FEATURES
8A
She seeks help with gender
Dear Annie: I’ve lived my entire life
feeling as though I was born the wrong
gender. Transitioning is not an option.
I was born female and look it. I would
have a hard time passing as male. Also,
I have heard nothing but horror stories
regarding the surgery.
There appears to be resources galore
for those changing from male to female,
but everything I’ve read about my situation
seems to assume I must be a lesbian. This
is not the case. I am attracted to men. If I
transitioned to male, I would be a gay man.
I’m not really sure what to call myself.
Because I will not be transitioning, “trans-
gender” doesn’t fit, and “transvestite”
doesn’t cover it. I realize I am still a female,
but I feel humiliated wearing dresses and
skirts. I don’t find anything sexy about
women’s clothing, as a transvestite might.
There seems to be no place in the
LGBT community for my situation. My
peers have told me that I am gay. Oth-
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unless I become more “feminine.” All of
this indicates that my personality doesn’t
matter. I have done extensive therapy for
bipolar disorder in the past, but it hasn’t
been helpful. One therapist actually told
me my aversion to dresses means I had
been sexually abused, even if I have no
recollection of it.
I am on medication for bipolar dis-
order, but only recently have I admitted
to myself that the root of my problem is
breast is larger, but I don’t see how that
would affect the veins.) What should I
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Dear Both: According to our medi-
Creators
cal experts, there is no reason to be over-
Syndicate Inc.
ly concerned. As one physician put it,
“Breasts are sisters, not twins,” meaning
Kathy Mitchell
the size and vein patterns aren’t symmet-
and
rical. Instead of letting your boyfriend
Marcy Sugar
diagnose you, please talk to your doctor
about this.
probably my gender dysphoria. I wake up
Dear Annie: My heart went out to
every morning disappointed that I am still ³'HVSHUDWHIRU$QVZHUV´ZKRVDLGKHU
trapped. Are there any resources for my parents compared her to her sibling, and
VSHFL¿FGLOHPPD"²Forever Trapped
she came up short.
Dear Forever: We are sorry you
In junior high, I felt inferior to my
KDYH KDG VR PXFK GLI¿FXOW\ ¿QGLQJ siblings because they got good grades,
support. There are several organizations but no matter how much time I spent on
that help the LGBT community. We also my homework, my grades were never as
know that many surgical outcomes for good. I rarely saw them working at all,
transitioning female to male have been and here I was, trying so hard.
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Years later, I discovered I was dys-
information through The Community of lexic, and reading was complicated and
LGBT Centers (LGBTCenters.org), the GLI¿FXOWIRUPH$OVRZKHQ,ZDVLQWKH
Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org) and ninth grade, an observant science teach-
3)/$*SÀDJRUJDVZHOODV*/$$' er told my parents I needed glasses. I
org, femaletomale.org, ftmguide.org and thought everyone saw things the same
the GLBT National Help Center (glbtna- way I did. I was shocked when I walked
tionalhelpcenter.org).
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Dear Annie: My breasts have very
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obvious veins visible near the surface of checked and also see whether there are
the skin. The left and right breasts have any hidden learning disabilities. It was
very different vein patterns.
too late for me when I made my discov-
My boyfriend says the veins should ery, but hopefully, it won’t be too late for
be symmetrical or nearly so. (My left KHU² Been There, Done That
Annie’s
Mailbox
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
STONE SOUP
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2015
Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Any-
thing you do to increase your powers of
self-control will have long-term benefits.
If you can control yourself, you will have
greater influence over others.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Why waste
your time on pursuits that most people
can do? There are benefits to specializa-
tion. Pursue the things you are naturally
best at. Evening will bring a moneymaking
opportunity.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ve been
going nonstop. You need a period of rest
to recharge and get inspired again. If you
can’t make it happen today, at least you
can plan and prepare for a time in the
near future.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). All prog-
ress will start with acceptance. Acknowl-
edge the reality and accept everything
about it. Once you do, you will be able to
begin working with what you’ve been dealt.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). When you feel
afraid, you don’t need to run away to find
relief. Just wait and let the relief come to
you. It will, and much more quickly than
you think. You’re stronger than you know.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The day calls
for kindness and compassion from you to
you. Make yourself comfortable. If you can’t
figure out how to do it, experiment with
possibilities until you find what works.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The comple-
tion of an important project is near. It’s im-
portant to have something in the works for
when this is finished to minimize the sense
of loss that accompanies such endings.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). It turns
out that “happily ever after” is created
one happy moment at a time. The special
thing that happens this week is that you
recognize contentment when you experi-
ence it.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The
opportunity available to you is great only
in proportion to your ability to make use
of it. For now, focus on educating yourself
so that when the truly prime opportunity
arises, you’ll know exactly what to do.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). How
you get there may be just as important as
what you do when you arrive, except that
no one other than you saw that part. You
have to feel good about your methods, but
at the same time, you don’t have to broad-
cast them.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Children
are magical. It may take some time for the
magic to emerge — after all, they do need
special care — but if you’re lucky enough
to know a child, it will be worth the trouble.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Soon after
you master a skill, you will tire of it. That’s
why it’s important to have something new
on the horizon to look forward to. You’ll get
ideas on the commute, in the shower or
while preparing food.
WEDNESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 4).
The theme is bravery and honesty. The
truth will blow open a closed door. An
exclusive club will let you in, a defensive
person will let down the guard and a hard
bargain will go soft. You’ll meet some-
one special in March. Beautiful scenery
in June could lead to a move. A break-
through comes in August. Aries and Libra
adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 14,
39, 2, 1 and 19.