I apologize if anything I say comes off as offensive I don't always get my words right. I like to educate myself but no matter how much I read about gender fluid people I can't really understand it so I was hoping if I share my thoughts you guys could help me gain a better understanding. I've gathered that if someone is gender fluid they move between multiple genders over time and that some people feel different almost daily and some people feel like it changes randomly throughout a period of time. I always thought gender fluidity seemed a lot like multiple personalities (I'm really sorry if this seems rude) and I think this is because when my friend came out as trans everyone would say that I didn't date her I dated him and made it seem like two different people and though I didn't see that it could have worn off on me a bit. I was also wondering if the change between genders was sudden or more gradual because no one I've heard of has said anything about this and I'm just kind of curious. I was also wondering what is often mis understood about gender fluid people to help me get a better understanding of it. Thank you for taking the time to read this and help me out a bit I get in a lot of debates about this type of stuff (perks of being one of like 5 open minded people in my area) and I would hate to use the wrong information while trying to inform others.
I'm not a professional on any of this. This is just my view on it. The difference between multiple personalities and gender fluctuations is that someone with multiple personalities often times doesn't remember or "blacks out" after or in-between presenting as certain personalities. So one personality won't remember what the other did, and there are otherwise periods of lost memory. This generally doesn't happen with gender identity, though it is possible that someone could be experiencing both gender fluidity and multiple personality disorder at the same time. Also, multiple personalities are sometimes linked to drug use, which isn't surprising given how many drugs can alter brain chemistry in drastic ways.
The issue with having gender fluid people seem like multiple people is mostly just an issue of how we don't really have language to explain trans identities yet. To the general public, a person's gender is a large part of how we think about them. What we expect them to look like, do, enjoy, talk like, what job they're supposed to have, etc. Especially with pronouns! So already we're set up to expect one person to stick to one set of pronouns and when that's not true for someone it's difficult to remember it's one person. Just like how it's hard for people to get used to one person using singular they pronouns. As for the other part, about what common things people misunderstand about gender fluidity... I'll let a gender fluid person answer that part.
I consider myself genderfluid but I'm still figuring shit out so don't quote me on anything I'm still no expert But from what I experience although its something you cant control it its not so drastic at times and other times if u really cant help it self hate goes thro the roof as for pronouns I use them/they pronouns with ppl who are close to me but its like it sounds I cant really control weather I'm feeling female or male or somewhere in between it just sorta happens
I'd say it's different from multiple personality disorder bc your personality doesn't change that much. You're the same person, just a different gender. My gender shifts are identified by what I internally feel and my disphoria as opposed to a shift in personality.
no88: I know your area well. I just relocated here from Corning last February. Anyway, gender fluid is one of those transgender states between crossdressers and transsexuals. It is also sometimes stated as one of the non-binary variations. I think for those of us in the middle (myself included), we are probably always some part male and some part female. We live with this all the time. But, it seems that those who are gender fluid experience an extreme shift towards male or female. From what I've read, no one seems to know what triggers the shift or why it lasts as long as it does. It's like one's perspective and awareness changes, or said another way, you're looking through a different lens. DeeAnn
