Originally Posted by
AllieSF
Stephanie, a baby when born does not know what it is, male, female TG, gay, lesbian, happy nor sad. They are born with a physical body that represents what they appear to be, but not always what they are. That old saying, "Looks can be deceiving" seems to apply very well here. That is why I said in my post above that they (TS's) may need therapy to realize it. I am not talking about physical aspects, but what a person's being/self is. Sometimes it takes work to discover and accept that. Ask gays or lesbians and they will tell you that they only realized that they were that later in life, some fairly young and many a bit older. But, until medical science (i.e. doctor's, psychologists, scientists, etc.) unanimously proves something different, in my belief, they were gay or lesbian from birth, not from external factors after birth. The external factors may help to bring it to the surface sooner, but they do not define these natal true self characteristics. Having something and knowing that you have it are two distinct things. Some know right away and some do not. Some people are mistaken in what they think too. But that does not change in any way who or what they are. Again, that is why counseling is needed to help clarify their "beliefs" and what is the truth as far as being defined. And even counseling can can result in errors. You stated that your recent sources are your top doctors for your own medical problems. Even if they are top doctors in gender related issues such as we are talking about here, they could be wrong in their opinions, just like me. Specialists in the TG area don't even always agree on definitions, causes, treatments, etc.
The understanding of what different definitions and labels are used in other parts of the world should be considered here in serious conversations, because it helps all of us understand and not just dismiss what others have to say, even though they may not be from the USA. We here, like everyone else all over the world, need each others input to totally understand the very complicated transgendered world. What we are talking about is not unique to only the USA.
You keep referring to the body. If I was talking about what body someone had, I would agree with you that someone with a penis has a male body, unless, of course, if they are inter-sexed. But, that male penis does not define what they are inside. We could probably guess and be right most of the time.
And lastly, it is nice to see that we are very similar in many ways. Both are MtF CD's, know some TS's, don't really care what the other person calls themselves(accepting of diversity, as I like to refer to it), love and rarely judge others.
