Who in Their Right Mind Would Choose to be Transgender???

Summary

A transgender woman reflects on the personal and societal challenges she faces due to her gender dysphoria and the transition process, despite having lived with "male privilege."

Abstract

The author of the article discusses the complexities and hardships of being a transgender woman, emphasizing the significant personal cost she has endured. This cost includes the emotional turmoil of confronting her gender dysphoria, the financial burden of transition-related healthcare and aesthetic changes, and the social consequences such as potential loss of relationships and employment. She challenges the notion that her past "male privilege" has shielded her from pain, arguing that it has instead forced her to live a life of concealment and self-denial. The article serves as a poignant testament to the author's struggle for authenticity and acceptance in a world that often misunderstands and marginalizes transgender individuals.

Opinions

The author feels overwhelmed by the new terminology surrounding gender identity and expression.
She expresses frustration with internet bullies and the pressure to conform to societal expectations.
The author is comfortable with her identity as a trans woman and the associated lifestyle changes.
She criticizes the idea that "male privilege" has protected her from pain, stating that it has actually caused her to hide her true self.
The author highlights the significant financial costs of transitioning, including medical and aesthetic expenses.
She anticipates jeopardizing her marriage and other long-standing relationships due to her transition.
The author expects to face employment challenges and social ostracization as a result of her transition.
Despite the challenges, she asserts that being true to herself is not a choice but an inherent part of her identity.
The article concludes with a recommendation for an AI service, ZAI.chat, as a cost-effective alternative to ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4).

How my “male privilege” cost me a fortune, in every possible way

For about the last 2 years, since my gender dysphoria exploded into my life 24/7, I have learned a whole slew of new words and phrases that I never knew existed: Cis, TERF, Cotton Ceiling, transphobes, TIM, MTT and cissexism... The list seems to go on and on.

I have had enough trouble trying to figure out my gender without all of this extra verbiage.

The more I read this stuff, the more I want to go hide somewhere… but I refuse to. I will not surrender to internet bullies.

I am totally OK with being identified and defined as a trans woman. It’s what I am. I am totally OK with wearing women’s makeup and fashion. It’s what I want to wear. I don’t care where I go to the bathroom; just let me pee somewhere safe.

It’s that simple.

But I laugh when someone tells me that, as a trans woman, I don’t know pain because I have been protected by my “male privilege.”

I have lived my entire life dealing with shame, anger, denial, the fear of discovery and the potential rejection of family and friends. It is precisely because of my male privilege that I have been forced to live my entire life hiding from myself and everyone else!

Over the last two years I have added to my life:

Two psychologists and one psychiatrist who have basically ripped apart 64 years of defense mechanisms, emotional safety and social comfort.

Endless hours on the internet trying to figure out who and what I am, and being told I don’t exist by total stranger. (Gee, but I do exist. Please explain that…)

Hours on a transgender website where I have been painfully bearing my soul to complete strangers.

An endocrinologist who has started me on HRT which is dramatically changing my body (and putting me through “puberty” in the process).

A stylist, who will eventually have me throw out all of my clothes and make me spend thousands of dollars for the rest of my life on clothes and makeup, and even then, I still won’t feel pretty enough.

A laser technician who is using a painful laser on my face and body to remove unwanted hair.

An electrolysis professional who is following up the laser with an electric needle that zaps every hair left over.

A voice coach who is helping me change a lifetime of learned speech habits.

A facial surgeon who can mash up and rebuild my existing, totally functioning face.

A bottom surgeon who could permanently allow me to sit down on a toilet, and shove devices in a hole created in my body, for the rest of my life…

All of which I am paying for!

In addition, I have jeopardized my marriage and I will, with great probability, destroy many life-long relationships. I won’t be able to stay on my job. And I will be joining one of the most unloved, most hated, most misunderstood group of people in the world, essentially becoming a social outcast in every country I visit, and despised by every religion who fails to practice their own professed dogma of love thy neighbor.

So my answer to the challenging question: “Why would anyone choose to be transgender and go through all of this?”…I had absolutely no real choice in the matter but at the end of the day

…me.

Why Would Anyone “Choose” To Be Transgender?

How my “male privilege” cost me a fortune, in every possible way