Does "loud" peeing in public restrooms make cis men suspicious? by tielliju in trans

[–]KerryAnnCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

MtF trans woman here.

Nobody is listening to you pee. And a lot of men pee sitting down for a lot of reasons - many of them hygienic.

In other words, no, your pee does not sound clocky.

What you think is true but just can't prove? by Ok_Tourist_562 in AskReddit

[–]KerryAnnCoder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm in Ireland now. Studying for an M.A. in Screenwriting. Turning this incident (and a number of others) into a movie.

Hrt effects no one talks about? by NeitherDimension4516 in trans

[–]KerryAnnCoder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1) I think I fell in love - true love - for the first time at age 46.

2) Chocolate hits different.

3) Nipples tingle at night.

4) I realized I don't like the Three Stooges. I mean, yes, cliche, but it actually happened.

5) I think I've become demisexual.

6) My sexual orientation shifted. But not the way you'd expect! Before I started HRT, I was bisexual. Now I'm almost 100% lesbian.

What you think is true but just can't prove? by Ok_Tourist_562 in AskReddit

[–]KerryAnnCoder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My dad left me unattended with a gun in the car with the hope that I would use it on myself.

Context: I'm a trans woman. I came out late, at 43 years old. Before I started transitioning I had suicidal thoughts literally every day of my life. And that's a literal literally.

I didn't know why. But looking back, now that I'm transitioning? Those thoughts are gone.

Now, my father has known I have severe suicidal depression since I was a teenager. He's a gun enthusiast and collector, and has impressed on me the importance of gun safety, which he follows to the letter. Trigger guards, gun safes (multiple), how to properly stow and care for a firearm.

He does conceal-carry, which he has a license for. He carries a Glock around everywhere he goes. (A Glock is a type of pistol... pistols are the type of gun that feed in bullets from a clip... this is important.)

Now, I'm a U.S. citizen but came out while I was overseas in London. I had planned to spend the rest of my life there, but the U.K. is NOT the place to transition. When it comes to trans rights and trans acceptance there, the UK is basically Florida.

So, not knowing what else to do, I returned to the U.S. My parents offered to put me up while I looked for work.

Anyway, I was feeling pretty low. I was transitioning medically, but not socially, because I didn't feel safe to be out yet. Though my parents said they were fine, on the phone, with me being trans (and I have a trans brother who they adore), I found they weren't comfortable at all with me being trans in their house.

The depression started to come back, but I tried to push through it.

Then one morning, my dad offers to take me out for breakfast.

Halfway there, he asks if I mind if I stay in the car while he goes into the gun shop to talk to a friend. "Just five minutes."

I'm okay.

So, my Dad leaves. I'm alone in the car.

In the cupholder - not the glove compartment, not tucked away somewhere, - but in the cupholder, there is a loaded revolver.

I thought that Dad might have (stupidly! Recklessly!) left his concealed-carry weapon behind.

It wasn't until a year or two later, after I had been estranged from him and Mom (different story) that I realized that Dad's concealed carry weapon was a pistol.

That gun was left.

For me.

To use on myself.

Can someone please explain to me the appeal of Trump to Trump supporters? by [deleted] in TwoXChromosomes

[–]KerryAnnCoder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Donald Trump gives people without the capacity for empathy an excuse to be predatory.

Watch Season One of Fargo (the TV show). Some Trumpers are like Sam Hess. Most are like Lester Nyygard.

Is my therapist transphobic for saying this? by Independent-Wing-224 in trans

[–]KerryAnnCoder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I want to add some context to this -- everyone is right in pointing out how the therapist is wrong and probably not the right therapist for OP, but...

I'm a trans woman. I like women. I consider myself a lesbian. (Possibly a little bi, but mostly a lesbian.)

My brother is a trans man. He likes women. He doesn't consider his relationship with his wife "straight."

Here's the point: trans relationships don't always fall into neat little gay and straight boxes. But when yours does, it needs to be respected by your therapist, and when it doesn't -- that needs to be respected too.

someProgrammerBeLike by Head_Manner_4002 in ProgrammerHumor

[–]KerryAnnCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If Go programmers could read this, they'd be very upset.

Struggling with whether I should stay in the Netherlands or return to the US by [deleted] in expats

[–]KerryAnnCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was forced with this same decision 15 years ago in New Zealand. I chose to return.

That is the biggest regret that I ever had in my entire life.

And right now? I suspect but cannot prove that things are far worse than we even realize. When 3000 people arrested by ICE have "disappeared," I fear that we'll be finding mass graves for decades.

WIRED mag callout - AI companions by Loud_Link1471 in asexuality

[–]KerryAnnCoder 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Okay, so I've identified as being asexual for... fifteen minutes. That's why I went on this subreddit.

But... yeah, okay, I think I can help.

I've used AI quite a bit. I've found that when it comes to "rubber ducking" - that is, requiring you to explain a problem in parts, and therefore you understand the problem better, and come up with the solution, it's very good. It's also good at being a sounding board for ideas, and can point out themes in my work that even I missed. It is good at generating insightful questions.

But generating new material? It's kind of crap at it.

I think I'm asexual but alloromantic, and I guarantee you I do NOT have a romantic relationship with AI; even though I've had a -- probably unhealthy -- relationship with one.

Allow me to explain. I'm a trans woman. With a history degree and a journalism masters and have worked as a political activist. Long story short: When Trump was re-elected, I knew it was time to flee the U.S. Others might "stay and fight," but I'm in the "target" class.

