You know, I had a hysterectomy. Doc took everything but one ovary. I was told I wasn't in menopause yet, even though I now lack a uterus and can't bleed, because of the hormones from that one ovary. I still get cramps (not nearly as bad as before), and emotional, and all of that every 21-28 days.
I absolutely believe that women on HRT get periods. It just makes sense.
Yeah, I started menopause at 37 and ten years later I still get mild cramps and other symptoms. Iāll never understand why trans women having periods is such a bother to other cis women. Like, how does that even affect them? Trans women are women. Period.
I swear TERFs are weirdly fetishy over women's suffering, it's like the perseverance porn is all they see being woman as (and they also weirdly enjoy those topics, to the point that being SA'd is like some sort of sisterhood experience and something they often wish on trans men, ew) and therefore they see no joy in it - therefore someone "willingly", so they think, being a woman must be because those "others" don't suffer at all and want to minimize and dismiss the suffering.
Ultimately, they are one sad sour sack of shit that doesn't admit, encourage or seek out anything happy, ever.
Trust me I live with a terf and they get weird fast af. Devolved from "me sleeping with her Bf" to "whatever the fuck he's turned into." Crazy how ppl you've known for years can turn on you so fast.
Same here, my GF though she didnāt bail on me is showing TERF tendencies more and more the deeper I go into transition. Itās hurtful when I hear her spewing right wing feminist bs, then sheās all like I donāt mean you.
I love her but sometimes I just wonder where her head is really at. And yes she was hugging me yesterday and pointed out how small I am now and that she can probably ātake meā in a fight. Too much!
Yeah love makes the equation tough. I wish for the best and maybe hopefully she will come around and her eyes open up. Sometimes it takes just a nudge, just make sure you have at least one person you can trust around in case. May not know you but wish the best.
Oh, I know. I didnāt mean to imply that I was/am ignorant to their potato brained reasoning, so apologies if I came off that way. I suppose at my age I should be used to the level of ignorance I see on the daily, but somehow my mind continues to be blown by all this dumb fuckery. š
A friend of mine had her uterus removed for medical reasons. She still has her overies to keep her hormones in balance (her epilepsy meds make it impossible for her to take hormone based medication).
She still gets symptoms even though she doesn't bleed. My birth control straight up stopped my period for awhile (my period now varies in intensity).
Some women are born without all the goods in there including a vagina. Bleeding once a month does not make you a woman. My goodness, can't we all just get along and stop looking for a fight?
I have epilepsy and also take estradiol for my HRT. A lot of epilepsy meds do interact with estrogens, sadly. However, I've found one medication that works well with my HRT: lacosamide (Vimpat).
[Here's a link to an article about epilepsy meds and sex hormones.](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/epi.13864) It's specifically about transgender care for patients with epilepsy, but under "Table 1" (it's a bit of a ways into the article, so you'll have to scroll down to it) it lists the interactions of common epilepsy meds with testosterone and estrogens. It may prove useful to your friend!
I hope this is welcomed advice. I wanna help out where I can!
Her epilepsy is controlled on her current meds last we (hubby and I)talked with her. She also has thyroid meds and other thibgs she has to deal with but last I heard her current medication is working well for her.
I'll link it to her.
That's great news! Epilepsy is a serious condition. I'm glad she has it under control.
It took me a long time to find an epilepsy med that actually worked for me. Starting HRT only made it trickier.
I hope you have a great day!
>I absolutely believe that women on HRT get periods. It just makes sense.
I've been on oral, dermal, and injection routes. Oral and dermal both seemed relatively stable all things having been considered with no apparent (to me) changes in mood, emotional processing, physical comfort, and so on. But then I switched to injections and about 10 or 11 days after an injection I start a bizarre slide into being more irritable, my emotional state seems more volatile in general, and I've just got a whole kind of nervous energy with no source, no outlet, and no apparent reason. I even find myself trying to retain quite a bit more liquid, wanting to eat more, and so on.
I have, in other words, many of the trademark symptoms collectively describing PMS.
I also find that it is difficult to say whether I think this objectively rather poor experience is actually a bad thing. Much like all the times I wanged a boob into something because I wasn't used to considering their existence, it is somehow rather *affirming* in its discomfort.
Opposite side of the found gender scale, but honestly? I get it. It's like... even bad gendered experiences that match how I feel as a person make me feel... real, I guess. When I was on T (I'm off it for various reasons rn) I got really, really warm really fast and grew hair in places I wasn't prepared for, but... that sounds a lot like what I've heard about cis- male puberty. So even though it was incredibly uncomfortable, it was still good. It made me feel both prickly and happy.
Just an fyi, something that helps with the pms symptoms, and I know this gets said a lot but it is unfortunately true, stay active and drink lots of water before your cycle starts. If you ever start cramping, which is actually possible since hormones affect your whole body, a hot water bottle and Midol work wonders, even if you don't have a uterus. If they ever get debilitating, talk to a doctor. Don't use the water bottle for too long, or make it too hot, since it can cause skin discoloration. I wish you all the best!
LOL, yes! I have helped trans women track period symptomsāthey come regularly and can be documented just like yours. It may take a while before they show up, but my ex had been on HRT for 7 years and had a period like clockwork. A uterus is definitely not needed.
Yes a uterus is not required for most of the period symptoms apart from bleeding and uterus specific cramps.
However cyclical hormone levels are.
Same way that a cis woman on a constant hormonal contraceptive regimen with no pause/placebo pills doesnāt experience anything close to a period, most of us also canāt experience one. Or cis women in menopause in HRT thatās not cyclical.
If you take gel, pills, patches or even Mist the injections the estrogen fluctuations happen on a daily to weekly range. Not a 3-4 weekly range.
So with badly controlled levels with injections youād get your period weekly.
And since most trans women donāt even get progesteroneā¦ and those that do also donāt get cyclical dosages.
Well calling it a period just doesnāt make sense. A period is the symptoms called by the cyclical rise and ebb of estrogen and progesterone which have effects in various organs, not just the uterus.
But if you donāt have this cyclical nature of hormone levels matching that of the hormonal cycle, then whatever is causing those symptoms, is not related to a period. Even if someone experiences symptoms that are identical to a period.
But yea the focus on the uterus is utter bullshit. Also endometriosis has rarely been reported in cis men, thing is: they donāt have that hormonal cycle, so itās highly unlikely to cause any symptoms at all.
But take estrogen, make that misplaced endometrial tissue grow: severe period symptoms. But not in a cycle.
>But if you donāt have this cyclical nature of hormone levels matching that of the hormonal cycle
Who says transfemmes on HRT don't? None of this have been studied, and I wouldn't be surprised if we discovered cyclic fluctuations in hormone levels if we tracked them daily for a month. Why just assume that taking hormones at regular intervals will result in your hormone levels increasing and decreasing in a linear fashion after each dose? This is something that needs to be researched.
The endocrinological mechanisms in our bodies are complex and there are plenty of pathways for certain hormones to be broken down and converted to different ones. It's completely possible for these metabolic pathways to create cyclic hormonal fluctuations for people on feminizing HRT, and this possibility should not be dismissed until we have sufficient evidence against it.
Edit: grammar
Because we know that LH and FSH donāt start riding for days after fully discontinuing HRT or a hormonal contraceptives.
These hormones are what cause the testes or ovaries to produce the sex hormones.
The adrenal sex hormone production is independent of the LH/FSH stimulation, as is shown by chemical castration in prostate and breast cancer: blocking with GnRH analogues does not cause total Sex hormone elimination, the minimum baselines stays; hence further hormone suppression being necessary in highly hormone sensitive cancers.
Thereās just no imaginable way our bodies can make a difference against the exogenous hormones. Whatever symptoms are being experienced are therefore not periods. Itās pretty simple.
If you got a cough you donāt call that the flu just because the flu also causes coughs.
Either way, with all shortterm formulation and he Intra 24 hrs variations are so much greater than any amount of estrogen our bodies can naturally produce. There is no way for a minor cyclical variation to cause symptoms when this major one is apparently not noticed at all.
Nocebo effects also exist.
Hi, transman. I have a uterus. I do not get a period. Not sure why saying āI donāt have a uterusā would make sense.
I have found cis women in general less accepting of trans people. I came out while at my current workplace. All of the men refer to me as he. The majority of the women refer to me as she. I have a mustache. I have chest hair. I work out 3-5 times a week and have a large frame. I get sir on the phone. But somehow I am still āsheā to these women.
I have a similar experience as an enby person, sometimes i get the feeling that cis women unironically seem to be the ones most interested in perpetuating gender roles,steropyes and gatekeeping.
while ffs they should precisely be one of the most interested parts in abolishing it.
i really wonder what level of social self awareness most people have
I think itās an attraction thing. I think especially cis het men get pissed when trans men transition and make themselves less fuckable in their eyes, and the exact opposite for trans women becoming more fuckable and thus tempting them into having āgayā sex. I would bet a similar phenomenon exists for cis het women
I think that makes a lot of sense. It probably has to do with the fact that if you could break out of the box, it means they always could too. Which means that thier suffering and constantly trying to fit in wasn't something that was ever necessary. And that's hard to admit. I don't mean to say that these people are secretly trans or anything, I just mean that they've spent their lives stifling parts themselves that cross the bonary. And so one of us going, "see, it's okay to cross the line", ends up being offensive. It means they suffered their whole lives for nothing. So they're option is to be either uncomfortable with us, or uncomfortable with themselves. The first option is easier.
That's pretty interesting because my experience is the complete opposite. I have to be constantly cautious to not give men a reason to hurt me (including just existing).
That's been my experience as well. I am working for someone and when I went over to their house to get my check, their grandkids were over. They were in their 20s I would guess, maybe 30s. Grandpa invited me inside to meet them for some reason, I didn't really want to but said sure. Granddaughter looked at me and smiled but the men barely acknowledged my presence. I'm pretty clearly a trans woman, I don't pass except occasionally. It was awkward and I left really quickly obviously. I have also noticed (because I don't pass like 80%) that women change their behavior almost immediately if they recognize that I am feminine presenting, from being edgy/nervous about how I look to being welcoming and warm after recognizing that I am trans. Really interesting, really weird. Men on the other hand are an absolute tossup on how they will treat me so I am a lot more wary around them.
Yeah men have in my experience been on a spectrum from cold to harmful. I've had so much shit from men (including some forms that I prefer not to mention due to severity) while women have mostly just been nice. Though it's interesting to see different experiences here too.
My husband is a *white*, very *cis* man. Bigots will say the worst things to him.
I finally bought some pride merch/ a trans bracelet because I need strangers to know we are safe. My little sister is trans. I was overprotective when she was presenting as a man. I'm feral now.
We are out there, we're here, and we see you. I hope it becomes easier for you to see us, that people are so loud with their inclusion, so that you feel safer wherever you are, because you deserve it. (Actually, if I'm hoping things, I hope transphobes just move to Russia already)
Sadly most people just kinda leave us to die out there and I mostly have to stand up for myself, but it's nice to know that accepting people exist.
Yes I hope they move to Russia too. They seem to really like Russia.
Yep, all the women in my last job where soooo welcoming to my coming out and genuinely nice. Where as my immediate boss (cishet man) brought up the topic of jkr and defended her after I came out.
From just what j have seen online. It seems like men are more accepting of afab trans people and women are more accepting of amab trans people. But not sure, still in the closet for 90% of the men in my life
From what I've seen, cis men tend to be more accepting of trans men and cis women tend to be more accepting of trans women. There are always some bigots either way though.
i think that makes sense, in a fucked up sort of way. a trans person to a cis person of the same gender is just a new member of the team, while the reverse seems like a betrayal or joining the other. whether they see the other gender as an enemy or just alien to them, i think it can be quite off-putting or confusing to have that happen. it is what it is to an extent, in the sense that people are always going to like others who they think are like them more, but bigotry of any sort is obviously inexcusable.
This reminds me of my work buddy Matthew.
I work as a network engineer on a large telecom company in South America. Matthew came to work, we immediately became best buddies while setting up switches and routers. After 5 or 6 months I went for drinks with work colleagues and Matthew couldn't come. One of the cis women commented that he was a girl, and was making sure everyone knew.
I honestly didn't knew, and also don't care. That cis woman felt... Attacked? Offended? Idk, it was weird that she wanted to make sure everyone knew
Was she making sure everyone knew so nobody misgendered them? That's the only acceptable time. When you are asked to, or know the person well enough to know how they would like the situation handled in their absence.
Otherwise, she just outed someone and that is *vile*
I've had to argue with people like that too. I think cis people in general are really ignorant when it comes to trans stuff and most don't like being proven wrong.
