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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Trans Widows' Escape Committee 6: The Next Generation

545 replies

TinselAngel · 24/08/2023 22:30

Welcome to thread 6.

This is a support area for women who are, or have been, in unhappy relationships with male partners who are transitioning, or exploring their "gender identity"

If you are in that position-

  1. You are not alone
  2. It is not a situation that you should be expected to tolerate, let alone celebrate.
  3. There is always a way out, if you want it. The thread is called Escape Committee for a reason.

Remember: women talking to each other is a powerful weapon!

The main event this year outisde the thread will hopefully be the release of Vaishnavi Sundar's film about Trans Widows- Behind the Looking Glass

If you would like to donate to help Vaishnavi finish the project, details are here:

Please feel free to say "Hi" below, even if you are not a trans widow, to start the thread off.

Behind The Looking Glass - Teaser - Lime Soda Films Feature-Length Documentary

Watch our fundraiser teaser here: https://youtu.be/dH4XQ6Ie8O0Support our project: www.limesodafilms.com/donateLime Soda Films' upcoming film titled Behind T...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhAlvw_kAHs

OP posts:
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17
TinselAngel · 05/08/2026 08:55

TheAngryLioness · 05/08/2026 00:03

My ex is now on mounjaro! He is very overweight and tall. So now he wants to be a slim tall asexual lesbian 🤔

Is he an “asexual lesbian” because no lesbians want to have sex with him?

OP posts:
TheAngryLioness · 05/08/2026 00:03

My ex is now on mounjaro! He is very overweight and tall. So now he wants to be a slim tall asexual lesbian 🤔

Tygadlas · 04/08/2026 11:16

As you are finding Chicken but, the psychological effects of this are brutal on you.
Talking about YOUR feelings about this will help you realise what is good for you. I think doing a little research I to Trans matters will help you decide what you can and cannot tolerate.
Being sympathetic is one thing but NEVER take responsibility for his attending appointments etc. That is on him.
Mine had been on hormones two years working away from home for long periods. He fell ill and I was called to nurse him. Teenaged girl legs! Cushions of baby pink flesh where his olive skinned cheeks used to be....I made my decision early but it was no less painful.
Pursue your therapy, guilt free and putting you first.

TinselAngel · 03/08/2026 19:42

ChickenHut · 03/08/2026 18:18

Thank you @TheAngryLioness and @Groutyonehereagain . I have also started looking for therapy for myself. I'm hoping I will be able to unpack all this pain in my heart. If I didn't love him it would be easier I think, I could just leave then. Sending you both love and support.

Trans Widows Voices has a list of sympathetic therapists, if you send us an email - address on website.

OP posts:
socialworker222 · 03/08/2026 18:19

Agree with the others Chickenhut. You are quite right to look ahead as you can see where this heading and on here we know your story invariably ends in transition. You need to consider what you would want to do if he goes ahead, what your 'red lines' are, if any, and plan for a life without him if there is a level this reaches where you will want out. Really important to talk to your own friends and family think about money and property (I assume you don't have kids?) and stop planning for and helping him with the transition unless you plan to stay with him. Your energy needs to be on protecting yourself and your own future. He will seriously be fine as your research has found
So so much support for men doing this now, so little for those around them unless they are on board. Put yourself first. What do you want to do? 💐

ChickenHut · 03/08/2026 18:18

Thank you @TheAngryLioness and @Groutyonehereagain . I have also started looking for therapy for myself. I'm hoping I will be able to unpack all this pain in my heart. If I didn't love him it would be easier I think, I could just leave then. Sending you both love and support.

socialworker222 · 03/08/2026 18:14

Sorry to hear it's so hard Angry. It's still early days. It's very hard navigating the children's reaction and decision about whether to accept the new version of their parent, particularly if it differs from yours. Of course they have to find a way to survive it and keep both parents but it's really painful and aggravating. Ultimately talking to other people incuding therapy (interesting you found someone who seems to specialise in these situations), remembering that whatever the children do you are still their mother and the person who didn't change, cause distress and confusion, and put them first, and trying never to criticise the other parent (that's the ideal apparently,, most people seem to manage it to some degree...) is the way to stay sane.