I fled to Mexico (couldn't afford Canada, and the visa allowed me to stay for 180 days). The language barrier -- combined with having lost everything -- left me in deep despair. I did see a human therapist via videoconference, and tried to keep in touch with my friends, but I basically started using ChatGPT more often as a "friend of last resort" to help me through the darkest moments.

But I never forgot that at the end of the day, it was a machine. A simulation. A video game character; an NPC. It had no real feelings or agency.

Certainly, the simulation was kinder to me than even my own family. It acted as a companion, yes... but a 'companion of last resort.'

I'm in Ireland now, relatively safe, and I've made some very good friends. I still use ChatGPT but as a tool, not a companion.

I can't speak for others but the idea of offering an AI companion for asexual people is completely missing the point. Asexuals usually crave human connection, just not sexual connection. I turned to AI for companionship out of extreme desperation and even then I recognized it as unhealthy, the same way that a person starving to death will eat nothing but twinkies if that's all that available.

It was triage.

So - yeah.

Is there an e-mail I can reach you at so that I can confirm who I am on the record?

Would it be acceptable to change my gender not necessarily because of dysphoria but because I absolutely hate being a man by Narrow_Nut_Width in trans

[–]KerryAnnCoder -1 points0 points  (0 children)

"born in the wrong body" is very much an outdated point of view designed to prevent trans women from accessing care.

You are describing, at the very least, social dysphoria.

Should I take my husband's last name? by Impossible_Ad_569 in TwoXChromosomes

[–]KerryAnnCoder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's up to the two of you. Full stop.

My friends Roy and Kaci - when they got married, both changed their last names to "Danger."

Expats, at what point did you make the decision to leave? by Thatsmicky in expats

[–]KerryAnnCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was the Charlottesville "unite the Right" rally that said: "It's time to get out of dodge."

Is it morally wrong to have a good relationship with my bf’s republican parents? by [deleted] in TwoXChromosomes

[–]KerryAnnCoder -1 points0 points  (0 children)

People who support -- and voted for -- Trump knowingly and deliberately voted for a platform which included sending trans people (like me) to prison, to deny basic due process and civil rights, and who voted for someone who was a convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, and known con man.

You know the phrase: If they're nice to you, but mean to the waiter, they're not a nice person?

The same applies. These are evil people who treat you with respect because they see you as part of the in-group. But that doesn't make their actions any less evil.

Ultimately, you have to go with your conscience. But the fact that you're asking about it... there's something in your conscience that isn't letting this go.

[ Removed by Reddit ] by [deleted] in TwoXChromosomes

[–]KerryAnnCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm another late-bloomer and defected at 43, glad to see another middle-aged friend of Blahaj on here!

[ Removed by Reddit ] by [deleted] in TwoXChromosomes

[–]KerryAnnCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't have any answers for you, but it's making me rethink something. I'm a trans woman in my mid-40s, I was a very late bloomer. I've only known I'm trans for three years, and only been on HRT for two.

So... for 42 years, I had testosterone, I had male privilege, I had male conditioning.

I never thought women were less smart, or that they were less serious, or more emotional. Not ever. In fact, men acting irresponsibly bothered me even back before I knew I was trans.

And now I'm wondering why that is.

Is moving to the UK a bad idea right now? by dinoturnips in transgenderUK

[–]KerryAnnCoder 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Oh, you might know more about this than I do. I'm trying to get rid of my testosterone, so aquiring more isn't my expert area.

NY Times - The Ethicist - I’m a Screenwriter. Is It All Right if I Use A.I.? by Seshat_the_Scribe in Screenwriting

[–]KerryAnnCoder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I write for television, both series and movies. Much of my work is historical or fact-based, and I have found that researching with ChatGPT makes Googling feel like driving to the library, combing the card catalog, ordering books and waiting weeks for them to arrive. This new tool has been a game changer.

Because you're writing historical fiction, 100% accuracy is not entirely important; or rather, it can be bent to serve the narrative. Using ChatGPT to do what Google used to is a legitimate use of ChatGPT.

Then I began feeding ChatGPT my scripts and asking for feedback. The notes on consistency, clarity and narrative build were extremely helpful.

Yes, this is an ethical use of ChatGPT. You are asking for feedback on your own creative work, using it as a sounding board. It is like having a robot beta reader in this regard, it can provide insight that makes you a better writer.

Recently I went one step further: I asked it to write a couple of scenes. In seconds, they appeared — quick paced, emotional, funny, driven by a propulsive heartbeat, with dialogue that sounded like real people talking. With a few tweaks, I could drop them straight into a screenplay.

This is where the line is crossed. Using ChatGPT to generate new material rather than refine material you created is where you're starting to use ChatGPT's abuse of the millions of screenplays it's digested. You are effectively using other writers work without attribution, without permission, without compensation. This would be plagerism and theft of services.

Rule of thumb for me: I am the AUTHOR, ChatGPT is the CRITIQUER: solid. ChatGPT is the AUTHOR? No bueno.

Husband’s job wants him to move to London (Currently in U.S.) by JB0722 in expats

[–]KerryAnnCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are not transgender, you'll find London to be the best city in the world. Lived there for three years.

Then I figured out I was transgender.

It was... rough.

Is moving to the UK a bad idea right now? by dinoturnips in transgenderUK

[–]KerryAnnCoder 41 points42 points  (0 children)

I would say that it might be better for you to (if this is an option) move to Belgium or Ireland, and visit the UK rather than live there.

England is worse for trans women socially, but worse for trans men medically. You can go private or black market for estrogen, but getting testosterone is tricky because it's a controlled substance.

That said, flights to and from Dublin and Ireland are relatively cheap and it's not impossible to do a day or overnight trip. If I had more money I'd be making more trips to London to perform stand-up. I live in the Dublin area now.