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I’m Transgender & a Journalist. Here Are Two Terms Better Than ‘Transitioning’
As Simba said, “What’s a motto?” And as Timon replied, “Nothing. What’s the motto with you?“ The meerkat is joking here, but still, words matter.
I’m a transgender woman and journalist. Transgender folks aren’t changing who they are inside — we’re merely getting more aligned with our gender. Thus, it’s only so much about a “transition”/“transitioning.” It’s more about actualization/actualizing and realization/realizing, in my experience.
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The top of the pyramid of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is self-actualization. “Transitioning” is just actualizing much further. (Medical treatment as part of the process also goes into physiological needs, too — my body has done things like call for breasts and tell me to get rid of the dick. (Examples of the latter can be found here and here.) More broadly, I also, hundreds of times, have felt separate from my body. “Physiological needs” is the base of the pyramid, reflecting the most basic needs a human has.)