Akyra,

You may very well be trans*. Or, there's a chance you may not be. Some people do question their gender identity for a while and then come out of it having decided that they identify with their birth sex the most, or that they are genderqueer (which is still trans but not binary). You totally have to be the one to figure this out though, because no one else really knows. No one else has been inside your head.

I don't know how much you already know, but I'm assuming you're fairly new to this subject. Do research. There are many ways to be trans*. Like I said above, some people identify as other, non-binary identities such as bigender, agender, etcetera. You could also read/watch other trans* people's stories and see how much you can relate to them.

You could try thinking about the future. If you don't think you could stand living the rest of your life as your birth sex, and think that you'd be much more comfortable as a man, that could be an indication that you're trans*. And if you've felt like this for most of your life, that could be an indication. And of course, you should try to figure out why you feel like you do. Some women wish they were male because of various advantages that men tend to have. (You know... for example, in some places/cultures women have next to no rights and are basically owned. So they might wish they were male in order to have rights.) If you just feel like you're inherently male, that could be an indication that you're trans*.

Honestly you sound a good deal like me. I'm a trans guy. I'm not much older than you either (17). I can really relate to a lot of the things you said. The period (hate just typing that word--ugh), the hair, feeling like it'd be so great if I were physically male. And my own grandma says things just like yours, and I feel hurt and insulted by it.

I've still got to emphasize that it's up to you to figure this out, which can be hard and frustrating sometimes. But there's not really anything else for it. Good luck.

@Useless Me:

You have no idea how often young trans* people hear things like that (and how darn sick of it we are). By the time you're in your late teens, you usually pretty much know whether you're a boy or a girl inside. It's understandable for us to be confused because we've been told all our lives that we're something we feel we're not.

@seekersinking:

You make a good point about the stereotypes, but that doesn't mean the OP is a girl. Being genetically female doesn't make you a girl, and you are not your body.

@cybermember:

"If it feels right to be a boy then that's okay. That's what you feel. Don't let anyone tell what you feel. Those are your feelings and if it feels right to be a boy then so be it."

Amen to that!