Boy On The Outside, Girl On The Inside

[girlinside123]

The title kind of says it all.

Someone told me that this is a very friendly community, so I thought I'd try introducing myself here.

I am the creator of a website for transgendered people who don't change their bodies.  The name is the same as the title of this post, and the URL is http://www.geocities.com/girlinside123/

Comments

[shawnaree]

There are a lot of trans people who don't wish to physically transition. There are entire web-communities around this issue.

However, I should like to point out that I don't agree with your position that, transition "is a very long, difficult, expensive, and dangerous path to take." I think that, for some people, medical transition isn't a long or difficult path, and, with the proper precautions, isn't necessarily any more dangerous than any other thing we happen to do with our bodies on a daily basis.

I think that if you choose not to transition, and that makes you happy, good for you. But fear-mongering and spreading myths about medical transition seems antithetical to your desire to help people make choices that are suited to their lives.

Also, I feel like I should point out that not everyone chooses to transition because they wish to "pass". Some, a great deal I would wager to guess, transition to feel more comfortable with themselves.

Good luck, however, and I wish you well.

[guruburu]

Well said.

[aredridel]

Indeed: The medical steps I've taken are somewhat more dangerous than my caffeine habit, and somewhat less dangerous than taking a drive in a car, I'd estimate

[girlinside123]

Really? There are web communities around this issue? I haven't been able to find a single one, which is why I'm blindly groping around LJ to try to find something that fits!

If you can point me to some, I would greatly appreciate it.

[shawnaree]

The most salient of the options of communities to point you toward would be our_own_path, or the yahoo group, "nogoingback".

However, I'm not extremely comfortable with the idea of pointing you toward those communities if you're going to go there to spread fear and misinformation. If you're going to go there to talk about your story and your feelings and what being transgender means to you, that's fine. But if you're going there to proselytize, I have issue with that.

[girlinside123]

Thank you so much! I've just read their entries, and it sounds like a great place!

I'm not going to proselytize or anything; I state in multiple places on that site and in that blog that if you need to transition despite the risks, go for it. I know someone who has transitoned because the only alternative was suicide.

[shawnaree]

There's the issue I have. I chose to transition with full acknowledgement of the risks AND rewards. I would not have committed suicide had I not transitioned, but I would have been less satisfied with my life and less productive, if I had chosen to forgo medical transition.

I find that your website focuses primarily on the risks, with little thought given to the potential rewards.

I understand that you chose not to transition for very personal reasons, and I sincerely hope that those reasons were not simply because you were afraid of the risks.

Cost-benefit analysis is an important step in the decision about whether or not to transition. What exactly does it mean to you that you fulfill the following roles in life, etc. This is something any therapist worth their snuff can help you work through.

Again, I wish you the best.

[matsu]

I also agree with the person above me. Medical transitioning can be dangerous, but I don't think it's so dangerous that it should be completely avoided. If you're careful and responsible in your actions, you should have no problem with this.

Also possibly unrelated, but no matter how long or short the process of transitioning is for some, when it's something you really, truly want to undertake, you'd do it. It's not so long and arduous a path that you should discourage people from walking on it at all.

However, I do know of transgendered people who chose not to undergo any sort of transition whatsoever. There's no definite answer for why, and everybody's reasons will be different, but I wouldn't ask otherwise of them. It is important to choose what is best for you, and for that, I support you.

From my experience, this is a very friendly community. So welcome, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

[badoingdoing]

As a member of both here and the other community (and someone who is currently struggling with their personal decision how much to do body-transition things), I would say it wasn't a big mistake to post this to either place. After all, it seems you got good feedback from the transgender comm, and I'm sure you'll get good feedback here

[girlinside123]

Thank you. I find that helpful.

[photosynthetik]

our_own_path