Who-I-am vs. What-I-like

[ReineD]

Angela, I'm not saying you are a shadow. :p

I'm saying that I'm like the people who only see and know one thing (I compare the shadows to my personal experience of having no desire to present as a gender opposite to my birth sex), and so I have no experience or personal understanding of what people know who see other things than shadows (I compare the other things than shadows to having a desire to present as a gender opposite to birth sex).

I might have left that analogy out of this discussion, it complicates things.

To everyone, please don't misunderstand. I do accept that people experience fluctuating gender expression needs. My initial query was about what is meant by "this" (in "this is who I am"), when a non-TS is presenting as a female types it in a post. Does it mean the non-TS identifies fully (all the time) as the gender presented at that moment, even during male-mode? Or alternatively (while dressed with also a need to be and identify as male at other times or as other than female)? Or does this person always identify as a gender-fluctuating being?

Words like "this" are nebulous and hard to quantify unless some blanks are filled in and I was saying that most of us only have what is in front of us to go on, when determining what the pronoun "this" means. And since we see a female presentation when people use the term (the avatars or what they represent), it is difficult to determine whether the feeling of being female is persistent or if it fluctuates according to need.

Hope this clarifies and I'm sorry if my question got garbled.

Your default expression being feminine is not because you are a female, it is simply because you are a person who is more feminine than masculine. You are typical of the 90+ percent of females who are more feminine. Enough so that you identify as a woman, which IMO is also not necessarily female. Female is simply what you are physically. A woman is what you identify as, a woman is who you are.

I respect that you feel that way. And although I accept that some people, namely many in this community, do experience some level of gender duality, most of us don't look at it that way. Cis-women don't believe that if they enjoy sports, have the goal of becoming a CEO, or enjoy gutting and refinishing a room in their home, it is their masculine or male-side coming out. Conversely, cis-men don't believe that it is a feminine or female-side coming out when they enjoy cooking, taking care of their young kids, or when they choose to be a nurse or an airline attendant. The majority of people have no conflict between their gender ID and their birth-sex, no matter what their preferences or activities are.