to a GG who has experienced those sensations all of their life and are therefore normal.

This is an existential question that has been debated since at least Plato. And while we know more about psychology and physiology now. We are still no closer to answering the question of whether we are just seeing shadows of Forms on the cave wall or experiencing true reality. When a CD says they feel like a woman how much fainter of a shadow of true Womanhood is it than a GG? That we may never know. But we can say the CD sees enough to recognize that is womanhood.

[Aunt Kelly]

We'll put, Lana Mae.

[Tracy Irving]

I feel like me (whatever that is) with no compartments to try and fit into. I don't even have the curiosity to figure "it" out as long as I am happy doing what I do.

[Rachelakld]

Easy - if she doesn't get time to dress, shop etc, she mopes around and brings your mood down without you even noticing

[Jenny22]

As a wee lad I asked my mom if I could be a girl. I've known since then that I was very different. With my wife's two pregnancies, and the birth of our sons, I wanted to be her, cause I wanted those experiences. After her passing, and my examining myself at length, I confirmed that I was TG and knew I could never become TS at my age and health. So, is there a woman inside of me? You tell me. I dress 24/7 and must.