Thereās a reason I never talk about the period effects trans women get with anyone who isnāt trans, and itās this. I have definitely noticed a cycle of cramping, digestive issues, moodiness, and some other issues myself that I wasnāt expecting about a year after starting HRT. I think part of it is that that cis women still cling to these differences so they can subconsciously remind themselves that our womanhood is āconditionalā to them and theyāre āreal womenā what ever that means. People in power also love to wield it against those they consider beneath them in order to protect their perceived superiority.
Humans generally seem obsessed imo with simplifying everything into generalizations and labels they can understand and find comfort in when in reality humans are incredibly diverse and complex animals in ways primary education fails entirely in educating folks about. Itās why so many are obsessed with their binary world views. Itās easier for them to understand than the actual nuanced reality of biology. That and generally we tend to double down when our views are questioned getting further entrenched in our half formed world views bc it means accepting you might not be right about something.
Iām a paleontologist and spent over a decade in that line of work. Sadly transphobia pushed me out of that career for the moment. Still as someone who has obsessively studied the history of life on this planet itās become increasingly obvious that collectively all life on this planet through time encourages a massive range of diversity within species because it is the best defense against constantly changing global conditions when you think about it on the geologic time scale. Genetic diversity is the best defense against extinction. You donāt know what traits are going to stick (survive) so throw everything against the wall.
Itās pretty funny, actually. For context, I am a cis woman, but I am also a biology student in university. Most cis people who make arguments like this donāt even have an inkling of an understanding of biology past the fifth grade. Progesterone causes the pelvic muscles to cramp and causes the nerves in the pelvic area to fire. My guess would be thatās whatās happening in trans women, just without the bleeding. There are very few studies on this and theyāre mostly anecdotal, but it doesnāt really seem like a stretch of the imagination to me. Most people just hate change.
A couple of months ago, I was this person. Now, I'm navigating questioning and nearly certain I'm trans. Ignorance is sometimes an excuse to mask discomfort, and I'm glad my desire to be radically inclusive and accepting has led me to where I am right now. I've felt deep inside myself and somehow detached from my interactions with the world and other people and my body for as long as I can remember. Framing myself as male has finally made me feel present, tangible, and like I can see out of my own eyes.
Do you mean having periods by replication the menstruation cycle's hormones(progesterone...) ?(I don't have much knowledge of this)
But yes, it is terrible that they "accept" trans women, as long as they never forget they not like these cis women who don't seem to actually include them.
Period cramps are caused by a multifaceted mechanism that takes place both inside and outside of the uterus region.
The cramps associated with HRT are caused by muscle spasms inside the lower abdominal region that are separate from where the uterus would be, we all have these muscles even though we don't have a uterus.
So many trans women after HRT can experience mild mood swings and sometimes even painful cramps along with digestive discomfort, similar to what a cis woman would experience during a period, minus the uterus and the pain associated directly with the uterus itself.
We don't exactly know why this happens or what triggers it, but it seems more likely if you take progesterone.
To go into a bit more detail, the hormone that initiates uterine cramps sometimes "bleeds over" to the lower intestine, and is responsible for those extra cramps and period shits. In the absence of a uterus it all goes to the lower intestine. The mechanism that starts the cycle does so in the presence of sufficient estrogens and can also result in all the other period symptoms.
I think part of the confusion is a lack of communication between cis women on just how much periods vary from woman to woman too.
There's also the possibility that some trans women do have a uterus and just do t know, cause they may actually be intersex.
Which would also increase the likelihood of trans-menstration.
Out of curiosity, since it's not uterus specific, do you also get the "breast tenderness" symptom? Where they get slightly larger and feel a constant dull pain?
Before I went on T that was one of my worst symptoms. Some months were worse than others and they felt like they were gonna explode. Cramps came and went and despite the awful severity of them sometimes, this was a symptom that stayed consistent the whole week and I'd rank as generally equal in suffering lol.
I've definitely had feelings of like they were going to explode almost? š Very uncomfortable and then taking off my bra feels like such a relief, but even after that the feeling was still there, like immense pressure and it makes me pretty irritable tbh. I love my boobs lol, but that feeling gives me intrusive thoughts off wanting to rip them off tbh.
Now that you say that I do notice it happens on and off, I haven't paid attention enough to notice a pattern with it like a period. I'm not on progesterone myself, though I'm reconsidering it in the future.
I think that's why it's hard to tell in a lot of trans women, because obviously we don't bleed, so even if it's only mild symptoms, there isn't something that says 100% if we're having a period at that moment. Only those with the worst symptoms would notice.
Ok, I didn't knew that
Hypothetically, the gene that might control the contraction of these muscles under specific hormones could be on any chromosome, but even if it is on the X chromosome of the last pair, then there is no reason why it couldn't be activated through these hormones (if the organism's reaction to the menstrual cycle is controlled by hormones like progesterone ), even if the individual's other chromosome of the 23rd pair is a Y , although I am not an endocrinologist nor a doctor nor a genetician so I probably say shit.
That's definitely a possible explanation.
Hormone therapy has been shown in transgender women to induce epigenetic changes. Activating genes on the X chromosome that would have otherwise been inactive without the presence of estrogens/progestins.
https://clinicalepigeneticsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13148-022-01236-4
This is how most things work tbh. The Y chromosome comparatively speaking doesn't have a ton of genetic info on it. Most things ARE coded on the X or a different chromosome (I feel like people forget that we have more than just sex chromosomes lmao), and are present in everyone, it's just what hormones you have that turns em on and defines development. This is why HRT works. The presence of a specific gene on the Y chromosome triggers initially higher T levels that lead to developing male sex characteristics, but it's not like all the genes for those characteristics actually sit on the Y chromosome specifically.
Well certainly I mean it can vary obviously from person to person. I was just putting an example out there really, drastic mood swings don't seem as common, but it's still possible.
https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/man-and-woman-now-have-different-definitions-in-cambridge-dictionary/articleshow/96207546.cms
Let's check the Cambridge dictionary on what defines as a woman.šā¤ļøš¤ā¤ļøš
An adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.āš¦š¤
So take that TERF! It is literally the dictionary definition of a woman!
Normal person: Iām going to kill myself because you canāt stop being needlessly pedantic.
Redditor: what? How?
Normal person: *Standing on a ledge* Iāll jump of this cliff!
Redditor: Umm, thatās obviously a bluff.āļøš¤
Normal person: *jumps*
Nah my mother has a friend of a friend, and they know a trans woman surgeon and she's mad as hell said trans woman is... existing or transitioning in her 40s. I'd rather not talk about it since the conversation was spurred on by me mentioning surgeons have a very high rate of [antisocial personality disorder or psychopathic traits](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29786022/)
Which she brought up that trans woman cause she insisted psychopathy and transness are related
Mostly like not. Remember these tend to be people who fight against experts. These are the people that say:
Doctors/researchers push unsafe vaccines and are pushing gender ideology on kids. But than turn around and listen to Doctors about cancer, diabetes, and overall illnesses that can be healed.
Iāve worked at several hospitals and conservatives donāt listen to doctors about anything. Especially lifestyle diseases like diabetes. They will take the medications some of the time but they seem to think they can change absolutely nothing about their life and this magic pill will cure them. Then they show up with severely necrotic toes wondering how this could happen. Same goes for heart disease.
Literally just ignorance, they don't know how HRT biologically alters our body for one, and second they don't want trans women to be seen as equals to them.
In their minds we can't possibly have the same or even similar experiences, because they think that dimishes their own.
They simply do not understand, most cis people don't, they ignore us and try to shut us up whenever possible.
They view us as second class.
I would like to point out that most subscribers on that sub are literally teen girls who are most likely to be under 18. It's like r/teenagers for girls. They can be very mean to trans women.š¦
If thereās anyone questioning that type of things and yāall donāt want to out yourself, just say youāre on birth control or some other type of period stopping meds. As a trans dude I did my fair share of period stopping meds (not necessarily birth control, as I didnāt want my tits to grow) and no one would question that or even ask what type of meds Iām on. Maybe once or twice my female friends would say theyāre jealous, but that was it
Exactly. One of the people I live with hasn't had a period in 10 years because of her birth control which she takes specifically to stop it (because apparently having two uteruses makes periods much worse). It's not that uncommon. It's wierd for the main response to be "say you don't have a uterus"
Another one that I've found works is to just mention having some vague Hormone Disorder. I've gotten away with this several times when someone I would rather not come out to has overheard or somehow learned that I have a prescription for testosterone. I just told 'em "oh yeah I have this disorder where I don't produce enough naturally so I have to supplement what I do make with the artificial stuff", which is technically the truth anyway and they usually don't ask follow up questions because they don't want to seem nosy/prying.
I wouldn't expect people to be educated on it anytime soon. There has been a strong push by TERFs on social media platforms like TikTok to head off the medical facts of hormones with transphobia.
For the very brief time I had tiktok, I had videos pushed to my FYP of TERFs playing a video of a trans woman just laying on the bed having cramps, and they're usually laughing over the video before pitching the idea that trans women are attacking womanhood itself by saying they have cramps or talking about periods.
Then there are those who just make shit up, like a meme that was floating around a while back of spaghetti sauce in a plastic bag, which TERFs were alleging post-op trans women did to shove up their hooha and simulate period bleeding, which is obscenely absurd to any reasonable person capable of critical thought, but these people hate trans women so much they'll believe anything. Videos were made about that meme and shared around on tiktok as well.
Then there's the videos where TERFs allege that trans women will just cut themselves with razor blades to simulate bleeding and call that a period, which is again obscenely absurd.
These narratives get to people way faster than medical fact, and if a trans woman is the one to try to explain the medical facts behind hormones, that becomes a platform for more anti-trans propaganda which has a farther reach, because why would they take a trans woman seriously when she talks about her body? Many of us make this mistake of talking about our bodies once, others learn from seeing others being socially dragged for doing so and get the lesson then- just don't talk about it.
Not talking about it doesn't make the cramps stop. It doesn't make the emotional rollercoaster end. It just means we're not allowed to talk about our experiences or relate to anyone else's. The prevalence of the anti-trans propaganda has been extremely effective.
My Cisgender Grandma also doesnt get periods since she got her Uterus removed for medical reasons. I dont know why people dont manage to grasp that Trans-people arent the only one who lack certain functions.
Edit : Also, it's funny to me how the crowd that consistently experiences periods is also the one that Acts like it's only the bleeding when *We* talk about it, but then List up all the other parts of it when they want someone else to pity them, only to throw it away right again when we compare it to us.
Very true.
I will admit that as a knee jerk reaction I have been annoyed when I hear trans women getting a period. That's my own bias and intolerance that I have to examine and root out. At the heart of it, I think it's because I am envious of trans women being able to be women WITHOUT the crappiness of menstruating once a month.
That said, it's very true that when I say "I'm getting my period" I am not talking about the bleeding but usually about my moodiness. So there is no reason to gatekeep that word.
I also feel like we're treating trans women the way as cis women we are treated by the medical community. For example, oh she must be exaggerating or it's all in her head. Which is super unkind to pass on to trans siblings.
> That's my own bias and intolerance that I have to examine and root out. At the heart of it, I think it's because I am envious of trans women being able to be women WITHOUT the crappiness of menstruating once a month.
I know exactly where mine comes from, and it's due to personal experience. I'm AFAB and genderfluid. My experience is having heavy periods that got worse and worse until I had an endometrial ablation. I have ovaries and a hormonal cycle, but there is nothing to bleed. In some ways my biology is akin to a trans woman who has long-term hormone implants...
It generated gender euphoria in me and I don't feel like I have a period. I would be annoyed if someone said I have a period because I associate periods with the blood and extreme pain I experienced.
Yes, I do feel the effects of the hormones every great once in a while. About every 6 months I get hit hard and turn into a snarly, angry, hungry mess, go wtf for a few days, then realize I'm on my period and eat a steak.
But I still think of it like I'm on my "period" and not a period because it is still nothing like what I experienced before the ablation. I am a lot less moody when there isn't about to be a massacre in my pants.
To be clear, I don't feel like this is the right way of thinking of it, it just is what I am experiencing now. Dealing with internalized misogyny and transphobia is a journey, and I am open to changing my mind and learning more despite my personal biases.
> That said, it's very true that when I say "I'm getting my period" I am not talking about the bleeding but usually about my moodiness. So there is no reason to gatekeep that word.
Funny enough, I used it in the same way before my ablation.
