What does it mean to be trans without dysphoria?

well said Cadutimorte, such a unique to each person condition results in such a broad label that the fact that a person is trans should be enough with out picking things apart.

 

This reminded me that I have pyjamas that I think is blue but that my ex always saw as green. What I wanted to say is that it happens that we describe the exact same thing differently. :icon_wink

 

I don't think you can't be transsexual without dysphoria.
For me it is like this:
I don't hate my body or my feminine features. I'd just prefer them to be male. I really like dressing as a guy, acting like a guy, being seen as a boy.
But I don't hate dressing as a girl, acting like a guy, being seen as a boy.

I do want to take testosteron and get surgery eventually though.

 

I don't really like to use the term dysphoria for myself, because it's so clinical and doesn't really capture individual experiences. But yeah, mildly dysphoric person here. I was not ok with my body for some time in my puberty and then later in life, but I didn't know how to phrase it. Also, I'm really unsure about the source of those feelings, so let's just leave them aside for now.

Other than that, it's like CadutiMorte said: I look in the mirror and am mostly comfortable with the [slightly boyish, largely neutral, largely ME] person I see. The more masculine I present, the better I feel with myself, but when I undress, I just don't see a girl's body underneath all that stuff.
But the more I want people to not see me as a woman, and the more I suffer from that (social dysphoria, right?), the more I turn against my body, because it's the thing that makes people misgender me. Now it often makes me angsty and confused to think about my body, I have intimacy issues and all that good stuff. So the different kinds of dysphoria are actually intertwined...


The thing that upsets me is when people say you need some kind of "primary" body dysphoria to be trans (transgender, mind; I for one don't want the term transsexual) or to actually pursue a social or medical transition. You see, I know people with a dysphoria similar to mine who actually fully transition to the "opposite gender" because they can't stand being misgendered. Misgendered even within the trans community. Is anybody seriously going to say they're not really trans even then?

The fault in the logic is this: because I'm a mildy dysphoric non-binary person, some will say I'm not really trans. When I transition, if I transition (and it's going to be much harder for me to access medical transition, thanks very much, gender binary...) and look like the dude next door, they're probably going to say I'm trans, right? But I'm still the very same person, I just jumped a damn hurdle, or caved in to the pressure, depending on how you see it. But what about all the people who can't transition for various reason, be they binary or non-binary? It just doesn't add up.

/end rant

 

I definitely can understand this, I feel the same way most of the time.