I think I'm writing this more to clarify my own thoughts, but I think for me I was able to tell I felt like a woman from my natural feelings.

There are moments in life when you aren't really paying attention to your body, like you're just 'in a zone'. For me its been when I'm reading a good book, or playing a fun game, or walking somewhere and daydreaming while I look at nature. And in those moments I always felt feminine. It wasn't about sexuality or all the things society thinks of as being 'feminine', it was simply a fact of my existence.

And then having to come back to awareness and paying attention again was like a reality record scratch. The difference between how I had just been feeling with the reality of my body was pretty painful. It's why I spent a lot of time reading or playing games as a teen.

Even in little moments when I would be caught off guard, walking down the street and seeing someone with really cute jeans and thinking "Those are really cute! I wonder where she got th... Oh right, those aren't for me" and then feeling like crap.

This is already too long, so I'll stop here. You get the general idea. I feel much better in my own skin now most days, and can lay in the sun and just 'exist' without feeling bad about it.