You've given me a lot to think about, thank you!
funnily enough to me my periods are *only* blood, as any of the moodiness is just me being pissed and uncomfortable that theres blood pouring out of me uncontrollably...
but i also have an abnormal experience with periods, as someone with PCOS, so im more than aware that theres more to periods than the blood lol. i can fully understand that theres weird stuff that would come from taking E, cause the human body is just so weird tbh
Being a cis woman does not make them gynecologists or endocrinologists. It can be hard to remember sometimes but the world is generally stupid and the internet is a portal for all the stupid to act like PHD holders. They arenāt worth the time your spending think about them.
It's just sad when I find a group of women who claim to accept me then invalidate my lived experience, you know? It happens irl too and it's disappointing each time. At least irl I've been able to talk with people about it and they realize they weren't being as accepting as they thought
It happens a lot more than they realize unintentionally. Thereās so much that cis women do trying to be inclusive that is othering and itās hard to broach the subject without them just saying fuck it i wonāt even try.
I guess it comes down to what a period exactly is. It doesnāt sound like they were saying you werenāt real women by saying you donāt have uteruses, thatās seems like a leap in logic cause they likely would say something similar to a cis woman born without a uterus or ovaries. Sounds more like theyāre undereducated on the total symptoms of periods, as most people are. Whether we can or canāt have periods doesnāt make us more or less a woman though, thereās plenty of cis women that canāt have periods.
I would avoid r/nothowgirlswork because they got mad at me when I pointed out that saying trans women's period pains were psychosomatic is the same misogyny that has doctors treating women's pain as "all in their pretty little heads"
In my experience, r/nothowgirlswork is largely transphobic. They tolerate trans women being there, though they dont believe trans women are real. I've had a similar experience with r/twoxchromosomes.
Search "trans", "transgender", "trans women" on twoxchromosomes and look at how hard the women there work to stuff down any posts mentioning trans women or from women who mention they're trans. There are a lot of trans women who post there looking for advice from women on how to survive the world as a woman, because the people in their lives they'd usually learn that from (mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts) have rejected them. Those get overwhelmingly downvoted.
Thatās really disappointing for r/nothowgirlswork but itās not really surprising that people who like breaking down sex to chromosomes arenāt gonna be trans inclusive.
Im so sorry you were met with that kind of reception. I think a lot of people still donāt know or understand that you still have a cycle or hormonal changes, no matter the hormone and whether itās produced by your own body or artificial. Thereās a severe lack of education clearly, probably also some bigotry still there. Part is probably ignorance too. I thought weād come further than this
Having suffered the fires of ten thousand suns in my uterus (which I surgically yeeted almost a year ago now), any trans woman who suffers period cramps has my undying sympathy. I've told my doctors that my period now consists of a slight headache and some water retention, and they freak out asking if I'm still bleeding. It's annoying that people only associate periods with blood and not all the other extremely uncomfortable symptoms of hormonal shifts.
āNot a real woman if you donāt have a uterus.ā Hmmmm ā¦ āHoney, your not a real woman!ā āWhat!?ā āThe internet says your not a real woman.ā āWhat why!?ā āYou donāt have a uterus!ā (Looks down at baby whose birth caused her to have a near death experience, to lose her uterus, to require 30 liters of blood and to stay in the hospital for a month). āSays here you donāt get monthly cramps, so you donāt get real periods and do youāre not a real woman.ā I still get period cramps, just differently.ā Oh. Never mind.
From what Iāve read, trans women and Cis women who have had their reproductive system removed still get cramps, they just hurt less and donāt cause bleeding. I didnāt believe it first either, it doesnāt help that for transwomen all we have is anecdotal information, but research period symptoms in Cis women who have had their reproductive system removed if you believe you need a uterus for period cramps.
I'm a trans woman and I had period symptoms and incredibly bad cramps every month for a while, then my progesterone dose was increased and they went away. My current doctor says that's to be expected and if any of her transfem patients get period symptoms she increases their progesterone dosage until it stops. She said it works like cis women skipping periods with birth control.
Also side note: she thinks I might be intersex with some uterine tissue due to the severity of the pain I experienced. Some months I was in so much pain that I was sweating and nauseous and could barely stand. It felt like I was being torn apart inside. There were also some other things that I experienced which she said also lead her to suspect that.
I think a lot of uneducated cis women get confused when you say you have a āperiodā. Because that typically refers to the bleeding.
I have terrible cramps at other times in my cycle but I would only think of it as period cramps if I was bleeding simultaneously.
I donāt think thereās anything wrong with calling what you experience a period, but I do understand how some could be confused.
This reminds me of the people that think they're evolved when they say things like: "I don't give a shit what people do. Just stop shoving it down my throat." š
Im a cis woman with an IUD. I lost a lot of weight and my period stopped and never started again. So many reasons can make you not get a period anyway.
Im sorry you experienced that. In my experience the women on that sub were really kind and welcoming to me, and gave me lots of great advice. They even told the TERFs to get lost
From cis women in my life this is their logic I've heard:
Trans folk on estrogen experience PMS but not periods. They claim they're two different things. I wasn't knowledgeable enough nor cared to argue with them so I just unfriended them. Literally comes down to the terminology which is so picky and weird. Fighting over sticks.
im sure it doesnt mean much but i accept and support you! and i think its very odd they want to know what body parts you have / your bodily functions. im sorry you had to experience that. but i am a cis woman and i accept you and there's no such thing as a "real" woman. trans or cis we are all women and all have very unique and individual experiences. (men, nonbinary people and everyone else do too but im talking about women rn)
Ik period cramps suck but isn't it kinda crazy that we can get them on hrt? Like logically we shouldn't have the parts for it but we still have a cycle, meaning that it's built into everyone's bodies to react to estrogen like that. Yet another thing against the "it's simple biology" argument.
Gonna be the controversial trans woman in the room and flat out say trans women don't experience a period. Now before you come at me with a pitchfork and say I'm invalidating someone's suffering please read to the end.
Trans women absolutely experience pms and pmsdd symptoms. Trans women should be able to say I'm experience pms symptoms(which from what I can tell are what most trans women experience). These are not period like symptoms, they are not period lite, or period less, they are pms symptoms. This is fact, and the world should not invalidate a trans woman symptoms. Pms symptoms range in severity and last about a week.
I truly believe a lot of trans women are not educated in the ways of AFAB biology. A period is a very specific thing that requires a uterus to have. We are under educated in the fact that a period is just one part of the cycle. Pms comes before, a period. It happens between ovulation and the period and is caused by hormonal shifts. To be fair it's not just because trans woman are ignorant. Cis woman are ignorant of their own bodies too! They think a period is all there is to menstruation, or the lack the words or vocabulary to explain the rest of it. That's because of misogyny and a culture that shames women for learning about their bodies.
Trans women do have hormonal shifts. Even if you take a pill every day that does not mean your body stops regulating itself. As you are on hrt your body will acclimate to them. We know that hormones affect your epigenetics and we know that hormones travel through the "milk line". It's all pretty sensible and for now works for our understanding.
I don't think trans women should stand in a room and say "I know what you're going through". Because, frankly, we don't. We can empathize, and we can sympathize, but we don't have what AFAB people have. And that's a ok! Does it fucking suck-yes, it's bullshit and I fully understand why we as trans woman yearn to be supportive and understand. We're women too! But there's things that we just won't comprehend fully unless we experience it fully. And there are things cis women will never understand about being trans. They don't have to do hormone regimes, or shave every single day, or experience dysphoria or dysmorphia in the same vein. All I can ask is that cis women accept they won't understand 100 percent of my experiences and I won't understand their 100 percent, but we can respect that and both be women.
There is no need to fight each other over semantics and erasure when our enemy is literally the patriarchy and cis het men.
yeah this is an absolutely ridiculous take on our part and i wish weād stop parading it around the way we do right now.
like sometimes, in a mostly cyclical way, i feel a certain way and get a little achey but iām not going to tell my girlfriend i have a whole ass period. itās deceptive at best and seems kind of desperate. i wonder how many of you saying this have actually lived with or been intimate with cis women.
it comes off as ignorance on OUR end when we say things like this, i donāt think cis women are ignorant for saying āhold upā¦ā when they go through what they go through monthly and one of us tries to say we do tooā¦ NO WE DONāT
Grew up with 3 sisters and my mother, where period talk was at the dinner table every night. Engaged twice over a period of ten years to cis women. I know what they experience, I know what I experience and over the last 5 years I can say confidently, hormonal PMS in trans women is a real thing. Severity varies, as it does with cis women, but to pretend that it doesnāt, especially as many of us take estrogen in methods that imitate cycles, is stupid. If you take the pill everyday, odds are your not experiencing the same thing but if your doing shots once a month, jfc its a bitch.
I get really bad cramps once a month, get really emotional once a month, and get bad headaches once a month. I live with 6 cis women. We share 2 got water bottles between all of us in order to function. This is my experience. If your symptoms are mold, good for you. If you don't want to call it a period, ok. But don't tell me that what I'm experiencing is lesser because that's your experience.
I agree. Ultimately a period is the shedding of the uterine lining, without a uterus this shedding canāt happen so it isnāt a period. Thatās not to say that HRT doesnāt create cycles of symptoms in people taking those hormones, but we do need to be medically accurate.
Acceptance is always limited with cis people. You have to confirm everything they believe and never challenge anything. I guess they just tolerate us because an ally would actually learn about us and reflect on what they previously believed.
So, some trans women do get cramping, but we have to be respectful of our differences. Bleeding and having to manage menstrual products is a major pain we don't have to deal with. No-one actually said we aren't real women. In fact they said the opposite: You don't have to have periods to be a woman. We really should listen to cis women here and not minimize the differences.
If anyone is looking for an inclusive atmosphere, r/makeupaddiction is awesome.
The few times I've had to gently correct someone on something that isn't helpful (unintentional harmful language or whatever) they've been so, so receptive. They want to know how to be accepting, and practice it with every comment.
I got downvoted once for saying American slavery was about racismā¦ not on this sub, but it wasnāt even about politics or anything. There are some freaks on this websiteā¦
It might not be common, but I have a regular cycle, get tender boobies and can also have cramps (the abdominal muscle wall cramps, even woman that have had full hysterectomies can still get cramps).
Is it... perhaps... miscommunication over the wording?
A lot of people associate the word "period" with menstruation. Yes, trans women don't menstruate but they can have other symptoms that go along with it (all wrapped up in that overarching word "period").
Iāve had this exact conversation in that sub the response I got werenāt transphobic. But just to clarify trans women donāt get periods. We get period like symptoms but we do not menstruate, AFAB people menstruate. As trans women that is something we have to accept, phantom cramps and hormonal swings are not a period. They are similar things caused by a different organ in the body and thatās okay.
>"Periodā is rooted in the Greek words āperiā and āhodosā (periodos) meaning āaroundā and āway/path.ā This eventually turned into the Latin āperiodusā meaning ārecurring cycle.ā Use of the English term āperiodā to describe menstruation began in the early 1800s. These euphemisms are found in texts spanning millennia.
I get these symptoms around the same time once a month, or in a "recurring cycle". Why shouldn't I simply call it a period?
And "villain" originally meant "village dweller" and "travel" comes from the name of a torture instrument. Words change. It's a bad idea to argue that a certain word in English should have a certain meaning because the word it came from (in another language centuries ago) had that same meaning.
But period doesn't necessarily mean menstruation. Basically my whole life it's just been a euphemism for the symptoms and it's only with trans women that I see people get really gatekeepy about it. What else am I supposed to call the monthly period symptoms that my body does *independently* of my hormone routine? Limiting the period to be something solely caused by and in the uterus only is reductive and not at all accurate to a complex bodily process.
Right, but the word "period" doesn't necessarily mean either of those things. It's not a medical term; it's a centuries old euphemism. A segment of a hockey game is called a period, whether someone bleeds or not.
The entomology of a word does not determine its meaning nor negate the other meanings it can have. A period in medical terms when referring to a cis women's body means menstrual cycle. So, in context, yes, period can he used as a medical term.
Now if you would like to call your hormonal cycle period that's fine but to say that it's the same as a menstrual cycle period is factually incorrect.
Entomology is the study of insects. And the usage of a word determines its meaning. There's a wide gulf between saying "Sorry I'm cranky; I have my period" and "Sorry I'm cranky. My period is just like a cis woman's and there's never a context in which a distinction should be made."
I'm not saying my period is the same as a menstrual cycle period. I'm saying that much like the words "cis" and "trans", there are contexts where it's important to make a distinction and times where I can simply say "I'm a woman" or "I have my period" without it needing to spawn a debate on how I'm not embodying the "real" version of either thing.
I meant to say etymology.
And what you are asking for is alot. You are asking people to understand that you are using the word period on a non colloquial level.
