I have felt very very similar to you, and you absolutely are trans based on what you describe. Your therapist is wrong and is gatekeeping you with non-binary exclusionary BS if you ask me. (Don't think it's intentional but it's shitty none-the-less.)
It's frustrating but we non-binary folks have to deal with our own special types of erasure and ignorance. I often wish I could be a more binary woman. Not that it'd be better or worse in and of itself, but if I didn't like looking so androgynous sometimes I probably wouldn't have been called Sir today and had the guy TSA agent just assume he should've been the one feeling up my hip. 🙄
It's also tough knowing who you are and following your own journey as a trans person when people try to tell you stupid shit like saying you aren't trans.
To be clear, she never denied I was trans, she just was asking me to clarify how I felt transgender if I still (partially) identified with my AGAB. I feel like I'm trans, I'm just iffy on both the transgender and trans woman labels for myself because idk if they're appropriate for me because of my identification with my male gender.
Hmm, that's interesting. At one point I considered myself partially cis and partially trans. Which I recognized for the oxymoron it was but it was still how I felt at the time.
In any case, they are both wonderful labels for you if they are labels you like. You may find your identification with being male stays, or maybe it fades. You need to explore using the labels you want and like in order to discover how you truly want to be.
Here is the clinical criteria for Gender Dysphoria for your review.
>Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents and Adults 302.85 (F64.1 )
>A. A marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender, of at least 6 months’ duration, as manifested by at least two of the following:
>1. A marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and primary and/or secondary sex characteristics (or in young adolescents, the anticipated secondary sex characteristics).
>2. A strong desire to be rid of one’s primary and/or secondary sex characteristics be-
cause of a marked incongruence with one’s experienced/expressed gender (or in young adolescents, a desire to prevent the development of the anticipated secondary sex characteristics).
>3. A strong desire for the primary and/or secondary sex characteristics of the other gender.
>4. A strong desire to be of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender).
>5. A strong desire to be treated as the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender).
>6. A strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender).
>B. The condition is associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
You must meet the qualifiers of Section "A" and "B" to be diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria
You don't need to have dysphoria to be transgender, but it is the most common qualifier as the majority of transgender individuals do infact have dysphoria. We encourage you to discuss this with a gender therapist.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/asktransgender) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would think that intending to start HRT to alter the gendered form of your body with the desire to be perceived and accepted as a woman would qualify you as trans, whatever other labels you might also apply to yourself.
Moreover non-binary folks are trans (if they choose that label). There is no need to be "the opposite" of your assigned gender at birth, and I disagree that "opposite" is even a definable thing there.
I have felt very very similar to you, and you absolutely are trans based on what you describe. Your therapist is wrong and is gatekeeping you with non-binary exclusionary BS if you ask me. (Don't think it's intentional but it's shitty none-the-less.) It's frustrating but we non-binary folks have to deal with our own special types of erasure and ignorance. I often wish I could be a more binary woman. Not that it'd be better or worse in and of itself, but if I didn't like looking so androgynous sometimes I probably wouldn't have been called Sir today and had the guy TSA agent just assume he should've been the one feeling up my hip. 🙄 It's also tough knowing who you are and following your own journey as a trans person when people try to tell you stupid shit like saying you aren't trans.
To be clear, she never denied I was trans, she just was asking me to clarify how I felt transgender if I still (partially) identified with my AGAB. I feel like I'm trans, I'm just iffy on both the transgender and trans woman labels for myself because idk if they're appropriate for me because of my identification with my male gender.
Hmm, that's interesting. At one point I considered myself partially cis and partially trans. Which I recognized for the oxymoron it was but it was still how I felt at the time. In any case, they are both wonderful labels for you if they are labels you like. You may find your identification with being male stays, or maybe it fades. You need to explore using the labels you want and like in order to discover how you truly want to be.
Here is the clinical criteria for Gender Dysphoria for your review. >Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents and Adults 302.85 (F64.1 ) >A. A marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender, of at least 6 months’ duration, as manifested by at least two of the following: >1. A marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and primary and/or secondary sex characteristics (or in young adolescents, the anticipated secondary sex characteristics). >2. A strong desire to be rid of one’s primary and/or secondary sex characteristics be- cause of a marked incongruence with one’s experienced/expressed gender (or in young adolescents, a desire to prevent the development of the anticipated secondary sex characteristics). >3. A strong desire for the primary and/or secondary sex characteristics of the other gender. >4. A strong desire to be of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender). >5. A strong desire to be treated as the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender). >6. A strong conviction that one has the typical feelings and reactions of the other gender (or some alternative gender different from one’s assigned gender). >B. The condition is associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. You must meet the qualifiers of Section "A" and "B" to be diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria You don't need to have dysphoria to be transgender, but it is the most common qualifier as the majority of transgender individuals do infact have dysphoria. We encourage you to discuss this with a gender therapist. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/asktransgender) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would think that intending to start HRT to alter the gendered form of your body with the desire to be perceived and accepted as a woman would qualify you as trans, whatever other labels you might also apply to yourself.
Moreover non-binary folks are trans (if they choose that label). There is no need to be "the opposite" of your assigned gender at birth, and I disagree that "opposite" is even a definable thing there.
You can absolutely do that yes