Like so many others have mentioned, I did not know that I was “transgender” at the age that I began experimenting and playing with gender, but I did know that I felt more female than male.
I have vivid memories of dressing up like Stevie Nicks when my parents would watch her concert on video and when I was 4 or 5 that was all acceptable and I thought nothing of it. Up until I was about 8 or 10 I regularly played dress up with my older sister and wore women’s clothes and heels and it felt totally natural. At 10 or so was when members of my family began to tell me, “boys don’t do this.” And all of my favorite shoes and dresses from the box disappeared mysteriously.
As a result of the criticism, I regressed for many years and tried to ignore my true gender identity, but in college when I was finally free and alone to experiment again, did I begin to realize that this was not a phase or something I could ignore.
There were many more years of going back and forth but now I feel committed to myself and want to feel like I am in the proper skin at long last.
-44x44.jpeg){kind=small}