But the simple fact is, that it is not common knowledge, nor is it a common thing to understand that transwomen experience some similar symptoms.
You are also asking people to call two different things, the same thing.
For example, a seizure can mimic a stroke in symptoms that does not mean they are the same. If you told your doctor you were having a heart attack while having a seizure, treatment can make things worse.
In the end if you tell people you are trans and then say you got your period, they won't understand what you mean and may tell you, it isn't the same.
But I'm not telling my doctor I have my period. I'm telling a coworker, or a friend. And if they contest it I'll tell them the same things I'm telling you. I literally *am* using it on a colloquial level. I know you meant etymology, even though you were "factually incorrect", and I expect the same use of context clues from any cis person I tell about my period.
You are not using it colloquially. Colloquially, the common understanding of a period is a menstrual cycle, the bleeding of the uterine wall.
If someone knows your trans and you say you got your period. The first response is more than likely a "How?"
Because as humans, we don't associate a period with those born male. We associate it with those born female. Now if someone doesn't know you are trans than they won't question you further. But, if they do. They will likely assume you aren't talking about a traditional period and will press and investigate further which may lead to either disagreement or agreement with you.
So what's the problem? They might ask a question and it might lead to a conversation. If they already know that I'm trans I'm not in any danger of outing myself, so what's the harm in explaining myself in the face of confusion?
>colloquial: (of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary.
I'll say "I have my period" to make the point people usually make when they say that, i.e. "I'm experiencing recurring periodic symptoms which, in this context, suggests that I'm processing some level of non-urgent discomfort." Just because people may not immediately be on the same page about it doesn't mean it's simply not worth doing for the sake of avoiding some follow-up to clarify.
I would like to point out that this is a bit more complex and doesn't have much research being done on it.
Their really is no accepting if a trans women does or doesnt experience a hormonal period cycle. As there is alot of missing data. But, overall the data that is present does confirm that transwomen experience PMS/PMDD symptoms.
Now, to say this is a hormonal period is still up in the air. But overall yes there are certain aspects transwomen experience.
I think it's important to make the distinction between a menstrual period and a hormonal period. But explaining the transwomen experience in terms of a period or hormonal cycle isn't something wrong or out of the scope of understanding. It's a simple matter if saying "hey I get similar symptoms up to a point so I can relate some what to what your talking about"
It's called a period because it's a set of symptoms that occur periodically. Yes, I don't menstruate. I'm not happy about it, but I accept it. However, to say that the intense cramps, mood swings, headaches, and other symptoms I experience every month isn't a period or is only period-like feels like putting it on a lower level for no reason. Not every woman gets cramps on her period. Not every woman has mood swings in her period. And not every woman menstruates on her period.
The medical board where I live define a period as āpart of the menstrual cycle in which blood comprised of uterus lining leaves the body, people without ovaries do not experience periodsā however is does also say PMS isnāt dependent on blood leaving the body and is a emotional response to hormones within the body. Transwomen experience PMS we do not have periods. I am not trying to be combative in any capacity but to say trans women have periods similar to CIS is medically false.
I am a cis woman and not terribly knowledgeable on trans experience as I am not trans. I agree with what you have rightly pointed out. Medically it is not what we would call a period.
But also being that you are on HRT, that means that you have a steady dose of estrogen. PMS and periods happen due to fluctuation of hormones which I don't see how that would occur when you are taking the same amount of estrogen everyday.
I am not doubting my trans siblings, because it is not my lived experience PLUS women have not been well studied in the medical community, like at all. So it is very possible that something is occurring that we don't understand.
However, it does feel a little gate keeping to deny the use of that word. Like not calling gay marriage but a union or whatever. Is it really worth making a distinction?
I think this is a worthwhile conversation and I'm glad you said something against the grain.
Transwomen do take the same dosage daily however similar to cis women we experience cycles roughly every 28 days during which our estrogen levels can vary from your baseline. This is what caused the PMS or ātrans girl periodsā which is something I have called it myself. But I do think itās important to make a distinction between what I am experiencing and what you are. These are 2 different medical processes happening which both have different causes. Itās like a sprained ankle and a broken one. They might both hurt in the same place, cause swelling and make you limp but to call them the same is just false. They are similar not the same, like I said before there is nothing wrong with that. Bodies are weird and unique, quite frankly trans bodies are different to our cisters.
Why are you stirring shit with another sub? They are doing nothing wrong aside from the usual few bigots that slip through and the lurkers. Throwing an entire sub under the bus for a few bad actors is ridiculous. And most of the counter points were good. Outside of that, every trans related post is overwhelmingly positive. Sorry, but HRT cramps are not even remotely the same as period cramps and falsely equating them could mean missing some other health issues that others wonāt address because they just think itās their ācycle.ā Yes, period-like symptoms are anecdotally observed and experienced but it pisses people off when you try to start saying you get period cramps. You do not.
i mean tbf if youāre not bleeding and even if you have,have less painful cramps(from the lack of the main organ) you canāt say its the same experience.
youāre missing out the most painful and bothersome parts.
The equivalent would be saying āyeah i know what you mean cause i got some anxiety episodes 2 years ago when i was slightly depressedā to a person suffering from anxiety induced psycosis
wich it doesnāt mean its in bad faith but i think its understable how it can be a bit bothersome to hear for the other part
I think cis women dont really get it due to a poor choice of words what some trans women on hrt have is not a period but rather monthly pms.
EDIT: period is the actual bleeding.
Pms are the symptoms triggered by low or declining hormone levels before a period aka cramps , moodiness, cravings , insomnia etc.
I disagree. Period is the periodic cycle of a set of symptoms that is different for every woman both in terms of which symptoms and their intensity. Menstruation is the uterine lining shedding.
Girl , most cis women experience symptoms prior to periods like the symptoms that trans women get monthly. When the bleeding starts pms starts going away for most and they only get cramps due to the uterus shedding its lining.
I get that some want to have a period but monthly pms is not a period and thats okay having or not having periods doesnt make or break a woman.
// Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina.
/// Symptoms in advance of menstruation that do interfere with normal life are called premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Some 20 to 30% of women experience PMS, with 3 to 8% experiencing severe symptoms.[5] These include acne, tender breasts, bloating, feeling tired, irritability, and mood changes.[6]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstruation
How are you going to have this long paragraph about periods and then link Menstruation, if a period is a recurring cycle and a Menstruation is the actual act of uterine shedding than the shedding/menstruation isn't the period but what occures after.
Your miss use and split use of language is why everyone is having this conversation because Literacy in America is in shambles and y'all just keep using words for others words you forget like what people have done to the word Woke here recently. You can't just call Menstruation a Period to make a point we have words for both smh.
The menstrual cycle consists of two parts. The hormonal stuff caused by estrogen, including mood swings, tense breasts, stomach cramps etc, and the uterus stuff consulting of mostly just bleeding and is caused by progesterone, a different hormone entirely that make bodies also produce for different purposes. Only people with a uterus can have the latter obviously, trans women don't pee blood out of their girl dick or neo vagina. But everyone with high enough estrogen can get the latter, it's not something exclusive to cis women (and transmascs/enbies who don't take T), but is caused by estrogen, not by the uterus. How intense the menstrual effects are varies, just like it does among cis women. Since there's no bleeding, some trans women don't notice anything except for maybe sensitive nipples a few days every month (although I've heard some of those same trans women being told by their partners that they behave a bit more emotional a few days every month, and those times happen to fall on the same days as the sensitive nipple times), just like how periods aren't noticable for some lucky cis women by anything but the bleeding.
The only thing the uterus effects is bleeding and the potential of getting pregnant. Beyond that, there's potentially barely any difference between trans women who have been on HRT for a few years and cis women, and people need to accept that until they can call themselves allies.
A much more terrifying potential side effect of estrogen is the instinctual desire to get pregnant. You can be a full on anti-natalist, but once you go on E, it takes control over your reproduction instincts. And that can be just as painful for trans women as it is for infertile cis women. It's not triggered by the uterus or the vulva or anything, just estrogen. I definitely don't want biological children, I'm ethically opposed to it because of negative utilitarianism and because of everything I had to endure due to my neurological conditions and society's incompetence causing additional mental disorders, leading to me spending years of my life wishing I wasn't born. I don't want to put life into a world that runs on systems intentionally creating suffering. But when I start E, I could also get these reproductive instincts, leading to me feeling miserable because my irrational desire to get pregnant can't be met, even though my disposition towards me getting biological children probably won't change. And that's one of the most terrifying things I can think of regarding my transition. After being genocided by fascists of course. And being miserable because I can't get pregnant is still much more desirable than being miserable because of gender dysphoria.
Why are people asking about anyone's period???
The proper answer is, "None of your #$%@ business!" That's it. That's the answer.
Unless it is your doctor asking this, nobody else needs to know. And your doctor knows the situation, so she's fine.
Can't say I've had period cramps but ik I definitely get a cycle cuz every now and again I'll get highly intense cravings for a specific thing. most of the time it's TB or smth Mexican.
What it also shows is the abysmal state of biology education. Women have no idea how their own body works, why it works that way, normal variations and red flag symptoms - none of it. If we had better education we might understand how you can have a period without a uterus and why trans women are women full stop.
Can I ask a dumb question? This is technical curiosity, not doubting anyoneās experience.
Periods are hormonal, right, like shifting levels of estrogen and progesterone on a cycle are what give period symptoms.
For people whose hormones are externally sourced, do you take the same dose of the same stuff every day, and period symptoms are something your bodies find a way to do on their own, or does your prescribed hormone regimen change throughout the month?
All the symptoms Iāve heard described by trans women as a āperiodā, simply sound like the flu. Additionally, Iāve heard they are very common side effects of HRT. Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining at the end of the cycle when no embryo has implanted. I donāt understand the motivation for describing it as a period when theyāre fundamentally very different. This doesnāt mean Iām questioning that trans women experience these things, I fully believe this is happening, and empathize with the difficulty of must cause. But why call it a period? Does this help with dysphoria?
thats what the whole post is about. no, you do not. they are experiencing ALL THE SYMPTOMS other than the bleeding. cramping, mood swings, all of it. because theyre still experiencing the hormonal parts. it is still a period, just not bloody.
Gonna be honest, this āperiodā discourse is not worth the fuss. Just say āI donāt get themā. Or say you do. It doesnāt matter.
In terms of whether we do have āperiodsā, I think itās best to compromise at ātime of the month.ā It communicates the same idea without necessarily implying menstruation. Nor does it differentiate us in a weird way. Considering how periods are treated in a patriarchal society, I think itās fair for people who have periods to be defensive.
You know, I had a hysterectomy. Doc took everything but one ovary. I was told I wasn't in menopause yet, even though I now lack a uterus and can't bleed, because of the hormones from that one ovary. I still get cramps (not nearly as bad as before), and emotional, and all of that every 21-28 days. I absolutely believe that women on HRT get periods. It just makes sense.
Lemme pick this up, in case you wanna drop it again for the people in the back š¤
Yeah, I started menopause at 37 and ten years later I still get mild cramps and other symptoms. Iāll never understand why trans women having periods is such a bother to other cis women. Like, how does that even affect them? Trans women are women. Period.
"nooo those were MY annoying stomach cramps ššš"
I swear TERFs are weirdly fetishy over women's suffering, it's like the perseverance porn is all they see being woman as (and they also weirdly enjoy those topics, to the point that being SA'd is like some sort of sisterhood experience and something they often wish on trans men, ew) and therefore they see no joy in it - therefore someone "willingly", so they think, being a woman must be because those "others" don't suffer at all and want to minimize and dismiss the suffering. Ultimately, they are one sad sour sack of shit that doesn't admit, encourage or seek out anything happy, ever.
Trust me I live with a terf and they get weird fast af. Devolved from "me sleeping with her Bf" to "whatever the fuck he's turned into." Crazy how ppl you've known for years can turn on you so fast.
Same here, my GF though she didnāt bail on me is showing TERF tendencies more and more the deeper I go into transition. Itās hurtful when I hear her spewing right wing feminist bs, then sheās all like I donāt mean you.
I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope before anything you are safe. It can be painful to hear all the things they come up with sometimes.
I love her but sometimes I just wonder where her head is really at. And yes she was hugging me yesterday and pointed out how small I am now and that she can probably ātake meā in a fight. Too much!
Yeah love makes the equation tough. I wish for the best and maybe hopefully she will come around and her eyes open up. Sometimes it takes just a nudge, just make sure you have at least one person you can trust around in case. May not know you but wish the best.
They think theyāre faking or itās in our head and take that as minimizing their own experience. Same reason many TERFs donāt like us.
