When I grew up I thought the only treatment you could get as a trans woman was wearing make-up and breast prosthetics, and that trans women were basically men in dresses. I would have preferred to be a girl, but I was "okay" being a boy, and definitely didn't want to live like that, so I just wrote it off as a non-option.
I try not to get hung up on the past, but it's hard to not think that if I was maybe born like half a decade later, or even if I grew up somewhere that wasn't rural nowhere, I could have gotten a more accurate picture of what being trans was like, understood that wishing I was a girl was in fact gender dysphoria, and I'd save myself some of the years I just completely wasted being half alive.
Was totally unaware of the existence of trans people, so I similarly just didn't think it was an option and it better to just ignore such feelings. By the time I learned it was an option, my introduction was the "always known" stereotype, so obviously that wasn't me, so I didn't think any more about it.
As for your original question: I think one of the main reason a some people asked me if I was gay is just because my parents were lesbians. Not sure if they suspected it for other reasons and just asked when the topic of my parents was brought up or if it was a "gay people are trying to spread their homosexuality" type thing.
Was totally unaware of the existence of trans people, so I similarly just didn't think it was an option and it better to just ignore such feelings. By the time I learned it was an option, my introduction was the "always known" stereotype, so obviously that wasn't me, so I didn't think any more about it.
That's more or less how I grew up except I was completely blind to the very obvious things in my life that screamed "YOU'RE TRANS!" I didn't meet a trans person until I met my wife who was horribly closeted due to absolute nonsense she was subjected to online (essentially autogynephilia nonsense), so she didn't even seek transition until after I did.
You're right though. It's best to not get hung up on the past. It's hard not to sometimes. It still gets me every once in a while and it can be a horribly difficult hole to pull myself out of. I just gotta remember that my childhood is waaaaaaay behind me and that I need to focus on my future, not my past.
same
CW Transphobia, sadness
When I grew up I thought the only treatment you could get as a trans woman was wearing make-up and breast prosthetics, and that trans women were basically men in dresses. I would have preferred to be a girl, but I was "okay" being a boy, and definitely didn't want to live like that, so I just wrote it off as a non-option.
I try not to get hung up on the past, but it's hard to not think that if I was maybe born like half a decade later, or even if I grew up somewhere that wasn't rural nowhere, I could have gotten a more accurate picture of what being trans was like, understood that wishing I was a girl was in fact gender dysphoria, and I'd save myself some of the years I just completely wasted being half alive.
Was totally unaware of the existence of trans people, so I similarly just didn't think it was an option and it better to just ignore such feelings. By the time I learned it was an option, my introduction was the "always known" stereotype, so obviously that wasn't me, so I didn't think any more about it.
As for your original question: I think one of the main reason a some people asked me if I was gay is just because my parents were lesbians. Not sure if they suspected it for other reasons and just asked when the topic of my parents was brought up or if it was a "gay people are trying to spread their homosexuality" type thing.
Every day I meet myself on this website
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That's more or less how I grew up except I was completely blind to the very obvious things in my life that screamed "YOU'RE TRANS!" I didn't meet a trans person until I met my wife who was horribly closeted due to absolute nonsense she was subjected to online (essentially autogynephilia nonsense), so she didn't even seek transition until after I did.
You're right though. It's best to not get hung up on the past. It's hard not to sometimes. It still gets me every once in a while and it can be a horribly difficult hole to pull myself out of. I just gotta remember that my childhood is waaaaaaay behind me and that I need to focus on my future, not my past.