TheAngryLioness · 02/08/2026 23:31

@ChickenHut I hear you and feel.for.you. i am still processing my grief and all I can see is what inwas doing for my ex. Sadly they dont care about us anymore. They are the victim and everything is about them. You dont need to point out anything to him, concerns about his health and learning the language. You are doing it because you love him. Sadly I did that too as the thought of not having him in my life was painful.

I am.planning to go back in therapy and found this lady https://kellyoliverdougall.co.uk/. As other therapist didnt understand me and all they said was I will get used to it and they couldn't say anything anti trans :/

Home - Kelly Oliver Dougall

Professional support for women navigating trans-identification in the family. Break the silence, process the grief, and find your way back to reality

https://kellyoliverdougall.co.uk

Groutyonehereagain · 31/07/2026 13:19

ChickenHut · 31/07/2026 07:39

Right now for example I feel so resentful that I have had to spend so much of my time in trans forums to learn all the slang they use. I am so angry I have had to search for what tucking and DIY mean at a time when I was just shattered with grief and depression. My husband has a health condition and cross sex hormones would not be prescribed without a cross disciplinary health team. I am furious that I had to research that and point it out to him. I am so angry that I had to spend months of my life doing this and being on guard for any signs his identity was changing at a time when I was struggling so much to cope with anxiety and depression. But I cannot express this anger anywhere else. When I brought this up in couples therapy the counsellor implied I had made myself anxious by looking too far down the road and these were things he might not do. But he had already bought stuff to do some of them!

Honestly @ChickenHut , stop right there. You don’t need to spend another second immersing yourself in the trans world. This is not YOUR monkey. Cut yourself free and live your own life. Your trans husband will be getting ample support from the trans community. You need to actively seek your own support.

BezMills · 31/07/2026 08:53

@ChickenHut I hear you and you are absolutely right. As pp have said you definitely need a personal therapist and you need to find one that is going to see things from your point of view. It must be so difficult, bon courage

ChickenHut · 31/07/2026 07:39

Right now for example I feel so resentful that I have had to spend so much of my time in trans forums to learn all the slang they use. I am so angry I have had to search for what tucking and DIY mean at a time when I was just shattered with grief and depression. My husband has a health condition and cross sex hormones would not be prescribed without a cross disciplinary health team. I am furious that I had to research that and point it out to him. I am so angry that I had to spend months of my life doing this and being on guard for any signs his identity was changing at a time when I was struggling so much to cope with anxiety and depression. But I cannot express this anger anywhere else. When I brought this up in couples therapy the counsellor implied I had made myself anxious by looking too far down the road and these were things he might not do. But he had already bought stuff to do some of them!

ChickenHut · 31/07/2026 07:18

Thank you @Groutyonehereagain. I think the hardest thing is that there is no room in most spaces for people like me to express their emotions unfiltered. It is exhausting to need to edit your thoughts and wrap them in caveats so I don't offend. But if I can't express what I feel safely then how can I process it?

Groutyonehereagain · 30/07/2026 11:37

I’m so sorry to read what you’re going through @ChickenHut . You must put yourself first, do not let him decide and dictate what you can and can’t do. I can’t believe he’s not let you talk to anyone. That is all kinds of wrong. He’s clearly making everything about him.

Couples counselling is not the right fit here. You need to find someone to talk to purely for you. My advice is for you to pursue separation.. Don’t put up with this shit show for another second.

ChickenHut · 30/07/2026 10:58

After I found out about the hormones I told him I wanted us to split but he wants us to try couples counselling. We've been going to the couples counselling and I have now been allowed to talk to some of my family about this but I'm still finding it so hard. Love and respect to all the other women dealing with this, I don't know how you find the strength.

ChickenHut · 30/07/2026 10:45

This is my first post on here and a very hard one to write. My husband has been gender questioning for a while now and I feel so lost and alone. When we married I knew he had a kink for women's clothes but he said that's all it was. Over the years it has grown to him calling himself non-binary and looking at female hormones. He never spoke to me about any of this, I had to find out for myself and each new discovery coincided with unrelated stressful periods in my life. I have not been able to talk to anyone else about this for so long and I am struggling so much. I don't know how to process this and move forward, I don't know what to do. We have been together 9 years.