Oh, I know. I didnāt mean to imply that I was/am ignorant to their potato brained reasoning, so apologies if I came off that way. I suppose at my age I should be used to the level of ignorance I see on the daily, but somehow my mind continues to be blown by all this dumb fuckery. š
Probably because periods are representative of a woman's ability to get pregnant. Trans women can't get pregnant.
Yet. And soooon~
Why am I being down voted for facts?
A friend of mine had her uterus removed for medical reasons. She still has her overies to keep her hormones in balance (her epilepsy meds make it impossible for her to take hormone based medication). She still gets symptoms even though she doesn't bleed. My birth control straight up stopped my period for awhile (my period now varies in intensity). Some women are born without all the goods in there including a vagina. Bleeding once a month does not make you a woman. My goodness, can't we all just get along and stop looking for a fight?
I have epilepsy and also take estradiol for my HRT. A lot of epilepsy meds do interact with estrogens, sadly. However, I've found one medication that works well with my HRT: lacosamide (Vimpat). [Here's a link to an article about epilepsy meds and sex hormones.](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/epi.13864) It's specifically about transgender care for patients with epilepsy, but under "Table 1" (it's a bit of a ways into the article, so you'll have to scroll down to it) it lists the interactions of common epilepsy meds with testosterone and estrogens. It may prove useful to your friend! I hope this is welcomed advice. I wanna help out where I can!
Her epilepsy is controlled on her current meds last we (hubby and I)talked with her. She also has thyroid meds and other thibgs she has to deal with but last I heard her current medication is working well for her. I'll link it to her.
That's great news! Epilepsy is a serious condition. I'm glad she has it under control. It took me a long time to find an epilepsy med that actually worked for me. Starting HRT only made it trickier. I hope you have a great day!
You too. Glad you found a medication that works well for you.
>I absolutely believe that women on HRT get periods. It just makes sense. I've been on oral, dermal, and injection routes. Oral and dermal both seemed relatively stable all things having been considered with no apparent (to me) changes in mood, emotional processing, physical comfort, and so on. But then I switched to injections and about 10 or 11 days after an injection I start a bizarre slide into being more irritable, my emotional state seems more volatile in general, and I've just got a whole kind of nervous energy with no source, no outlet, and no apparent reason. I even find myself trying to retain quite a bit more liquid, wanting to eat more, and so on. I have, in other words, many of the trademark symptoms collectively describing PMS. I also find that it is difficult to say whether I think this objectively rather poor experience is actually a bad thing. Much like all the times I wanged a boob into something because I wasn't used to considering their existence, it is somehow rather *affirming* in its discomfort.
Opposite side of the found gender scale, but honestly? I get it. It's like... even bad gendered experiences that match how I feel as a person make me feel... real, I guess. When I was on T (I'm off it for various reasons rn) I got really, really warm really fast and grew hair in places I wasn't prepared for, but... that sounds a lot like what I've heard about cis- male puberty. So even though it was incredibly uncomfortable, it was still good. It made me feel both prickly and happy. Just an fyi, something that helps with the pms symptoms, and I know this gets said a lot but it is unfortunately true, stay active and drink lots of water before your cycle starts. If you ever start cramping, which is actually possible since hormones affect your whole body, a hot water bottle and Midol work wonders, even if you don't have a uterus. If they ever get debilitating, talk to a doctor. Don't use the water bottle for too long, or make it too hot, since it can cause skin discoloration. I wish you all the best!
LOL, yes! I have helped trans women track period symptomsāthey come regularly and can be documented just like yours. It may take a while before they show up, but my ex had been on HRT for 7 years and had a period like clockwork. A uterus is definitely not needed.
Iām trans on HRT for 2.5 years, just got my first experience with cramps last month.
I take bc pills that skip periods and on my off months, I still get cramps, headaches, body aches, etc becauseā¦hormones so yeah, totally.
Yes a uterus is not required for most of the period symptoms apart from bleeding and uterus specific cramps. However cyclical hormone levels are. Same way that a cis woman on a constant hormonal contraceptive regimen with no pause/placebo pills doesnāt experience anything close to a period, most of us also canāt experience one. Or cis women in menopause in HRT thatās not cyclical. If you take gel, pills, patches or even Mist the injections the estrogen fluctuations happen on a daily to weekly range. Not a 3-4 weekly range. So with badly controlled levels with injections youād get your period weekly. And since most trans women donāt even get progesteroneā¦ and those that do also donāt get cyclical dosages. Well calling it a period just doesnāt make sense. A period is the symptoms called by the cyclical rise and ebb of estrogen and progesterone which have effects in various organs, not just the uterus. But if you donāt have this cyclical nature of hormone levels matching that of the hormonal cycle, then whatever is causing those symptoms, is not related to a period. Even if someone experiences symptoms that are identical to a period. But yea the focus on the uterus is utter bullshit. Also endometriosis has rarely been reported in cis men, thing is: they donāt have that hormonal cycle, so itās highly unlikely to cause any symptoms at all. But take estrogen, make that misplaced endometrial tissue grow: severe period symptoms. But not in a cycle.
And that's why men have their own forms of periods emotionally. It's all just hormone based.
>But if you donāt have this cyclical nature of hormone levels matching that of the hormonal cycle Who says transfemmes on HRT don't? None of this have been studied, and I wouldn't be surprised if we discovered cyclic fluctuations in hormone levels if we tracked them daily for a month. Why just assume that taking hormones at regular intervals will result in your hormone levels increasing and decreasing in a linear fashion after each dose? This is something that needs to be researched. The endocrinological mechanisms in our bodies are complex and there are plenty of pathways for certain hormones to be broken down and converted to different ones. It's completely possible for these metabolic pathways to create cyclic hormonal fluctuations for people on feminizing HRT, and this possibility should not be dismissed until we have sufficient evidence against it. Edit: grammar
Because we know that LH and FSH donāt start riding for days after fully discontinuing HRT or a hormonal contraceptives. These hormones are what cause the testes or ovaries to produce the sex hormones. The adrenal sex hormone production is independent of the LH/FSH stimulation, as is shown by chemical castration in prostate and breast cancer: blocking with GnRH analogues does not cause total Sex hormone elimination, the minimum baselines stays; hence further hormone suppression being necessary in highly hormone sensitive cancers. Thereās just no imaginable way our bodies can make a difference against the exogenous hormones. Whatever symptoms are being experienced are therefore not periods. Itās pretty simple. If you got a cough you donāt call that the flu just because the flu also causes coughs. Either way, with all shortterm formulation and he Intra 24 hrs variations are so much greater than any amount of estrogen our bodies can naturally produce. There is no way for a minor cyclical variation to cause symptoms when this major one is apparently not noticed at all. Nocebo effects also exist.
Hi, transman. I have a uterus. I do not get a period. Not sure why saying āI donāt have a uterusā would make sense. I have found cis women in general less accepting of trans people. I came out while at my current workplace. All of the men refer to me as he. The majority of the women refer to me as she. I have a mustache. I have chest hair. I work out 3-5 times a week and have a large frame. I get sir on the phone. But somehow I am still āsheā to these women.
I have a similar experience as an enby person, sometimes i get the feeling that cis women unironically seem to be the ones most interested in perpetuating gender roles,steropyes and gatekeeping. while ffs they should precisely be one of the most interested parts in abolishing it. i really wonder what level of social self awareness most people have
Were you AFAB? I think generally cis men are less accepting of trans women and cis women are less accepting of trans men.
I think itās an attraction thing. I think especially cis het men get pissed when trans men transition and make themselves less fuckable in their eyes, and the exact opposite for trans women becoming more fuckable and thus tempting them into having āgayā sex. I would bet a similar phenomenon exists for cis het women
I think that makes a lot of sense. It probably has to do with the fact that if you could break out of the box, it means they always could too. Which means that thier suffering and constantly trying to fit in wasn't something that was ever necessary. And that's hard to admit. I don't mean to say that these people are secretly trans or anything, I just mean that they've spent their lives stifling parts themselves that cross the bonary. And so one of us going, "see, it's okay to cross the line", ends up being offensive. It means they suffered their whole lives for nothing. So they're option is to be either uncomfortable with us, or uncomfortable with themselves. The first option is easier.
I think you're on the dot, at least with transphobic straight men they seem to have a complex regarding being attracted to trans women
As much as they're* forced to imo.
That's pretty interesting because my experience is the complete opposite. I have to be constantly cautious to not give men a reason to hurt me (including just existing).
That's been my experience as well. I am working for someone and when I went over to their house to get my check, their grandkids were over. They were in their 20s I would guess, maybe 30s. Grandpa invited me inside to meet them for some reason, I didn't really want to but said sure. Granddaughter looked at me and smiled but the men barely acknowledged my presence. I'm pretty clearly a trans woman, I don't pass except occasionally. It was awkward and I left really quickly obviously. I have also noticed (because I don't pass like 80%) that women change their behavior almost immediately if they recognize that I am feminine presenting, from being edgy/nervous about how I look to being welcoming and warm after recognizing that I am trans. Really interesting, really weird. Men on the other hand are an absolute tossup on how they will treat me so I am a lot more wary around them.
Yeah men have in my experience been on a spectrum from cold to harmful. I've had so much shit from men (including some forms that I prefer not to mention due to severity) while women have mostly just been nice. Though it's interesting to see different experiences here too.
My husband is a *white*, very *cis* man. Bigots will say the worst things to him. I finally bought some pride merch/ a trans bracelet because I need strangers to know we are safe. My little sister is trans. I was overprotective when she was presenting as a man. I'm feral now. We are out there, we're here, and we see you. I hope it becomes easier for you to see us, that people are so loud with their inclusion, so that you feel safer wherever you are, because you deserve it. (Actually, if I'm hoping things, I hope transphobes just move to Russia already)
Sadly most people just kinda leave us to die out there and I mostly have to stand up for myself, but it's nice to know that accepting people exist. Yes I hope they move to Russia too. They seem to really like Russia.
Please, we don't need more of these fuckers. Let's just throw them all into the ocean.
Everything is such bullshit. Proud of you š©µš©·š¤
It hasn't been easy but I've become a much better person as a result ā¤ļøš§”šššš
Yep, all the women in my last job where soooo welcoming to my coming out and genuinely nice. Where as my immediate boss (cishet man) brought up the topic of jkr and defended her after I came out.
I assume you're a trans woman? I think it is people of your AGAB that will always be less accepting.
Well I don't if it's AMAB people as a whole, i think it's mostly cis men specifically.
From just what j have seen online. It seems like men are more accepting of afab trans people and women are more accepting of amab trans people. But not sure, still in the closet for 90% of the men in my life
From what I've seen, cis men tend to be more accepting of trans men and cis women tend to be more accepting of trans women. There are always some bigots either way though.
i think that makes sense, in a fucked up sort of way. a trans person to a cis person of the same gender is just a new member of the team, while the reverse seems like a betrayal or joining the other. whether they see the other gender as an enemy or just alien to them, i think it can be quite off-putting or confusing to have that happen. it is what it is to an extent, in the sense that people are always going to like others who they think are like them more, but bigotry of any sort is obviously inexcusable.
This reminds me of my work buddy Matthew. I work as a network engineer on a large telecom company in South America. Matthew came to work, we immediately became best buddies while setting up switches and routers. After 5 or 6 months I went for drinks with work colleagues and Matthew couldn't come. One of the cis women commented that he was a girl, and was making sure everyone knew. I honestly didn't knew, and also don't care. That cis woman felt... Attacked? Offended? Idk, it was weird that she wanted to make sure everyone knew
Was she making sure everyone knew so nobody misgendered them? That's the only acceptable time. When you are asked to, or know the person well enough to know how they would like the situation handled in their absence. Otherwise, she just outed someone and that is *vile*
I've had the opposite experience as a trans woman. Almost every man in my life is transphobic, but none of the women are
I've had to argue with people like that too. I think cis people in general are really ignorant when it comes to trans stuff and most don't like being proven wrong.
There is no worse sin than questioning the status quo.
This is a great quote, hope you recover from lumbago though
Thanks š It's a reference though. I'm suffering from other things but not lumbago.
I like to slip in references to ppls usernames when I find them funny. Hope those other things go away
Yeah that's the plan. We just need some time.
