STORY OF MY LIFE - Transgender

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My confusion about myself started when I was eleven. I didn’t feel like I was normal. I felt wrong all the time. I hated my clothes, I hated my hair, I hated myself. At the time, I attributed this to the beginning of puberty; acne, growing a chest, my hips widening, the whole adventure. I hated everything about myself the more it progressed.

Over the years, it got worse. I tried to wear make-up, but decided that I hated myself more when I wore it. I tried to conform to the female image, but I couldn’t bring myself to stay with it. I hated the clothes and how I felt in them. I returned to dressing in a way that made me feel comfortable.

I went through high school thinking there was something wrong with me. I hated myself every time someone said “she”, “her”, or “Miranda” to me. It wasn’t until I was eighteen that I got an explanation about what was potentially going through my mind. I was transgender. I knew the term for a few years, but wasn’t sure of its meaning. They briefly touch on it, and then move on as if that one fifty minute period would cover all the bases.

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I started to ask people to refer to me as male. Maybe I was a male trapped in a female body? The problem was that the male pronouns didn’t feel right either.  What was wrong with me? I didn’t feel like I fit into either gender.

I started to come-out slowly. I told the people closest to me; my friends. Some said they had thought so but didn’t want to say anything, some asked me to explain because they were interested in what I meant and some changed after asking two questions, “What pronouns do you want me to use?” and “Do you have a preferred name?”. I had a bunch of names I would rather be called by, but I settled for “Andy” because it is uni-gender and the pronoun I requested that everyone use was “they”. I had come out as non-gender binary and was asked to explain what that meant.

After that, I changed nothing about my personality. I still acted the same way and wore the same clothes. I had to explain that I don’t feel comfortable with being identified as female, my obvious physical gender.

MIRANDA TANNAHILL

Miranda “Andy” Tannahill is a second year Professional Writing student at Algonquin College. She has a passion for editing, and she is not afraid to ask questions until she understands. Sleeping the day away and reading are her hobbies.

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Transgender VS Transsexual - The Difference

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When someone says “I’m trans,” is the true meaning of the word coming across? Many people associate the term with horrible coming-out stories about people who are homeless because no one accepts them.

For me, those words hold a different meaning. When I hear the words, “I’m transsexual/transgender” it means that someone is comfortable enough with themselves to correct people's mistakes saying their name, gender and/or desired pronouns.

Transsexual? Transgender? What am I talking about? Don’t they mean the same thing? The answer is no, they don’t. There is a difference between them that is not always obvious.

TransSEXUAL has nothing to do with the act of sexual intercourse. It signifies that this individual has undergone intensive surgery to reconstruct their body into the opposite gender. Both transitions must use injected hormones before they are allowed to undergo surgery so that there is no rejection or complications with the potential removal of major organs. I have a very personal friend who is willing to share their experience so far with their transition from one gender to the other.

MTF (male to female) use injected estrogen to aid in the development of natural breasts and replacing the levels of testosterone. They occasionally undergo further surgery to gain more breast tissue.

FTM (female to male) inject themselves with testosterone to slow and eventually stop ovulation so that the uterus can be removed at a later date, usually within a year and a half to four years after they begin. It also helps with lowering the voice.

TransGENDER is an incredibly broad term with many different meanings to each person. Those who identify as transgender and who are not planning on injecting themselves and undergoing surgeries typically only go about changing their outward appearance to their own liking, just like every human being would. I myself have done this.

What most people must understand is that trans* people don’t do this for attention, they do it for themselves. They are not changing their personality, they are not changing who they are; all they are doing is correcting misconceptions about how they are viewed. 

Miranda “Andy” Tannahill is a second-year Professional Writing student at Algonquin College. She has a passion for editing, and is not afraid to ask questions until she understands. Sleeping the day away and reading are her hobbies.

LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs I follow : Link