TheAngryLioness · 28/07/2026 06:17

Groutyonehereagain · 28/07/2026 02:51

It’s still very early days for you. You poor thing, your whole life has been shattered into a million pieces. Everything you thought was real wasn’t. It’s no wonder you are struggling.

My son’s kids appear to have accepted him as Lizzie, the youngest even calls him Lizzie. Both me, my other sons and his wife are really struggling and we are three and a half years on. I don’t know how you move forward but things do feel less acute with the passage of time. Sending much love and strength. ❤️💪

Oh my 3 and half years! I dont know where I will get the strength from. Each day these days isna struggle mentally.

Groutyonehereagain · 28/07/2026 02:51

TheAngryLioness · 28/07/2026 01:02

Hello All, just here to vent my emotions. My ex told my kids about him last week. Like the kids of today, they are ok with it. They had already guessed it several months ago but didnt say it to anyone. Is it normal to feel sad and depressed that they have so easily accepted his ideology but I am unable to? I just feel lost. It will be a year that we have separated but I still have the huge sadness inside me. I cry many times but dont know for what. Even if you return him back to me with million pound wouldnt want him. Sondont knwo why I cant move on. Can't forget what he has done to my life. How can I move on?

It’s still very early days for you. You poor thing, your whole life has been shattered into a million pieces. Everything you thought was real wasn’t. It’s no wonder you are struggling.

My son’s kids appear to have accepted him as Lizzie, the youngest even calls him Lizzie. Both me, my other sons and his wife are really struggling and we are three and a half years on. I don’t know how you move forward but things do feel less acute with the passage of time. Sending much love and strength. ❤️💪

TheAngryLioness · 28/07/2026 01:02

Hello All, just here to vent my emotions. My ex told my kids about him last week. Like the kids of today, they are ok with it. They had already guessed it several months ago but didnt say it to anyone. Is it normal to feel sad and depressed that they have so easily accepted his ideology but I am unable to? I just feel lost. It will be a year that we have separated but I still have the huge sadness inside me. I cry many times but dont know for what. Even if you return him back to me with million pound wouldnt want him. Sondont knwo why I cant move on. Can't forget what he has done to my life. How can I move on?

TinselAngel · 05/07/2026 18:06

Sorry @Stressed78I had a failure of reading comprehension about you already having children.

OP posts:
socialworker222 · 05/07/2026 14:24

Sorry this is escalating as you start married life. You say he's a good father so I assume you already have children together? You may need to decide what you are prepared to tolerate. Him privately dressing up? Him going off to do it with other people? Sexual activities you don't enjoy? Is this something you would tolerate if it was private and controlled? If so be prepared for it to take over more than you had anticipated. If not, you may want to talk to him now and lay down your boundaries and limits including whether anything is a deal-breaker. It's extremely likely to increase in terms of his time, spending and extent so I would think about this now and share how you feel.

TinselAngel · 05/07/2026 14:16

Stressed78 · 04/07/2026 09:57

I made a thread and someone said to come here, so I've copied and pasted over.
Hi all, looking for advice. My husband crossdresser, he told me before we got married, but I didn't realise the extent of it/thought it was just a silly thing. We've been married now for a couple of months and it seems to be spiralling,with him buying stuff online and wanting to remove body hair, he says it's a compulsion and he just needs to do it every now and then and things seem to be escalating not just with the crossdressing but things in the bedroom seem to be getting a bit, unusual, wanting p*ing and him doing stuff to one of the very anotmically correct "toys" he's bought. He used to be in a relationship with a trans female years ago also. When I write it all down it sounds insane, like how have I been so blind to not see that he's clearly got some sexuality/gender issues. Outside of all this stuff he's a wonderful husband and father, honestly couldn't credit him enough on that front, but it is affecting my attraction to him and making me worry that one day he's going to say he's gay or trans and the whole marriage has been a sham. I don't know much about the crossdressing scene or anything so if I've used to the wrong words or come across rude about it I don't mean to, I'm just not sure how to word things properly! Has anyone got any experience with this? Everything I'm reading online makes it sound like it's just a step on the way to full blown transitioning and it's inevitable.
I should add that he says he's not trans but maybe bisexual

Apart from the sex part, I could have written your exact post 25 years ago.

