As I said, the practical transitioning process doesn't actually "change" the gender. Which in my case means that I know how a man feels, because I am a man. I am not sure how a woman feels, having never been a woman. Sure I have worn womens clothing in the past because I thought that I didn't have any options, and it took me some time to realize what was wrong with me, but that doesn't mean I was a woman even then. For some people their gender does change or they may feel being outside of the gender binary altogether, but I cannot know how that feels. You'll have to ask them. However, their gender is as real as yours nevertheless.
When it comes down to it, a person can only really feel how a one person feels - themselves. Putting the whole gender thing aside, I think it is impossible to claim to know how exactly any group of people feel, as all the people are individuals.
What you are suggesting is that my feeling of being a man is less real than your feeling of being a man. Probably the whole concept of feeling like a gender might feel very foreign to you - after all unless you have ever had problems with your gender and your body not matching, it is hard to realize how you can know what gender you are. Would you still be a man if you lost your penis in an accident? Would you still be a man even if some medical hiccup caused breast growth on you? So would I. Having the wrong kind of body does suck though, as does having any other major physical problem.
This too is one question to ponder. If someone would give you one million dollars but you would have to live the rest of your life as a woman, would you agree? I suspect a lot of men wouldn't. Being able to see yourself in the mirror and to be treated as who you are is very important. Being able to take that as granted is a great luxury.
I might be answering too seriously, as this is just an IMDB discussion board. Only there are so many prejudices and so little information about this matter available, even to the ones who really need that info. Still, if you are interested, I hope you do search around for more information.
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enjoythesplendor
10 years ago
Hi Markus5 ... I have been reading IMDB forever, but created an account just now to respond to your post. :o) I watched "Boys Don't Cry" this evening and the depth of the story-line is more than worthy of investigating. When I am affected by a film this much, I read until the sun comes up. I just want to say (even though your posts are over a year old) that I admire you and your candor. You offer gentle and respectful insight. You deserve respect.
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Markus5
10 years ago
Thank you, enjoythesplendor, I really appreciate that.
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actionmanrandell
9 years ago
biology doesn't lie this is an irrefutable scientific fact and no study has ever proven that its possible to be a man trapped in a woman body or a woman trapped in a mans body
we are what our biology says this is a fact you can not know how a man feels because you are not a man this is an irrefutable fact
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Mr_Ectoplasma
9 years ago
This is a matter of biology vs. psychology though. It may not be irrefutably proven, but many things in the realm of psychology aren't, and to say that gender dysphoria is not a real thing is just plain ignorant.
That's not to say Brandon Teena's deception was ethical or morally right-- I don't believe that lying about that sort of matter is okay-- but I know transgendered people enough to know that it really, truly does happen. All fetuses biologically begin as female and become male via testosterone, so it's not that far-fetched for some sort of hormonal inconsistency to occur in the womb that would affect the way someone conceives themselves.
Teena was still young and based on quotes and interviews, it seems like he was still figuring out his identity; with his life being cut short though, we'll never really know what the internal situation was.
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