What does it feel like to be a woman?

[Secretsquirrelisfedup]

I am not trying to be goady. I genuinely welcome all views.

I am a woman but I cannot tell you how it feels to be a woman because I am just me. I genuinely could not answer what being a woman feels like in general terms. I can only describe how both biological and socialogical aspects of being female from birth have influenced the way I feel, which differs for every woman I know.

I would not have been directly affected by these things had I not been born female so I have no idea what I would feel like if I wasn't. So what I want to know is what does it feel like to know you're a woman without the obvious signs?

Fabulous post Writersblock2

Yes indeed, fabulous post @Writersblock2

I read a thread on the Angels website recently similar to this - one poster said that they enjoyed rummaging through their handbag to find their purse and another liked the feeling of their seatbelt between their boobs / tits / breasts (whatever).

What I feel is the opposite to this with a bit of period pain, pregnancy, labour, sexual assault, SAHMness, dreading smear result letters etc, etc, etc thrown in.

@Writersblock2, I totally agree with pretty much everything you have said and you have worded it perfectly, but part of me doesn’t want it to be true because honestly with the way things are looking at the moment that is truly scary.

@SockNRolla what the feck is the angels website? That is grim, I don’t have any more words.

@Secretsquirrelisfedup
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3230057-The-Angels-Forum

Good post writers

I like the term ‘alienated’ when thinking about those with dysphoria- they feel alienated by their sexed bodies.

The interesting thing about many (increasing numbers) young trans people who consider themselves to be non binary, is that their narratives are often very similar to gender critical ones. In short, they reject gendered expectations. However, instead of locating all of the blame of gendered expectations on society, they also adopt a ‘within person’ explanation using the construct of gender to suggest that there is something innate about rejecting these expectations and that this relates to sex.

I wonder how many of those young people really believe that it's something about them that's unusual and how many are just trying to get what they want (for people to stop trying to persuade them to conform to their gender roles) within the only framework that they see being offered and somewhat accepted by society.

Because I work in the field of mental health, I tend to spend time with those that are struggling with life.
I think there are lots of young people who ‘try on’ non- binaryness as part of that adolescent ‘look at me, look at me!’, ‘oh my god, everyone is going to look at me’ conflict. This mixed in with a big dose of ‘who actually am I’. They can’t bear to be the same, can’t bear to be different. Most will navigate this and come out the other side having experienced manageable levels of anxiety.

I wonder how many of those young people really believe that it's something about them that's unusual and how many are just trying to get what they want (for people to stop trying to persuade them to conform to their gender roles) within the only framework that they see being offered and somewhat accepted by society.

I've always wondered that.