The need to try avoid using the word "lesbian" when referring to me a trans womam is making me increasingly sad...
In part, I feel that much of my depression stems from body dysphoria, which I feel is unwanted because of how it was conceived. On the other hand, I also feel a force pushing me back when the subject is sexuality. For a long time, I paid so much attention to gender that sexuality seems taboo even when discussed among ourselves. I mean, when we are associated with the LGBTQIAPN+ community, gender is our first distinction from cis-heteronormativity, but people such as trans women, trans men, and/or non-binary people may be distinguished by their sexuality.
For example, we in this subreddit, who like women, whether they are trans women, cis women, butch transmasculine, non-binary; whatever femininity it may be, challenge both the identity conceived at birth and the normative sexuality in society. But for some reason I see us disappearing, often only being thrown into bisexuality at most, which in itself isn't a problem if that's the case, but not when the reason for this only suggests that the middle ground between liking male and female genitalia allows the trans person to be "acceptable" for a romantic relationship, and that's how they are perceived even when the person is only interested in one gender. This becomes even more conflicting when, even if we dare to admit this as correct, there are bisexuals who reject any genitalia opposite to the gender assigned to the trans person because they are contradictory to cisnormative notions, even when post-operative or under hormone therapy.
I feel genuine attraction to women. Personally, I don't care much if she is more or less feminine because for me they are all equally beautiful, wonderful, kind and attractive in their own way. I'm also not someone who cares so much about sex itself; I'm a very emotionally clingy person and I love flirting or romance. This isn't heterosexuality, this isn't bisexuality, I really only like women. The correct term would be homosexuality, since I'm a lesbian, right? That's where the rant comes in... yes, that's correct, there's no doubt about it. But why do I feel in denial knowing it's true and I can talk about it openly, describe it as much as I want, but saying the word LESBIAN makes me anxious and I feel like I'm making a mistake, something that shouldn't be done. But what, then? What should it be called if "lesbian" is wrong? Is it just a grammatical issue?
Honestly, I don't think it's merely grammatical, but it has already affected my subconscious. All this nonsense about trans people invading women's spaces and these issues that have already melted the neurons in my brain to this point, make me think that being a lesbian isn't about loving women. I've associated the word that describes women who love women with female puritanism, even though I know how well that's just prejudice. Have I internalized it? If so, how do I remove them? I don't want them, they're unwelcome, they're hurting me. I'm a woman and it's okay to like other women, so why would I have a problem saying I'm a lesbian? Who did this to me? This isn't heterosexual, it's not bisexual at all, I don't even care about genitalia or the act of sex itself for it to make a difference in the first place. I just love them, I melt just thinking about women like any other girl hopelessly in love with crushes on other girls.
I recently found myself wanting to create alternative names for "Lesbian," as if I were forging a document that was already legal. Why should I invent names? And honestly, "Transgyne" was the first one I invented. What's happening to me? I just want to love women normally and suddenly, in the last two years, I've started to get paranoid. Seriously, I've already talked about this with my therapist, but I don't know if he understood. I need help urgently...