Do any older women transition?

[Teatime55]

I feel like all I see are loads of middle aged men wanting to be women, and teenage girls/young women wanting to be male.
Are there middle aged women transitioning? Getting surgery etc.

Woman in her fifties: “I’m a man!”

Nature: “Here is menopause.”

Woman: “But I’m a man now. See? Trousers.”

Nature: “fine, I’ll add a beard and tache to your menopause. Happy now?”

Woman:…..

From what I've read of the identity of "stone butch" there appears to be a large element of genital dysphoria attached to it.

Some women who identified as butch lesbian do end up transitioning (including the author of Stone Butch Blues - although she said she didn't really care what pronouns people used and still identified as lesbian).

I don't know whether the butch community find themselves under pressure to transition as gender norms are reinforced as part of the whole gender woo movement. I've certainly seen it happen to very femme gay men that I know, albeit to nonbinary rather than transwoman so far.

Yes, I think there are older women who do transition. But not to men. They transition to young women. Face lifts and tummy tucks and breast lifts are body moods intended to make your body look different, to make you look the way you would like or to match with your self-image.

I know that most women choosing to have these body mods understand that they have not changed their age, but many resent any suggestions or reminders of their age, and many pretend very seriously that they are 10, 20, or even more years younger than they actually are.

Not middle aged but I've known a couple, maybe 3, mid 30s.

I'm sure this is very offensive but of those, one has always been the type to give any fad a go- particularly the posting about it extensively online aspect these days, so I'm not sure it's a permanent change to be brutally honest.

I know of an autistic psychologist and writer who transitioned at a late age.

If you google her though the google info at the top of the search still refers to her as Wendy, so there doesn’t appear to be the intense need to delete anything and everything that refers to her old name.

On the whole the middle aged autistic women I know are hugely relieved that we’ve done our shitty teenage years in a safer time!

I know a number of older butch lesbians who have travelled the path to transmanhood to a greater or lesser extent (toying with micro-dosing with testosterone, binding, going non-binary, through to double mastectomy, change of name and he/him pronouns, but stopping short of genital surgery). Some are now rowing back on this, ditching their binders and declaring they don’t care about pronouns any longer, some are becoming more entrenched. Several have trauma, and may be ND.

I don’t know any straight women who have done this.

As a lesbian who loves butches, I would have zero interest in a transman.

What's notable though is that they're not celebrated as brave and stunning in the press and media.

I know one married mother-of-one who started identifying as a gay man in her late 30s. Her marriage broke up as soon as she 'came out' and within a few months she was on testosterone, followed by a double mastectomy a few months later.

She had a long history of physical (often gynaecological) and mental health problems, also heavily into gaming, LARPing, anime, fantasy fiction, fandoms and all the usual sort of stuff. In particular she was keen on male/male erotic fan fiction.

That seems to be a common interest (trigger?) for younger heterosexual women who start to identify as male. genspect.org/seeking-refuge-in-idiosyncratic-sexual-identities-and-yaoi/

I presume someone out there is also researching the influence of anime and gaming on younger heterosexual men who start to identify as female - it seems to be a huge common theme.

The idea of a straight older woman transing to become a 'gay' TM is quite unfathomable. I'm not saying it would never happen but I can't imagine many gay males would want to date a TM, not that the older generation need to date anyone I suppose some older TM may be perfectly happy to be single

I don't know whether the butch community find themselves under pressure to transition as gender norms are reinforced as part of the whole gender woo movement. I've certainly seen it happen to very femme gay men that I know, albeit to nonbinary rather than transwoman so far.

Very sad, and definitely a sign that there's still a lot of homophobia about, some internalised.

So they do have lots of time to navel haze and dwell on their own identity. Have none of the repercussions to face by throwing a grenade into the middle of family life and therefore are much now likely to do this than not. What you've said only helps to confirm Ducks thinking surely?

So they do have lots of time to navel haze and dwell on their own identity
As Erish said upthread, my anecdote of one, then.
You realise we're all individuals, right?
There's no "they" like everyone is the same

Can you tell us a bit more about them?

Of course. It was more the doesn't have any kids or caring responsibilities so that theory falls down flat there. of your comment I was Talking about.

your comment didn't show that Ducks theory fell down flat, it actually did the opposite. I wasnt saying that was the reason your friend had chosen to transition or that this is the case for every woman who decides to transition later in life. But neither was Duck.

Most older lesbians who have been lesbians all their adult life do not have kids. You could not legally get sperm from clinics in the past if you were a lesbian or a single woman, and HIV meant for most women gay male friends were not an option.
But they still work usually full time and have elderly parent care like everyone else.

The one I know has definitely made being trans, trans activism, spouting nonsense on twitter (eg that men aren't stronger than women), into a full-on lifestyle and raison d'etre - it is about being subsumed into a new "self" and passionate cause that has to be 100% right and righteous, and all disagreement or questioning is transphobia. Evidence-based GC views are "beliefs" and "ideology" while genderism based on feelings that can be faked/mistaken is scientific fact. I can see how that brings a sense of security, along with the "queer" "family" who reinforce and praise the dogma constantly.

I think you are right about younger men who are into gaming, anime, cos play etc. They model themselves on favourite female avatars.

The fantasy nature of all of the above leads, I suspect, to a blurred distinction betwen fantasy and reality - and for those that spend a lot of time playing such games they can end up identifying with particular characters. Some obsessive gamers can be socially awkward and withdrawn and tend to get drawn more easily into 'other realities'.

And loads of straight woman in their fifties have grown up kids and have a similar amount of time available as lesbians in their fifties.

This puts me in mind of Mac McClelland / Gabriel Mac: nymag.com/intelligencer/article/gabriel-mac-essay.html

Google Mac McClelland to find out this person's history if you don't already know it. Fucking tragic.

Yes, if you spend your time absorbed in the 'queer community' the affirmation and positive reinforcement for transition is very strong,

I think the nazel gaving comments are pretty offensive.
I agree it is largely about trauma and individual vulnerability.

And loads of older lesbians who have been lesbians all their adult life were rejected by their families. So a community that partially replaces a family can be very attractive.

🤣🤣🤣 and balding head …the hair migrates I swear ….

Elliot Page?

I could be wrong, but I believe the "they" in this context was the gender neutral third person singular pronoun, not the third person plural pronoun.

It wasn't a comment about an entire community, just an observation that a single person without children probably has fewer family commitments and more time to spend on introspection.