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Favouring ‘natural’ change
I was just wondering if anybody else has the same feeling that I do, that a large proportion of posts on this site have a problem with breast implants in comparison to herbs?
Is this because herbs are seen as natural and implants aren’t? It seems to me that you either take hormones or you don’t, I don’t get why people bother with herbs. And if you don’t take anything and want implants then that is fine too. The purpose of whatever you do is to change your chest and wanting to be more like the woman you are also means understanding that ‘natural’ women have surgeries too to change themselves.
Bit of a ramble that, but just trying to find out why the bad vibe for being not into wasting money on herbal treatments.
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8 Replies
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I’ve moved this post from “Transitioning M2F” because I don’t think anyone would see herbs or implants as the key steps in making a change to living full time as a woman.
As to the “posts on this site have a problem with breast implants in comparison to herbs” – I think exactly the opposite. The position of TgR that is well documented in other posts about herbal breast treatments is that they are proven to be a waste of money, and no one has been able to disprove that assertion over many years.
My personal view is that any company peddling herbal breast supplements to those born male is a cancerous growth on our community and should be treated accordingly!As to breast implants… the forum posts reflect a high degree of “why would you want to do that” sort of questioning. I don’t think anyone is against the surgical procedure per se, but rather it is hard to see where implants fit into a personal journey. If you intend to live full-time as a woman, then HRT is probably the best step to that goal, and normally will go some way towards growing breasts. But if the journey does not include a desire to be a full-time woman, then it would seem that implants just make one a man with boobs. Something that personally I don’t really understand – but if it is something that would make you more comfortable presenting your inner gender then go ahead!
At least when you use HRT to grow breasts it is a gradual process and you can decide if it is going too far to “pass” as a male. To go to a surgeon to achieve breasts seems to be a sudden step to take with probably consequences one hadn’t envisaged.
We have been down this path before in viewtopic.php?p=15796&highlight=#15796 and I’m not sure exactly what ground this new thread can cover,
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Yes I get how it seems like covering the same ground as the link you showed. But what I mean is maybe not just breasts or even just herbs, but the way hormones are seen to be the only real fix and anything else is seen as half a**ed and not making you a ‘real’ woman. I think that being a woman in your MIND is the key factor. The rest of your body can be changed to represent that is you see fit by whatever means you see fit. Without wanting to start a debate on what makes a man or woman, I think that it is the mind, otherwise even with all the hormones in the world you would ‘still just be a man with a hormone imbalance’ just like a man with implants and even a vaginoplasty would ‘still be a man with a couple of surgeries’.
What I am, probably badly, trying to say is that I find it strange that though we are (transgender) inherently a bit genetically mixed up there is a view that we can somehow become perfectly ‘natural’ but only using selective chosen pieces of science.
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‘The bad vibe’ as you call it against herbals is that fundamentally they don’t work well, if at all. Hormones do!
The other thing I would suggest is that if someone is seeking to change their body to a more pleasing female form, then talking through those issues with a gender psych would be a good first step…..just to make sure there are no underlying issues….like actually being trans….just sayin. -
The subject of “being a woman is a state of mind” in my opinion is correct to a certain degree, depending on how each individual persons mind regards this question in their on reality, will determine what is right for them as you ladies have pointed out your own opinions.
I hope no one is offended by my comments as no disrespect is intended, it’s just I struggle every day with my own internal self doubt as to WHO I REALLY AM and I’m sure others do aswell whether mindfully or bodily, I think this subject is extremely difficult to address and no answer is entirely correct.
I do know this much that it’s nice to be a part of a community that supports one another, it makes it alot easier to feel accepted.
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Hi,
A state of mind not if your intersexed its not , im both ,male / female .
there fore- only a stste of mind-.. i think not ,
Im a woman of difference. from birth. & my mind was wired accordingly ,
Can i say i never ever had a problem with what / who i was / am.
…noeleena…
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Stephanie, might I suggest that who you are is in fact self-evident. I’m not trying to be facetious, rude or troll-like when I say this, as I’m sure many people, including myself, ask themselves similar questions about identity all the time. The point is, what is it that we’re actually asking when we think about self, identity, or the homunculus at the metaphorical helm of our minds?
There are many ways that you could approach such a question, but what kind of answer would capture the essence of what it is to be you or me? In my humble opinion, I think all we can say is that we are. That we be. That we’re being. We are being the person that we can only be at this moment in time, and our future selves will be determined by that and every moment until we exist no more.
Daniel C. Dennett’s Consciousness Explained is a fascinating read about how consciousness arises from interaction of physical and cognitive processes. The relevance to this thread and your question is that he investigates whether there is a central location in the brain where consciousness resides. In short, an executive part of the brain that makes you you.
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Time to yank this thread back towards the question Tatiana asked.
Although the original post was somewhat unclear, Tatiana has reposted and clarified the topic. So please lets stick with that one here!
(Which in Tatiana’s own words was not wanting to start a debate on what makes a man or woman)Quote:What I mean is maybe not just breasts or even just herbs, but the way hormones are seen to be the only real fix and anything else is seen as half a**ed and not making you a ‘real’ woman.I think that being a woman in your MIND is the key factor. The rest of your body can be changed to represent that is you see fit by whatever means you see fit.
Without wanting to start a debate on what makes a man or woman, I think that it is the mind, otherwise even with all the hormones in the world you would ‘still just be a man with a hormone imbalance’ just like a man with implants and even a vaginoplasty would ‘still be a man with a couple of surgeries’.
What I am, probably badly, trying to say is that I find it strange that though we are (transgender) inherently a bit genetically mixed up there is a view that we can somehow become perfectly ‘natural’ but only using selective chosen pieces of science.
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Fair enough, Amanda, though I found what Stephanie was touching on to be far more stimulating. Yes, I know, it was drifting a little
With respect to the clarified thread question, then, what do we mean when we say that gender is all in the mind? We could start by asking, all in the mind compared to, well… what, exactly? Unless you happen to be a Dualist, any gender dysphoric state is surely the product of a particular biological brain state — something you’re born with.
To say otherwise seems to imply that you’ve merely decided to be transgender in the same way that you might make hundreds of trivial decisions that are driven by external influences and pressures. I’m fairly confident that nearly everyone here would not say that they cross-dress or transition based on such whims, but rather their transgenderism is born from an inherent capacity or predisposition toward transgenderism, which has been with them all along.
S
