What does gender mean to you?

[stickygirl]

It only matters when you involve others as in a romantic relationship. Then it is a moral duty to your prospective partner to be 100% honest about who you are.

Somehow your post got lost in a flurry. I totally agree with this point.

I can't imagine any trans woman risking her safety by not telling a prospective partner, quite apart from showing respect to the other person and their feelings. I can imagine a situation where wires get crossed - it can be difficult to know exactly when to broach the subject. Most trans women my age declare it in their dating app.

In a respectable bar, women have a thousand ways to ease out of situation if a guy is showing an unwelcome interest. If she's trans then she has even more reason to demur.

 

[Razzyricho]

Sex is natural, it’s biology.
Gender is cultural and has been classified by humanity, specifically through language. I’m glad that I live in an age where people have the freedom (in most countries) to express themselves and identify as they please.
Fuck gender and cultural stereotypes, that shit is driven by religion and misogyny!

 

[TheF1x3r]

I’m glad that I live in an age where people have the freedom (in most countries) to express themselves and identify as they please.

(thread resurrection time!)

We don't... the Western world is an exception rather than the rule, most of the world is oppressive and often violently so.

Actually, coincidentally, tonight in the UK we celebrate a failed plot to blow up our parliament. I am very grateful to live in a country where we can be free, and not just that but also that our right to freedom is protected by law.

 

[GD6720]

This question is posed to everyone on the forum, whether you're gay, straight, trans, cis, nonbinary or anything else.

I've been doing a bit of thinking lately about the idea of gender and why we place so much importance on it in society, media,relationships, etc. It seems to be something that so many people find to be a pressing issue, myself included to an extent, but I don't quite understand why.

So to the people of this forum, I would like to ask: What does gender mean to you? What role does it play in your life and what importance to you place on it in the relationships you have with those around you?

I was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria in my teens after having a very bad experience at the age of 12 which was partly created by my feelings. Although I have been happily married for over 30yrs these feelings have not demished, with time. Being here helps me alot, being amongst like minded allows my head to rest a little and allow my thoughts to breath a little. Vicky is my feminine name, so the word gender means many things to me. Vicky x

 

[CatGirl69]

This question is posed to everyone on the forum, whether you're gay, straight, trans, cis, nonbinary or anything else.

I've been doing a bit of thinking lately about the idea of gender and why we place so much importance on it in society, media,relationships, etc. It seems to be something that so many people find to be a pressing issue, myself included to an extent, but I don't quite understand why.

So to the people of this forum, I would like to ask: What does gender mean to you? What role does it play in your life and what importance to you place on it in the relationships you have with those around you?

Hi everyone! New girl here!

I'm a transgender woman squarely in her middle-age years. My "egg" cracked a couple years ago, and suddenly my whole life feels incredibly different.

My gender is female. It's *deep* inside me, who I am. No one can touch it, not even me! [And certainly not politicians or religious people.]

But, I grew up in a "male" meat suit. I felt uncomfortable and awkward with my [alleged] maleness my whole life. It's like trying to force a left-handed person to throw right-handed. I could function in the world (work, sleep, etc.), but being a "guy" or "dude?" Ask a girl to prom? How the heck do I do that? Am I supposed to know already? Did I miss something somewhere? Why is this so natural for everyone else but impossibly weird for me?

Gender is who I am at my core. It colors a lot of very basic things: who I know myself to be, how I express myself, how I present to the world, who others see me to be, how they relate to me, how I relate to them, how I see my place in society. It's not that my gender *is* these things, but it *colors* them. What I do with my hair, body language, speech patterns, etc.

Since I started transitioning, things started becoming a *lot* more comfortable and natural. Unfortunately, transition is a slow process, and there's still a lot of "male" in my external gender, and I *hate it*. But, I'm on the right path. I'm gonna make my meat suit *mine*, and girl-me is taking the place of old me, whether the world is ready or not!

 

[kathyisgr65]

Gender doesn't mean anything to me.. but I understand that it means all the world to some ppl.

 

[CatGirl69]

Gender doesn't mean anything to me.. but I understand that it means all the world to some ppl.

Yeah! I've met a lot of people like that. "It's all a construct," "It's all made up," etc. They feel like their gender doesn't really fit anything. Or it fits in different ways at different times. Or it's like, what?

It's all super interesting, and the more I learn, and reflect, the more awesome I think it is how people experience gender in so many different ways!

 

[GD6720]

Hi everyone! New girl here!

I'm a transgender woman squarely in her middle-age years. My "egg" cracked a couple years ago, and suddenly my whole life feels incredibly different.

My gender is female. It's *deep* inside me, who I am. No one can touch it, not even me! [And certainly not politicians or religious people.]

But, I grew up in a "male" meat suit. I felt uncomfortable and awkward with my [alleged] maleness my whole life. It's like trying to force a left-handed person to throw right-handed. I could function in the world (work, sleep, etc.), but being a "guy" or "dude?" Ask a girl to prom? How the heck do I do that? Am I supposed to know already? Did I miss something somewhere? Why is this so natural for everyone else but impossibly weird for me?

Gender is who I am at my core. It colors a lot of very basic things: who I know myself to be, how I express myself, how I present to the world, who others see me to be, how they relate to me, how I relate to them, how I see my place in society. It's not that my gender *is* these things, but it *colors* them. What I do with my hair, body language, speech patterns, etc.

Since I started transitioning, things started becoming a *lot* more comfortable and natural. Unfortunately, transition is a slow process, and there's still a lot of "male" in my external gender, and I *hate it*. But, I'm on the right path. I'm gonna make my meat suit *mine*, and girl-me is taking the place of old me, whether the world is ready or not!

Hi I was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria in my teens, I am now 56, I live in a male shell, underneath I am very female. If ever you want to chat please feel free to PM me. I wish you every success and love on your journey and remember you and many others including me are not alone, love and best wishes Vicky x