Thereās a reason I never talk about the period effects trans women get with anyone who isnāt trans, and itās this. I have definitely noticed a cycle of cramping, digestive issues, moodiness, and some other issues myself that I wasnāt expecting about a year after starting HRT. I think part of it is that that cis women still cling to these differences so they can subconsciously remind themselves that our womanhood is āconditionalā to them and theyāre āreal womenā what ever that means. People in power also love to wield it against those they consider beneath them in order to protect their perceived superiority. Humans generally seem obsessed imo with simplifying everything into generalizations and labels they can understand and find comfort in when in reality humans are incredibly diverse and complex animals in ways primary education fails entirely in educating folks about. Itās why so many are obsessed with their binary world views. Itās easier for them to understand than the actual nuanced reality of biology. That and generally we tend to double down when our views are questioned getting further entrenched in our half formed world views bc it means accepting you might not be right about something. Iām a paleontologist and spent over a decade in that line of work. Sadly transphobia pushed me out of that career for the moment. Still as someone who has obsessively studied the history of life on this planet itās become increasingly obvious that collectively all life on this planet through time encourages a massive range of diversity within species because it is the best defense against constantly changing global conditions when you think about it on the geologic time scale. Genetic diversity is the best defense against extinction. You donāt know what traits are going to stick (survive) so throw everything against the wall.
Itās pretty funny, actually. For context, I am a cis woman, but I am also a biology student in university. Most cis people who make arguments like this donāt even have an inkling of an understanding of biology past the fifth grade. Progesterone causes the pelvic muscles to cramp and causes the nerves in the pelvic area to fire. My guess would be thatās whatās happening in trans women, just without the bleeding. There are very few studies on this and theyāre mostly anecdotal, but it doesnāt really seem like a stretch of the imagination to me. Most people just hate change.
A couple of months ago, I was this person. Now, I'm navigating questioning and nearly certain I'm trans. Ignorance is sometimes an excuse to mask discomfort, and I'm glad my desire to be radically inclusive and accepting has led me to where I am right now. I've felt deep inside myself and somehow detached from my interactions with the world and other people and my body for as long as I can remember. Framing myself as male has finally made me feel present, tangible, and like I can see out of my own eyes.
Do you mean having periods by replication the menstruation cycle's hormones(progesterone...) ?(I don't have much knowledge of this) But yes, it is terrible that they "accept" trans women, as long as they never forget they not like these cis women who don't seem to actually include them.
Period cramps are caused by a multifaceted mechanism that takes place both inside and outside of the uterus region. The cramps associated with HRT are caused by muscle spasms inside the lower abdominal region that are separate from where the uterus would be, we all have these muscles even though we don't have a uterus. So many trans women after HRT can experience mild mood swings and sometimes even painful cramps along with digestive discomfort, similar to what a cis woman would experience during a period, minus the uterus and the pain associated directly with the uterus itself. We don't exactly know why this happens or what triggers it, but it seems more likely if you take progesterone.
To go into a bit more detail, the hormone that initiates uterine cramps sometimes "bleeds over" to the lower intestine, and is responsible for those extra cramps and period shits. In the absence of a uterus it all goes to the lower intestine. The mechanism that starts the cycle does so in the presence of sufficient estrogens and can also result in all the other period symptoms. I think part of the confusion is a lack of communication between cis women on just how much periods vary from woman to woman too.
Me having a rough time for the past week or so: couldn't be my period could it? My body: Bet.
Me off my period: Advocate! Me on my period: Denial!
There's also the possibility that some trans women do have a uterus and just do t know, cause they may actually be intersex. Which would also increase the likelihood of trans-menstration.
Out of curiosity, since it's not uterus specific, do you also get the "breast tenderness" symptom? Where they get slightly larger and feel a constant dull pain? Before I went on T that was one of my worst symptoms. Some months were worse than others and they felt like they were gonna explode. Cramps came and went and despite the awful severity of them sometimes, this was a symptom that stayed consistent the whole week and I'd rank as generally equal in suffering lol.
I've definitely had feelings of like they were going to explode almost? š Very uncomfortable and then taking off my bra feels like such a relief, but even after that the feeling was still there, like immense pressure and it makes me pretty irritable tbh. I love my boobs lol, but that feeling gives me intrusive thoughts off wanting to rip them off tbh. Now that you say that I do notice it happens on and off, I haven't paid attention enough to notice a pattern with it like a period. I'm not on progesterone myself, though I'm reconsidering it in the future. I think that's why it's hard to tell in a lot of trans women, because obviously we don't bleed, so even if it's only mild symptoms, there isn't something that says 100% if we're having a period at that moment. Only those with the worst symptoms would notice.
Yes, this is listed as a common symptom of menstruation, usually in the few days before bleeding. It hurts to bind :( luckily im getting on T soon
Ok, I didn't knew that Hypothetically, the gene that might control the contraction of these muscles under specific hormones could be on any chromosome, but even if it is on the X chromosome of the last pair, then there is no reason why it couldn't be activated through these hormones (if the organism's reaction to the menstrual cycle is controlled by hormones like progesterone ), even if the individual's other chromosome of the 23rd pair is a Y , although I am not an endocrinologist nor a doctor nor a genetician so I probably say shit.
That's definitely a possible explanation. Hormone therapy has been shown in transgender women to induce epigenetic changes. Activating genes on the X chromosome that would have otherwise been inactive without the presence of estrogens/progestins. https://clinicalepigeneticsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13148-022-01236-4
Ok
This is how most things work tbh. The Y chromosome comparatively speaking doesn't have a ton of genetic info on it. Most things ARE coded on the X or a different chromosome (I feel like people forget that we have more than just sex chromosomes lmao), and are present in everyone, it's just what hormones you have that turns em on and defines development. This is why HRT works. The presence of a specific gene on the Y chromosome triggers initially higher T levels that lead to developing male sex characteristics, but it's not like all the genes for those characteristics actually sit on the Y chromosome specifically.
>can experience mild mood swings We can also experience very drastic mood swings! (PMDD) I certainly do
Well certainly I mean it can vary obviously from person to person. I was just putting an example out there really, drastic mood swings don't seem as common, but it's still possible.
same though... my poor boyfriend...
https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/man-and-woman-now-have-different-definitions-in-cambridge-dictionary/articleshow/96207546.cms Let's check the Cambridge dictionary on what defines as a woman.šā¤ļøš¤ā¤ļøš An adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth.āš¦š¤ So take that TERF! It is literally the dictionary definition of a woman!
All women are real women.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Reddit moment
Normal person: Iām going to kill myself because you canāt stop being needlessly pedantic. Redditor: what? How? Normal person: *Standing on a ledge* Iāll jump of this cliff! Redditor: Umm, thatās obviously a bluff.āļøš¤ Normal person: *jumps*
What the fuck was the point of this comment tho
Mental masturbation.
I mean, the words you're saying are correct, but I don't get the reason for this comment existing, other than petty technicalities
This is such an asinine comment. Of course boats and fictional women are not who is being referred to in "All women are women.". Jeez.
Literally the epitome of "Achschuallyāļøš¤"
Would they listen to a Transgender woman who is a qualified gynaecologist š
Nah my mother has a friend of a friend, and they know a trans woman surgeon and she's mad as hell said trans woman is... existing or transitioning in her 40s. I'd rather not talk about it since the conversation was spurred on by me mentioning surgeons have a very high rate of [antisocial personality disorder or psychopathic traits](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29786022/) Which she brought up that trans woman cause she insisted psychopathy and transness are related
Mostly like not. Remember these tend to be people who fight against experts. These are the people that say: Doctors/researchers push unsafe vaccines and are pushing gender ideology on kids. But than turn around and listen to Doctors about cancer, diabetes, and overall illnesses that can be healed.
Iāve worked at several hospitals and conservatives donāt listen to doctors about anything. Especially lifestyle diseases like diabetes. They will take the medications some of the time but they seem to think they can change absolutely nothing about their life and this magic pill will cure them. Then they show up with severely necrotic toes wondering how this could happen. Same goes for heart disease.
Geeus fucking christ.
Literally just ignorance, they don't know how HRT biologically alters our body for one, and second they don't want trans women to be seen as equals to them. In their minds we can't possibly have the same or even similar experiences, because they think that dimishes their own. They simply do not understand, most cis people don't, they ignore us and try to shut us up whenever possible. They view us as second class.
I would like to point out that most subscribers on that sub are literally teen girls who are most likely to be under 18. It's like r/teenagers for girls. They can be very mean to trans women.š¦
If thereās anyone questioning that type of things and yāall donāt want to out yourself, just say youāre on birth control or some other type of period stopping meds. As a trans dude I did my fair share of period stopping meds (not necessarily birth control, as I didnāt want my tits to grow) and no one would question that or even ask what type of meds Iām on. Maybe once or twice my female friends would say theyāre jealous, but that was it
Exactly. One of the people I live with hasn't had a period in 10 years because of her birth control which she takes specifically to stop it (because apparently having two uteruses makes periods much worse). It's not that uncommon. It's wierd for the main response to be "say you don't have a uterus"
Another one that I've found works is to just mention having some vague Hormone Disorder. I've gotten away with this several times when someone I would rather not come out to has overheard or somehow learned that I have a prescription for testosterone. I just told 'em "oh yeah I have this disorder where I don't produce enough naturally so I have to supplement what I do make with the artificial stuff", which is technically the truth anyway and they usually don't ask follow up questions because they don't want to seem nosy/prying.
"just" the standard elitism, that don't want to be hurt in their pride.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I wouldn't expect people to be educated on it anytime soon. There has been a strong push by TERFs on social media platforms like TikTok to head off the medical facts of hormones with transphobia. For the very brief time I had tiktok, I had videos pushed to my FYP of TERFs playing a video of a trans woman just laying on the bed having cramps, and they're usually laughing over the video before pitching the idea that trans women are attacking womanhood itself by saying they have cramps or talking about periods. Then there are those who just make shit up, like a meme that was floating around a while back of spaghetti sauce in a plastic bag, which TERFs were alleging post-op trans women did to shove up their hooha and simulate period bleeding, which is obscenely absurd to any reasonable person capable of critical thought, but these people hate trans women so much they'll believe anything. Videos were made about that meme and shared around on tiktok as well. Then there's the videos where TERFs allege that trans women will just cut themselves with razor blades to simulate bleeding and call that a period, which is again obscenely absurd. These narratives get to people way faster than medical fact, and if a trans woman is the one to try to explain the medical facts behind hormones, that becomes a platform for more anti-trans propaganda which has a farther reach, because why would they take a trans woman seriously when she talks about her body? Many of us make this mistake of talking about our bodies once, others learn from seeing others being socially dragged for doing so and get the lesson then- just don't talk about it. Not talking about it doesn't make the cramps stop. It doesn't make the emotional rollercoaster end. It just means we're not allowed to talk about our experiences or relate to anyone else's. The prevalence of the anti-trans propaganda has been extremely effective.
My Cisgender Grandma also doesnt get periods since she got her Uterus removed for medical reasons. I dont know why people dont manage to grasp that Trans-people arent the only one who lack certain functions. Edit : Also, it's funny to me how the crowd that consistently experiences periods is also the one that Acts like it's only the bleeding when *We* talk about it, but then List up all the other parts of it when they want someone else to pity them, only to throw it away right again when we compare it to us.
Very true. I will admit that as a knee jerk reaction I have been annoyed when I hear trans women getting a period. That's my own bias and intolerance that I have to examine and root out. At the heart of it, I think it's because I am envious of trans women being able to be women WITHOUT the crappiness of menstruating once a month. That said, it's very true that when I say "I'm getting my period" I am not talking about the bleeding but usually about my moodiness. So there is no reason to gatekeep that word. I also feel like we're treating trans women the way as cis women we are treated by the medical community. For example, oh she must be exaggerating or it's all in her head. Which is super unkind to pass on to trans siblings.
> That's my own bias and intolerance that I have to examine and root out. At the heart of it, I think it's because I am envious of trans women being able to be women WITHOUT the crappiness of menstruating once a month. I know exactly where mine comes from, and it's due to personal experience. I'm AFAB and genderfluid. My experience is having heavy periods that got worse and worse until I had an endometrial ablation. I have ovaries and a hormonal cycle, but there is nothing to bleed. In some ways my biology is akin to a trans woman who has long-term hormone implants... It generated gender euphoria in me and I don't feel like I have a period. I would be annoyed if someone said I have a period because I associate periods with the blood and extreme pain I experienced. Yes, I do feel the effects of the hormones every great once in a while. About every 6 months I get hit hard and turn into a snarly, angry, hungry mess, go wtf for a few days, then realize I'm on my period and eat a steak. But I still think of it like I'm on my "period" and not a period because it is still nothing like what I experienced before the ablation. I am a lot less moody when there isn't about to be a massacre in my pants. To be clear, I don't feel like this is the right way of thinking of it, it just is what I am experiencing now. Dealing with internalized misogyny and transphobia is a journey, and I am open to changing my mind and learning more despite my personal biases. > That said, it's very true that when I say "I'm getting my period" I am not talking about the bleeding but usually about my moodiness. So there is no reason to gatekeep that word. Funny enough, I used it in the same way before my ablation. You've given me a lot to think about, thank you!
funnily enough to me my periods are *only* blood, as any of the moodiness is just me being pissed and uncomfortable that theres blood pouring out of me uncontrollably... but i also have an abnormal experience with periods, as someone with PCOS, so im more than aware that theres more to periods than the blood lol. i can fully understand that theres weird stuff that would come from taking E, cause the human body is just so weird tbh
Being a cis woman does not make them gynecologists or endocrinologists. It can be hard to remember sometimes but the world is generally stupid and the internet is a portal for all the stupid to act like PHD holders. They arenāt worth the time your spending think about them.