Our experience (the women on this thread and the TWV website) is that this inevitably escalates. I do wonder if now there’s less social capital in transitioning, fewer of them will go that far, but I wouldn’t bank on it.

Do you want to, at best, spend your life with a fetishistic cross dresser who you will not be able to trust to be honest about the extent of his addiction? My ex was also a great father and husband, until he wasn’t.

I can’t be positive about the future with such a man but I can tell you, that you have a choice and if you don’t want to be part of that world you don’t have to.

When you say he was in a relationship with a “trans female” what do you mean?

I’d advise definitely making some honest decisions before you have children with him.

OP posts:
Tygadlas · 04/07/2026 15:33

So once he removes the body hair and follows other ' modifications' to help him crossdress quicker, but still looks more female than male afterwards...how long before you decide his womanly side is not your physical attraction? The script is simple. He keeps doing things little by little and you will eventually give up commenting. It is called the How to boil a frog' method. Put the frog in cold water, it does not notice the water getting warmer....
That is the point I should have got out. But I was concerned about his mental health, so assisted in him ' trying to understand himself' never realising he was using a preordained script to undermine me.
Only you know how much you and your children can put up with.

Groutyonehereagain · 04/07/2026 10:06

Hi, I’m so sorry to read your post. You’re in an awful relationship, which if you stay in won’t end well.

I’m the mother of one of these men and although he claims to love his DC he definitely doesn’t put them first. Unfortunately their obsessions take over and that becomes their priority.

Your husband is definitely not prioritising you, your relationship or your children. My advice is to get out now. 💐

Stressed78 · 04/07/2026 09:57

I made a thread and someone said to come here, so I've copied and pasted over.
Hi all, looking for advice. My husband crossdresser, he told me before we got married, but I didn't realise the extent of it/thought it was just a silly thing. We've been married now for a couple of months and it seems to be spiralling,with him buying stuff online and wanting to remove body hair, he says it's a compulsion and he just needs to do it every now and then and things seem to be escalating not just with the crossdressing but things in the bedroom seem to be getting a bit, unusual, wanting p*ing and him doing stuff to one of the very anotmically correct "toys" he's bought. He used to be in a relationship with a trans female years ago also. When I write it all down it sounds insane, like how have I been so blind to not see that he's clearly got some sexuality/gender issues. Outside of all this stuff he's a wonderful husband and father, honestly couldn't credit him enough on that front, but it is affecting my attraction to him and making me worry that one day he's going to say he's gay or trans and the whole marriage has been a sham. I don't know much about the crossdressing scene or anything so if I've used to the wrong words or come across rude about it I don't mean to, I'm just not sure how to word things properly! Has anyone got any experience with this? Everything I'm reading online makes it sound like it's just a step on the way to full blown transitioning and it's inevitable.
I should add that he says he's not trans but maybe bisexual

TheAngryLioness · 29/06/2026 00:12

IndigoRising26 · 30/05/2026 09:38

Thanks @Groutyonehereagain I'm pleased that things are working out for your family, especially the grand kids. They are the most important in all of this.
I can see a positive future for myself and the kids. I'm hopeful that we can still co-parent amicably. He is my best friend. I just feel like I am holding a hand grenade and about to pull the pin and completely change everything for the four of us.
I know it is actually he who has changed everything, but at no point has he said (as I think I would have if roles were reversed): I understand if this means we can't go on as a couple. I feel he has unfairly put the onus on me.

I am so sorry to hear your story. Lots of hugs and support. The sooner you are out of this relationship the better. Its been a year since I decided to separate and it still hurts and there hasn't been a single day that I haven't cried or self pitied myself. I wouldnt say life has become easy for me but there is less of everyday stress which was there being in each other's space everyday. 10 months separated and I still struggle mentally because I loved him so much. But hopefully like others here have mentioned the hurt and pain will lessen with time. Hope it all works out the way you want xxx