Thanks for stopping by. I'm a 28 year old college student from British Columbia, Canada and I'm transgendered.
You might be wondering what that means? Wikipedia's definition is pretty spot on:
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role (woman or man) commonly, but not always, assigned at birth, as well as the role traditionally held by society. Transgender is the state of one's gender identity (self-identification as woman, man, or neither) not matching one's assigned sex (identification by others as male or female based on physical/genetic sex). Transgender does not imply any specific form of sexual orientation; transgender people may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, or asexual.
At the end of the day, however, a person's gender identity is unique to each individual. For me, I identify as a trans-male or FTM [Female-to-Male]. I use male pronouns, present a male appearance, and use a male name. There's a difference between gender identity [how you see yourself] and gender presentation [how you want others to see you], and a respectful person is careful not to make assumptions about either.
I'm hoping that this site will provide those who know me with some insight into the changes I've undergone, as well as what lies ahead for me in my transition. I'm also hoping that other trans-identified and gender-variant people will be able to find some answers and information to help them on their way to discovering their own gender identities.
I want to stress that I'm a big advocate of responsible, physician-assisted transition. I understand how frustrating it can be to feel as though there are so many hoops to jump through in order to get the ball rolling; I also understand the opinion that the choices we make for own bodies should be ours and ours alone. Having said that, I believe that undergoing the physical, social and emotional aspects of transition are an intense experience at best and having a strong, competent support network is the only foolproof way to emerge healthy and happy on the flip side.