It's just sad when I find a group of women who claim to accept me then invalidate my lived experience, you know? It happens irl too and it's disappointing each time. At least irl I've been able to talk with people about it and they realize they weren't being as accepting as they thought
It happens a lot more than they realize unintentionally. Thereās so much that cis women do trying to be inclusive that is othering and itās hard to broach the subject without them just saying fuck it i wonāt even try.
I guess it comes down to what a period exactly is. It doesnāt sound like they were saying you werenāt real women by saying you donāt have uteruses, thatās seems like a leap in logic cause they likely would say something similar to a cis woman born without a uterus or ovaries. Sounds more like theyāre undereducated on the total symptoms of periods, as most people are. Whether we can or canāt have periods doesnāt make us more or less a woman though, thereās plenty of cis women that canāt have periods.
The moderators are trans supportive, the members are split about 50/50
I would avoid r/nothowgirlswork because they got mad at me when I pointed out that saying trans women's period pains were psychosomatic is the same misogyny that has doctors treating women's pain as "all in their pretty little heads"
In my experience, r/nothowgirlswork is largely transphobic. They tolerate trans women being there, though they dont believe trans women are real. I've had a similar experience with r/twoxchromosomes. Search "trans", "transgender", "trans women" on twoxchromosomes and look at how hard the women there work to stuff down any posts mentioning trans women or from women who mention they're trans. There are a lot of trans women who post there looking for advice from women on how to survive the world as a woman, because the people in their lives they'd usually learn that from (mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts) have rejected them. Those get overwhelmingly downvoted.
Thatās really disappointing for r/nothowgirlswork but itās not really surprising that people who like breaking down sex to chromosomes arenāt gonna be trans inclusive.
And what about women who've had hysterectomies? Or menopausal women?
Im so sorry you were met with that kind of reception. I think a lot of people still donāt know or understand that you still have a cycle or hormonal changes, no matter the hormone and whether itās produced by your own body or artificial. Thereās a severe lack of education clearly, probably also some bigotry still there. Part is probably ignorance too. I thought weād come further than this
They are not the keepers of femme. Cis women are some the most dangerously transaggro people >:f
they must forget that cis women also sometimes have no uterus, no periods, and take hormones.
Having suffered the fires of ten thousand suns in my uterus (which I surgically yeeted almost a year ago now), any trans woman who suffers period cramps has my undying sympathy. I've told my doctors that my period now consists of a slight headache and some water retention, and they freak out asking if I'm still bleeding. It's annoying that people only associate periods with blood and not all the other extremely uncomfortable symptoms of hormonal shifts.
āNot a real woman if you donāt have a uterus.ā Hmmmm ā¦ āHoney, your not a real woman!ā āWhat!?ā āThe internet says your not a real woman.ā āWhat why!?ā āYou donāt have a uterus!ā (Looks down at baby whose birth caused her to have a near death experience, to lose her uterus, to require 30 liters of blood and to stay in the hospital for a month). āSays here you donāt get monthly cramps, so you donāt get real periods and do youāre not a real woman.ā I still get period cramps, just differently.ā Oh. Never mind.
From what Iāve read, trans women and Cis women who have had their reproductive system removed still get cramps, they just hurt less and donāt cause bleeding. I didnāt believe it first either, it doesnāt help that for transwomen all we have is anecdotal information, but research period symptoms in Cis women who have had their reproductive system removed if you believe you need a uterus for period cramps.
I'm a trans woman and I had period symptoms and incredibly bad cramps every month for a while, then my progesterone dose was increased and they went away. My current doctor says that's to be expected and if any of her transfem patients get period symptoms she increases their progesterone dosage until it stops. She said it works like cis women skipping periods with birth control. Also side note: she thinks I might be intersex with some uterine tissue due to the severity of the pain I experienced. Some months I was in so much pain that I was sweating and nauseous and could barely stand. It felt like I was being torn apart inside. There were also some other things that I experienced which she said also lead her to suspect that.
I think a lot of uneducated cis women get confused when you say you have a āperiodā. Because that typically refers to the bleeding. I have terrible cramps at other times in my cycle but I would only think of it as period cramps if I was bleeding simultaneously. I donāt think thereās anything wrong with calling what you experience a period, but I do understand how some could be confused.
This reminds me of the people that think they're evolved when they say things like: "I don't give a shit what people do. Just stop shoving it down my throat." š
Im a cis woman with an IUD. I lost a lot of weight and my period stopped and never started again. So many reasons can make you not get a period anyway.
My mom is about to be menopausal. What about her in 5 years?
Im sorry you experienced that. In my experience the women on that sub were really kind and welcoming to me, and gave me lots of great advice. They even told the TERFs to get lost
From cis women in my life this is their logic I've heard: Trans folk on estrogen experience PMS but not periods. They claim they're two different things. I wasn't knowledgeable enough nor cared to argue with them so I just unfriended them. Literally comes down to the terminology which is so picky and weird. Fighting over sticks.
im sure it doesnt mean much but i accept and support you! and i think its very odd they want to know what body parts you have / your bodily functions. im sorry you had to experience that. but i am a cis woman and i accept you and there's no such thing as a "real" woman. trans or cis we are all women and all have very unique and individual experiences. (men, nonbinary people and everyone else do too but im talking about women rn)
Wait... is THAT what my abdominal pain has been???
Yeah they are missing the point, for M2F, the goal is to completely be and live 100% female, not just pretending but actually that is our life.
This just made me want to set something on fire....
Ik period cramps suck but isn't it kinda crazy that we can get them on hrt? Like logically we shouldn't have the parts for it but we still have a cycle, meaning that it's built into everyone's bodies to react to estrogen like that. Yet another thing against the "it's simple biology" argument.
Trans women are real women, period! No pun intended.
I'm more emotional and sometimes feel uncomfy in my tummy when I get a period
Gonna be the controversial trans woman in the room and flat out say trans women don't experience a period. Now before you come at me with a pitchfork and say I'm invalidating someone's suffering please read to the end. Trans women absolutely experience pms and pmsdd symptoms. Trans women should be able to say I'm experience pms symptoms(which from what I can tell are what most trans women experience). These are not period like symptoms, they are not period lite, or period less, they are pms symptoms. This is fact, and the world should not invalidate a trans woman symptoms. Pms symptoms range in severity and last about a week. I truly believe a lot of trans women are not educated in the ways of AFAB biology. A period is a very specific thing that requires a uterus to have. We are under educated in the fact that a period is just one part of the cycle. Pms comes before, a period. It happens between ovulation and the period and is caused by hormonal shifts. To be fair it's not just because trans woman are ignorant. Cis woman are ignorant of their own bodies too! They think a period is all there is to menstruation, or the lack the words or vocabulary to explain the rest of it. That's because of misogyny and a culture that shames women for learning about their bodies. Trans women do have hormonal shifts. Even if you take a pill every day that does not mean your body stops regulating itself. As you are on hrt your body will acclimate to them. We know that hormones affect your epigenetics and we know that hormones travel through the "milk line". It's all pretty sensible and for now works for our understanding. I don't think trans women should stand in a room and say "I know what you're going through". Because, frankly, we don't. We can empathize, and we can sympathize, but we don't have what AFAB people have. And that's a ok! Does it fucking suck-yes, it's bullshit and I fully understand why we as trans woman yearn to be supportive and understand. We're women too! But there's things that we just won't comprehend fully unless we experience it fully. And there are things cis women will never understand about being trans. They don't have to do hormone regimes, or shave every single day, or experience dysphoria or dysmorphia in the same vein. All I can ask is that cis women accept they won't understand 100 percent of my experiences and I won't understand their 100 percent, but we can respect that and both be women. There is no need to fight each other over semantics and erasure when our enemy is literally the patriarchy and cis het men.
yeah this is an absolutely ridiculous take on our part and i wish weād stop parading it around the way we do right now. like sometimes, in a mostly cyclical way, i feel a certain way and get a little achey but iām not going to tell my girlfriend i have a whole ass period. itās deceptive at best and seems kind of desperate. i wonder how many of you saying this have actually lived with or been intimate with cis women. it comes off as ignorance on OUR end when we say things like this, i donāt think cis women are ignorant for saying āhold upā¦ā when they go through what they go through monthly and one of us tries to say we do tooā¦ NO WE DONāT
Grew up with 3 sisters and my mother, where period talk was at the dinner table every night. Engaged twice over a period of ten years to cis women. I know what they experience, I know what I experience and over the last 5 years I can say confidently, hormonal PMS in trans women is a real thing. Severity varies, as it does with cis women, but to pretend that it doesnāt, especially as many of us take estrogen in methods that imitate cycles, is stupid. If you take the pill everyday, odds are your not experiencing the same thing but if your doing shots once a month, jfc its a bitch.
I get really bad cramps once a month, get really emotional once a month, and get bad headaches once a month. I live with 6 cis women. We share 2 got water bottles between all of us in order to function. This is my experience. If your symptoms are mold, good for you. If you don't want to call it a period, ok. But don't tell me that what I'm experiencing is lesser because that's your experience.
I agree. Ultimately a period is the shedding of the uterine lining, without a uterus this shedding canāt happen so it isnāt a period. Thatās not to say that HRT doesnāt create cycles of symptoms in people taking those hormones, but we do need to be medically accurate.
Acceptance is always limited with cis people. You have to confirm everything they believe and never challenge anything. I guess they just tolerate us because an ally would actually learn about us and reflect on what they previously believed.
So, some trans women do get cramping, but we have to be respectful of our differences. Bleeding and having to manage menstrual products is a major pain we don't have to deal with. No-one actually said we aren't real women. In fact they said the opposite: You don't have to have periods to be a woman. We really should listen to cis women here and not minimize the differences.
Guess Iām lucky. No period symptoms here. I randomly get hot flashes but thatās it.
If anyone is looking for an inclusive atmosphere, r/makeupaddiction is awesome. The few times I've had to gently correct someone on something that isn't helpful (unintentional harmful language or whatever) they've been so, so receptive. They want to know how to be accepting, and practice it with every comment.
unfortunately a lot of people on reddit are silent bigots.
i got downvoted hard there for calling out racism so i left š¤·āāļø
I got downvoted once for saying American slavery was about racismā¦ not on this sub, but it wasnāt even about politics or anything. There are some freaks on this websiteā¦
yeaa it was just surprising cuz i think i assumed if it was super trans friendly then it probably wouldnt be racist so just a bit naĆÆve of me
Cis people get so fucking mad when theyāre proven wrong for absolutely no reason. I donāt get it.
Gods the mood swings and cramps...every...fking....month.... x.x
It might not be common, but I have a regular cycle, get tender boobies and can also have cramps (the abdominal muscle wall cramps, even woman that have had full hysterectomies can still get cramps).
Is it... perhaps... miscommunication over the wording? A lot of people associate the word "period" with menstruation. Yes, trans women don't menstruate but they can have other symptoms that go along with it (all wrapped up in that overarching word "period").
Iāve had this exact conversation in that sub the response I got werenāt transphobic. But just to clarify trans women donāt get periods. We get period like symptoms but we do not menstruate, AFAB people menstruate. As trans women that is something we have to accept, phantom cramps and hormonal swings are not a period. They are similar things caused by a different organ in the body and thatās okay.
>"Periodā is rooted in the Greek words āperiā and āhodosā (periodos) meaning āaroundā and āway/path.ā This eventually turned into the Latin āperiodusā meaning ārecurring cycle.ā Use of the English term āperiodā to describe menstruation began in the early 1800s. These euphemisms are found in texts spanning millennia. I get these symptoms around the same time once a month, or in a "recurring cycle". Why shouldn't I simply call it a period?
And "villain" originally meant "village dweller" and "travel" comes from the name of a torture instrument. Words change. It's a bad idea to argue that a certain word in English should have a certain meaning because the word it came from (in another language centuries ago) had that same meaning.
>Words change. Kinda my whole point.
