Quote:
Originally Posted by brokenentity
I think I could pass as the gender I want to identify as, facially, but I'm 23 now, and my hair is thinning and I have facial hair to deal with, it makes it harder for me to look the way I feel, I look at older photos of me, and If I still looked that way now, I'd feel a lot more comfortable about myself.
|
It gets more difficult when you get older. Adult society, beyond and well beyond the college years, is more gender segregated, and older adults are more dimorphic than younger adults, teens, and kids.
In my experience, the real trouble doesn't start until you look clearly male or female (not ambiguous) and don't have any understanding of or desire to be in the gender role you're getting pinned as. Being seen as the wrong gender causes people to misunderstand your behavior. For example, as a guy with AIS, sometime people think I'm a female and assume that I have inappropriate, unprofessional behavior and psychological problems when I attempt to use a masculine deep voice which is a habit of mine from growing up male. Those who mistake me as a female, show disapproval and misinterpret my "deep calm or happy voice" as an angry, forceful, grouchy voice. It took me a while to figure that out. A very disorienting and disturbing problem.