Tanya the T Gurl

Integrated Approach - Reno, NV

Thank you :-)

That sounds like the perfectly balanced way to present the situation. Kudos.

Wow, very lovely (and not just the tummy, either). :-)

I admire the tenacity and good attitude. :-) And, looking good. :-)

Dear Matilda, I greatly appreciate your nice comments. Thank you ... When I had my Adams' apple removed, the surgeon dealt with the complication that a major artery ran through an area where it doesn't on other people. Someone else I know had many urinary tract infections due to an artery being routed strangely and pinching off other parts through which urine flowed. The more I learn about anatomy, the more I realize how varied we are as humans; that the standard configuration has a lot of variations. I understand that the entire premise of evolution uses these variations as one of its conceptual building blocks, but I hadn't realized until recently how diverse these variations are and at how many levels. So here I am, one more rare genetic mutation relative to the standard configuration, like being (literally) a black sheep or a black panther. It is what it is. And now that I realize that, I also realizing that apologizing about it or feeling weird about it really doesn't make sense. I still don't particularly like my square-jawed look and rugged chin, but a kind and gentle friend occasionally reminds me that it's a rare woman who likes her own look even after applying make-up. So, I do what I can with what I have. I exercise, I put on make-up well, I make sure my hair and teeth are healthy, and I've learned to speak and walk like the girl I am. I feel good about living out my fundamental femininity. I was at a course in San Francisco in January. It involved spending three intense days with a dozen other ladies. One genetic girl watched me walk across the room in her general direction and commented with a frown that I seem to be more graceful and feminized, in how I move, than the genetically integrated girls in the course. That was a nice compliment. So, thanks to the cosmetics industry and the many things that I can control, things are OK. They are actually better than OK, and you're part of the reason why. I am planning to change my name, and to get used to the new name I'm already handing out business cars with my new name. Yesterday, I had a business meeting with a scrap metal dealer in a very small town in rural Nevada. He was clear I'm a transgender girl and yet he repeated twice that he totally understands the situation and he's 100% fine with it; he just wants to be clear on how to pronounce my name. Superficially, you can hardly imagine a more stereotypically hostile situation and yet it worked out just fine. When I walked in, he looked at me, guessed my gender and guessed incorrectly in site of the long blonde hair, curves underneath my t-shirt and eye shadow. So he called me "Sir" even though he meant it nicely. I smiled and said "It's sort of a mix but it's more female than male" and that was that. It's almost as if, by accepting myself and proceeding accordingly, others take the cue and do so as well. In retrospect, your comments and those of others on here have helped me much better appreciate how the planet is populated by people who are more positive than I'd thought possible. As to the rest, I avoid them. It is a wonderful feeling to live on a planet whose people are way nicer than I'd come to expect. Thank you for being part of that. :-)