Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Finding Balance
Taking the allergens from my diet has helped even out my moods and lessened the grip of extreme depression that used to be my constant companion. But now without depression coloring my landscape, I find my focus skittering around the edges of who I actually am. Unable to grab hold of the topic with truth, has more or less frozen me into place.
I've been asked why I don't dress more male by the people I've come out to. Because I'm afraid. Afraid that first it will be masculine shirts, then hair style, then binding the hated breasts, and then.............hormones. I sound like a right winger who preaches of the "slippery slope" of doom, but that is how my thinking is currently arranged.
It seems that my gender name is Henry. Yeah, who knew? While logging in to play a new game a while ago, I thought, "NO! I'm not going to be Gillie, or Gill, in this game I'll be actual me." And in a flash, I realized that when I gave myself a "you can do it" speech, I was always Henry.
Some where along the way these last few years, I've lost the little body connection I had. Frozen inside of me, bound up tight I've moved emotionally into a distant place, even from TH. Hugs are allowed, as are kisses, but being touched sexually? Yeah, I've lost the capacity for that. Most of my sex drive has disappeared. My thinking is that when I came out to TH if we hadn't gone into such a long period of being without sex, that maybe I wouldn't be quite so disconnected from my body. I've always been very aggressive sexually, and while I dated in high school, teenaged guys were never my prime focus, men were. Older men at least in their mid 20's and older, their experience in the rack really was what I was looking for.
Always, for always I've been a blend of male and female. In some cases my actions were more on the female balance, but mostly I look at the world thru a male lens. But in the wake of the trans juggernaut, I've lost my natural inter-twining of male and female, for a stunted being, but I don't know how to find my way back to me.
I read an article on Bilerco.com awhile ago, and it really struck home. Most of the trans narrative is white male to female trans ladies who are straight. Sprinkle in a soupcon of ethnic trans ladies, and a pinch of female to male trans men. But nearly all of these trans tales are of straight people, rarely any of gay or lesbians trans. Those that are LGB are frilly ladies and straight acting gay dudes. An guess what? That ain't me. Yeah, for better or worse I am a femme gay guy. I'll never be "butch" or uber male, while I'm very (or used to be) aggressive between the sheets, that's the only place I've really ever been aggressive. I'm a soft gentle person, unwilling to cause hurt if at all possible. After all these years living as a girl, I know the mannerisms adopted will never leave me, and after reading that article, I'm ok looking at myself in that light. If I were to transition, no one would ever mistake me for a straight guy, ever, and I'm fine fine with that. Which to my mind would read more authentic than if I were attempting to act a part I'm not.
What I need now is to find my path, back to a whole, balanced me. I'm not sure if the way through is to be able to talk openly about it with TH, because he is still wibbling between acceptance and denial. When he looked at the start up screen of my game and he saw Henry under player, he got that look again. The look that says to me, "oh, I thought since you don't talk about this any longer it's gone away....", accompanied by a flash of anguish. As to why I don't talk to TH about trans stuff is because I always get that face, and it saddens me/him, hurts his/my feelings....yeah one ugly circle there. Maybe the path back to a more whole me, is healing our relationship, into one that feeds us both, mentally and sexually.
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The first part of this post resonated with me quite a lot. Having something else to focus on, like your depression, can keep your mind of more tangible problems.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I was thinking in the first paragraphs. I fill my time with hobbies like reading and video games so I don't dwell on it too much. It would drive me insane otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about TH in the last paragraph. I have an idea how tough that is going to be. And I'm only at the beginning, when I'm kinda dropping hints to people I know before I tell them.
I'm going to have to read that Bilerico article either tonight or during my short vacation.
What a deep post. I think this analysis of yourself is probably the first step to finding that balance. You have to know where you are coming from to know where you are going. I think your physical health improving will definitely help your mental health, in time. It will allow you to have the freedom in your mind to figure some things out. Without the distraction on feeling like crap all the time, I have to think that your idea of working to heal the relationship with TH is spot on. Cool!
ReplyDeletePeace <3
Jay
It always seems easy to 'know' what you need to do, but it's hard to 'actually' do it.
ReplyDeleteThat's the struggle with any person coming to grips with their orientation.
But I am amazed at your openness and honesty with yourself, and by virtue of your posts, with us.
One man's/woman's/person's journey is all our journeys.
That was a very deep post, and while my situation is not the same as yours it resonated very deeply with me.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard when you things finally start to clear up after depression especially a dark on and you are more free to focus on other things in your life and about you other then just making it through the day.
It sounds like you have a very good idea about what is going and and even about the things that you need to deal with. It seems sometimes that is the most important part of the battle is to finally be able to see bellow the distress and see the things that are causing it.
I really do hope that you are able to deal with the things that are causing you these issues, and that you are able to move to a place that makes you happier.