Art

One’s inner gender cannot be chosen; it is simply given. It cannot be changed.

The body, with its external gender, cannot be chosen either; it is also simply given. It can be altered or adjusted through hormones or surgery.

I, too, have not chosen anything.

The combination of inner and outer gender is likewise predetermined and cannot be chosen either. The inner gender does not have to correspond to the outer gender. For most people, they are congruent; inner and outer fit together. Most people are not aware that there is an inner and an outer; in such cases, it is an identification with the body.

Nothing can be chosen; everything can only be recognised. We have no say and nothing to choose. We must be here as we are meant to be. We must simply recognise ourselves. And accept ourselves and our bodies as they are.

There are people who realise early on that the inner does not match the outer, as a child or during puberty. Others only realise it later, as I did at 59, because it was suppressed. Perhaps there are some who never realise it at all.

Realisation is inner clarity. Only you yourself can recognise this. There is no access to your inner self from the outside. Only you can recognise it, experience it. It is your safe space!

I am a TransWoman. It is never a choice.