Our place on the spectrum

I was on the record in my old blog that the term "trans umbrella" is a bit of a misnomer and that this concept is better described as the gender variance spectrum. It would encompass all forms of divergence in gender expression and identity from an expected societal norm and would include trans people who fall more on the identity side. For those who practice gender expression with no particular desire to be the other sex we could employ the term "cisgender gender variance" (thank you Jack Molay) to describe what is essentially benign gender bending some of which may be driven by arousal patterns (but need not be).

Making this distinction is not about discriminating but rather about helping people remove stigma about who they are and to develop an appropriate response. For example, some older trans people hide behind the term "crossdressing" while others self describe as trans just to be spared internalized shame about simply enjoying wearing women's clothing which, as of the writing of this post, is not a criminal offense although it regretably once was. Thus if you have never seriously considered transition, this could be a significant indicator for you that cross gender expression timed to suit your needs is all you need to be happy.

Understanding where you fit under this spectrum of gender variance is only made more confusing by the amount of opinion in social media circles which tends to obfuscate the topic. Since no two people are alike, viewing someone else's transition video won't necessarily help you determine what you should do only that in can be tempting to overstate where you might lie. Being a feminine man or a masculine woman (both of which are plentiful in this world) also need not be an indicator one is trans.

I continue to firmly believe that the presence of gender dysphoria is the key indicator with regards to entering the trans end of the spectrum. This is a condition one is born with and which cannot be easily ignored lest your health suffer. Ideally it should be treated somehow and our research tells us that it responds quite well to range of options which typically span social to medical transition. 

If you saw specific signs relating to your gender identity prior to entering puberty, it's a good clue that you might be trans. However there is still no shortcut in understanding where you fit unless you happen to be one of those trans kids who by age 4 does not take no for an answer; someone who Harry Benjamin would have termed a high intensity transsexual. The rest of us have to unfortunately fend with prolonged introspection since dysphoria also tends to be graded.

It is not an accident that this subject is so complex since it involves us complicated humans. But if we think long and hard enough, an answer along with the right level of response will eventually come to us if we are patient.

Even then, life is complicated.

Who knew.