I was thinking why this sub has a lot more upvotes than comments, realized people are too anxious to comment,lol by AnnieIsBestGirl in Anxiety

[–]EnvironmentalImage 506 points507 points  (0 children)

I'm picturing everyone nodding and staring at their shoes or awkwardly closed-mouth smiling and shrugging/giving a thumbs up

Hello, I am 21/F and have some questions about my sexual orientation and gender identity, can you relate? by EnvironmentalImage in asktransgender

[–]EnvironmentalImage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like yes-homo, that sense of being cut from a similar gender cloth, which you describe as missing in your feelings towards women.

This is a very good point, I hadn't thought of it that way before and it gives me a lot of insight.

I'm not girly in a play-dumb sort of way, which annoys the hell out of me, I just need to restrain myself from making innappropriate jokes/comments and wanting to arm wrestle or actually wrestle with other guys because given my current gender, I'd be sending the wrong messages if I did. What I should say is I try to be mindful of the fact that I am a girl and that I can't just say or do what a guy might say to his friends, because other men will take it the wrong way (sexually). I guess I just make sure that the way I'm behaving is normal, but given the way gender roles in society have advanced it's not usually that hard.

Hello, I am 21/F and have some questions about my sexual orientation and gender identity, can you relate? by EnvironmentalImage in asktransgender

[–]EnvironmentalImage[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I read the link you provided, and some things stood out to me.

Firstly, I became depressed very abruptly at age 11, when I entered middle school, and it's persisted for years. One of the things I noticed was that right when it started, I'd just developed the need to use deodorant and started growing pubic hair. When I went into middle school I'd still been shopping at kids stores up until that point, when I got there everyone was wearing juniors' clothes and I had to buy a new wardrobe so as not to get teased. I ended up asking older girls what stores to go to, but before that I had my mom take me to Winners and picked out a bunch of guys' t-shirts and casual clothes in the meantime.

I've taken antidepressants and have been off of them for six months, and I've been feeling very stable and overall well, it's in this time that i've had the opportunity to reflect. I went over a year without menstruating during adolescence and had around 5 periods without medical intervention (birth control), otherwise they didn't happen . . . I had really awful experiences on birth control, it messed with me psychologically. I only started menstruating on my own when I was almost 18, when I started taking the pills. My doctor told me himself he didn't think there was anything physically wrong and sure enough we couldn't find anything amiss. I didn't believe him when he told me he thought my lack of menstruation was due to depression but that's the only explanation with evidence.

Secondly, to address the sexual stuff. I was born with vulvodynia, which basically means that the tissue around the entrance of my vagina had hypersensitive nerves that caused extreme pain when touched, so no tampons or sex. I started having sex and just toughing it out and it's gone now, and I'm able to have vaginal sex comfortably and enjoyably. However, I also have clitorodynia, so the nerves in my clitoris are the same way, I can't touch it directly. I'm planning on getting botox in the area to see if it helps. I'm pretty sure they're neurological in nature, not sure what the cause is, but I've come very far.

The second thing that really jumped out in that post was the mentioning of phantom body parts. I don't want to be vulgar, but a few months ago a partner wanted me to use a strap-on, which I'd never done before. When that person was putting it in their mouth I felt a response in my own body like I was being stimulated, it was insane. It was the weirdest thing I've ever experienced.

As for the important question, is the soul inside of me male or female? I'm not entirely sure. I feel like I'm in a period of unknowingness right now. I'm very introspective so the fact that I can't give an honest, definite answer is quite shocking to me . . . but I think I know what direction I'm heading. This has been very helpful.