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Apr. 7th, 2005 07:57 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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transHello. As a disclaimer, this post is not meant to offend anyone in any way. It's my attempt to understand something I've been unable to understand. Thanks in advance for any replies.
I worked with a transgendered individual a couple years back and since then have thought more and more about why people decide to switch, physically. The harder I think about it, the more I'm at a loss for any rational reason why an individual would physically alter him/herself or consider him/herself a member of the opposite sex. I'm writing this to get the perspectives of people who have experienced this first-hand before I really make a decision on whether or not I think it makes sense.
My main problem is as follows, and this refers to those born a certain sex and desiring to physically alter or change themselves in any way...including operations, strapping down of breasts, etc. One is born a certain sex. No matter how one feels about it, one is what one is. One is born a human being; no matter how cool I think it would be to be a tiger or some other animal I wanted to be as a young child, I'm not one. It's not even an option. Even if I changed my body to look more like a tiger, I'm not one. Even if I changed to look exactly like a tiger, acted as much like a tiger as I could, and ate raw animals, I'm not a tiger. I'm ranting. Anyway, my question is, what makes those of you who are transgendered(and physically altered-surgically or not-as I suppose there's a distinction) wish to become so, and what is your response to the my statement that you are what you are no matter what you do to try to change that?
Before you answer, I've considered the possible response that one is what one is, and that may be a woman in a man's body. The question in my mind still stands. If one's gender is female, why physically alter one's body to look like a male. Can't one accept that one looks like a female but prefers "man things" (whatever that may be). To clarify, I don't think one can feel like a woman gender-wise when he's a man physically because gender is a social construct to some extent and as such there is no objective answer to the question, "what is a woman?". With that said, I think one can identify/relate with women more than men and yet be, physically, a man. I still don't see this as a reason to alter one's body. It essentially seems like putting on a mask to me.
I worked with a transgendered individual a couple years back and since then have thought more and more about why people decide to switch, physically. The harder I think about it, the more I'm at a loss for any rational reason why an individual would physically alter him/herself or consider him/herself a member of the opposite sex. I'm writing this to get the perspectives of people who have experienced this first-hand before I really make a decision on whether or not I think it makes sense.
My main problem is as follows, and this refers to those born a certain sex and desiring to physically alter or change themselves in any way...including operations, strapping down of breasts, etc. One is born a certain sex. No matter how one feels about it, one is what one is. One is born a human being; no matter how cool I think it would be to be a tiger or some other animal I wanted to be as a young child, I'm not one. It's not even an option. Even if I changed my body to look more like a tiger, I'm not one. Even if I changed to look exactly like a tiger, acted as much like a tiger as I could, and ate raw animals, I'm not a tiger. I'm ranting. Anyway, my question is, what makes those of you who are transgendered(and physically altered-surgically or not-as I suppose there's a distinction) wish to become so, and what is your response to the my statement that you are what you are no matter what you do to try to change that?
Before you answer, I've considered the possible response that one is what one is, and that may be a woman in a man's body. The question in my mind still stands. If one's gender is female, why physically alter one's body to look like a male. Can't one accept that one looks like a female but prefers "man things" (whatever that may be). To clarify, I don't think one can feel like a woman gender-wise when he's a man physically because gender is a social construct to some extent and as such there is no objective answer to the question, "what is a woman?". With that said, I think one can identify/relate with women more than men and yet be, physically, a man. I still don't see this as a reason to alter one's body. It essentially seems like putting on a mask to me.