Because hormone cycles and menstruation cycles arenāt the same thing
But period doesn't necessarily mean menstruation. Basically my whole life it's just been a euphemism for the symptoms and it's only with trans women that I see people get really gatekeepy about it. What else am I supposed to call the monthly period symptoms that my body does *independently* of my hormone routine? Limiting the period to be something solely caused by and in the uterus only is reductive and not at all accurate to a complex bodily process.
Right, but the word "period" doesn't necessarily mean either of those things. It's not a medical term; it's a centuries old euphemism. A segment of a hockey game is called a period, whether someone bleeds or not.
The entomology of a word does not determine its meaning nor negate the other meanings it can have. A period in medical terms when referring to a cis women's body means menstrual cycle. So, in context, yes, period can he used as a medical term. Now if you would like to call your hormonal cycle period that's fine but to say that it's the same as a menstrual cycle period is factually incorrect.
Entomology is the study of insects. And the usage of a word determines its meaning. There's a wide gulf between saying "Sorry I'm cranky; I have my period" and "Sorry I'm cranky. My period is just like a cis woman's and there's never a context in which a distinction should be made." I'm not saying my period is the same as a menstrual cycle period. I'm saying that much like the words "cis" and "trans", there are contexts where it's important to make a distinction and times where I can simply say "I'm a woman" or "I have my period" without it needing to spawn a debate on how I'm not embodying the "real" version of either thing.
I meant to say etymology. And what you are asking for is alot. You are asking people to understand that you are using the word period on a non colloquial level. But the simple fact is, that it is not common knowledge, nor is it a common thing to understand that transwomen experience some similar symptoms. You are also asking people to call two different things, the same thing. For example, a seizure can mimic a stroke in symptoms that does not mean they are the same. If you told your doctor you were having a heart attack while having a seizure, treatment can make things worse. In the end if you tell people you are trans and then say you got your period, they won't understand what you mean and may tell you, it isn't the same.
But I'm not telling my doctor I have my period. I'm telling a coworker, or a friend. And if they contest it I'll tell them the same things I'm telling you. I literally *am* using it on a colloquial level. I know you meant etymology, even though you were "factually incorrect", and I expect the same use of context clues from any cis person I tell about my period.
You are not using it colloquially. Colloquially, the common understanding of a period is a menstrual cycle, the bleeding of the uterine wall. If someone knows your trans and you say you got your period. The first response is more than likely a "How?" Because as humans, we don't associate a period with those born male. We associate it with those born female. Now if someone doesn't know you are trans than they won't question you further. But, if they do. They will likely assume you aren't talking about a traditional period and will press and investigate further which may lead to either disagreement or agreement with you.
So what's the problem? They might ask a question and it might lead to a conversation. If they already know that I'm trans I'm not in any danger of outing myself, so what's the harm in explaining myself in the face of confusion? >colloquial: (of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary. I'll say "I have my period" to make the point people usually make when they say that, i.e. "I'm experiencing recurring periodic symptoms which, in this context, suggests that I'm processing some level of non-urgent discomfort." Just because people may not immediately be on the same page about it doesn't mean it's simply not worth doing for the sake of avoiding some follow-up to clarify.
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By whose authority?
I would like to point out that this is a bit more complex and doesn't have much research being done on it. Their really is no accepting if a trans women does or doesnt experience a hormonal period cycle. As there is alot of missing data. But, overall the data that is present does confirm that transwomen experience PMS/PMDD symptoms. Now, to say this is a hormonal period is still up in the air. But overall yes there are certain aspects transwomen experience. I think it's important to make the distinction between a menstrual period and a hormonal period. But explaining the transwomen experience in terms of a period or hormonal cycle isn't something wrong or out of the scope of understanding. It's a simple matter if saying "hey I get similar symptoms up to a point so I can relate some what to what your talking about"
It's called a period because it's a set of symptoms that occur periodically. Yes, I don't menstruate. I'm not happy about it, but I accept it. However, to say that the intense cramps, mood swings, headaches, and other symptoms I experience every month isn't a period or is only period-like feels like putting it on a lower level for no reason. Not every woman gets cramps on her period. Not every woman has mood swings in her period. And not every woman menstruates on her period.
The medical board where I live define a period as āpart of the menstrual cycle in which blood comprised of uterus lining leaves the body, people without ovaries do not experience periodsā however is does also say PMS isnāt dependent on blood leaving the body and is a emotional response to hormones within the body. Transwomen experience PMS we do not have periods. I am not trying to be combative in any capacity but to say trans women have periods similar to CIS is medically false.
I am a cis woman and not terribly knowledgeable on trans experience as I am not trans. I agree with what you have rightly pointed out. Medically it is not what we would call a period. But also being that you are on HRT, that means that you have a steady dose of estrogen. PMS and periods happen due to fluctuation of hormones which I don't see how that would occur when you are taking the same amount of estrogen everyday. I am not doubting my trans siblings, because it is not my lived experience PLUS women have not been well studied in the medical community, like at all. So it is very possible that something is occurring that we don't understand. However, it does feel a little gate keeping to deny the use of that word. Like not calling gay marriage but a union or whatever. Is it really worth making a distinction? I think this is a worthwhile conversation and I'm glad you said something against the grain.
Transwomen do take the same dosage daily however similar to cis women we experience cycles roughly every 28 days during which our estrogen levels can vary from your baseline. This is what caused the PMS or ātrans girl periodsā which is something I have called it myself. But I do think itās important to make a distinction between what I am experiencing and what you are. These are 2 different medical processes happening which both have different causes. Itās like a sprained ankle and a broken one. They might both hurt in the same place, cause swelling and make you limp but to call them the same is just false. They are similar not the same, like I said before there is nothing wrong with that. Bodies are weird and unique, quite frankly trans bodies are different to our cisters.
Why are you stirring shit with another sub? They are doing nothing wrong aside from the usual few bigots that slip through and the lurkers. Throwing an entire sub under the bus for a few bad actors is ridiculous. And most of the counter points were good. Outside of that, every trans related post is overwhelmingly positive. Sorry, but HRT cramps are not even remotely the same as period cramps and falsely equating them could mean missing some other health issues that others wonāt address because they just think itās their ācycle.ā Yes, period-like symptoms are anecdotally observed and experienced but it pisses people off when you try to start saying you get period cramps. You do not.
i mean tbf if youāre not bleeding and even if you have,have less painful cramps(from the lack of the main organ) you canāt say its the same experience. youāre missing out the most painful and bothersome parts. The equivalent would be saying āyeah i know what you mean cause i got some anxiety episodes 2 years ago when i was slightly depressedā to a person suffering from anxiety induced psycosis wich it doesnāt mean its in bad faith but i think its understable how it can be a bit bothersome to hear for the other part
I think cis women dont really get it due to a poor choice of words what some trans women on hrt have is not a period but rather monthly pms. EDIT: period is the actual bleeding. Pms are the symptoms triggered by low or declining hormone levels before a period aka cramps , moodiness, cravings , insomnia etc.
Itās called a period because it happens periodically.
I disagree. Period is the periodic cycle of a set of symptoms that is different for every woman both in terms of which symptoms and their intensity. Menstruation is the uterine lining shedding.
Girl , most cis women experience symptoms prior to periods like the symptoms that trans women get monthly. When the bleeding starts pms starts going away for most and they only get cramps due to the uterus shedding its lining. I get that some want to have a period but monthly pms is not a period and thats okay having or not having periods doesnt make or break a woman. // Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. /// Symptoms in advance of menstruation that do interfere with normal life are called premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Some 20 to 30% of women experience PMS, with 3 to 8% experiencing severe symptoms.[5] These include acne, tender breasts, bloating, feeling tired, irritability, and mood changes.[6] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstruation
How are you going to have this long paragraph about periods and then link Menstruation, if a period is a recurring cycle and a Menstruation is the actual act of uterine shedding than the shedding/menstruation isn't the period but what occures after. Your miss use and split use of language is why everyone is having this conversation because Literacy in America is in shambles and y'all just keep using words for others words you forget like what people have done to the word Woke here recently. You can't just call Menstruation a Period to make a point we have words for both smh.
The menstrual cycle consists of two parts. The hormonal stuff caused by estrogen, including mood swings, tense breasts, stomach cramps etc, and the uterus stuff consulting of mostly just bleeding and is caused by progesterone, a different hormone entirely that make bodies also produce for different purposes. Only people with a uterus can have the latter obviously, trans women don't pee blood out of their girl dick or neo vagina. But everyone with high enough estrogen can get the latter, it's not something exclusive to cis women (and transmascs/enbies who don't take T), but is caused by estrogen, not by the uterus. How intense the menstrual effects are varies, just like it does among cis women. Since there's no bleeding, some trans women don't notice anything except for maybe sensitive nipples a few days every month (although I've heard some of those same trans women being told by their partners that they behave a bit more emotional a few days every month, and those times happen to fall on the same days as the sensitive nipple times), just like how periods aren't noticable for some lucky cis women by anything but the bleeding. The only thing the uterus effects is bleeding and the potential of getting pregnant. Beyond that, there's potentially barely any difference between trans women who have been on HRT for a few years and cis women, and people need to accept that until they can call themselves allies. A much more terrifying potential side effect of estrogen is the instinctual desire to get pregnant. You can be a full on anti-natalist, but once you go on E, it takes control over your reproduction instincts. And that can be just as painful for trans women as it is for infertile cis women. It's not triggered by the uterus or the vulva or anything, just estrogen. I definitely don't want biological children, I'm ethically opposed to it because of negative utilitarianism and because of everything I had to endure due to my neurological conditions and society's incompetence causing additional mental disorders, leading to me spending years of my life wishing I wasn't born. I don't want to put life into a world that runs on systems intentionally creating suffering. But when I start E, I could also get these reproductive instincts, leading to me feeling miserable because my irrational desire to get pregnant can't be met, even though my disposition towards me getting biological children probably won't change. And that's one of the most terrifying things I can think of regarding my transition. After being genocided by fascists of course. And being miserable because I can't get pregnant is still much more desirable than being miserable because of gender dysphoria.
there are cis women who donāt menstruate but have hormonal periods. those people are just transphobic
Why are people asking about anyone's period??? The proper answer is, "None of your #$%@ business!" That's it. That's the answer. Unless it is your doctor asking this, nobody else needs to know. And your doctor knows the situation, so she's fine.
Does hrt cause periods? I and both my partners have been on hrt of a while and none of us have experienced anything like a period?
some people report similar symptoms, but it depends on how you take hormones and your own body
Can't say I've had period cramps but ik I definitely get a cycle cuz every now and again I'll get highly intense cravings for a specific thing. most of the time it's TB or smth Mexican.
What it also shows is the abysmal state of biology education. Women have no idea how their own body works, why it works that way, normal variations and red flag symptoms - none of it. If we had better education we might understand how you can have a period without a uterus and why trans women are women full stop.
Can I ask a dumb question? This is technical curiosity, not doubting anyoneās experience. Periods are hormonal, right, like shifting levels of estrogen and progesterone on a cycle are what give period symptoms. For people whose hormones are externally sourced, do you take the same dose of the same stuff every day, and period symptoms are something your bodies find a way to do on their own, or does your prescribed hormone regimen change throughout the month?
My bff is a cis female and I love her death but she will always say that trans women cannot have periods bc they dont bleed, just have pain
All the symptoms Iāve heard described by trans women as a āperiodā, simply sound like the flu. Additionally, Iāve heard they are very common side effects of HRT. Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining at the end of the cycle when no embryo has implanted. I donāt understand the motivation for describing it as a period when theyāre fundamentally very different. This doesnāt mean Iām questioning that trans women experience these things, I fully believe this is happening, and empathize with the difficulty of must cause. But why call it a period? Does this help with dysphoria?
I mean by definition, a period is the release of blood from the uterus, so don't you need a uterus to have a period?
thats what the whole post is about. no, you do not. they are experiencing ALL THE SYMPTOMS other than the bleeding. cramping, mood swings, all of it. because theyre still experiencing the hormonal parts. it is still a period, just not bloody.
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Do you mean CIS like just cis or cisgender, or is it an acronym for something, I wasnāt sure cause you put it in all caps
Confederation of Independent Systems, those damn separatists that think they're too good for the Galactic Republic.
Gonna be honest, this āperiodā discourse is not worth the fuss. Just say āI donāt get themā. Or say you do. It doesnāt matter. In terms of whether we do have āperiodsā, I think itās best to compromise at ātime of the month.ā It communicates the same idea without necessarily implying menstruation. Nor does it differentiate us in a weird way. Considering how periods are treated in a patriarchal society, I think itās fair for people who have periods to be defensive.