What does it mean to "feel like a woman"?

Advice Question

I'm M(?)22 and I've spent the last four years of my life attempting to understand if I am a trans woman or not. I feel like I tick so many boxes and I WANT to be a woman, which feels so strange to say.

All of the biggest reasons I can think of for wanting to transition however come from the social side of issues. I do have minor dysphoria, but most of my reasons come down to wanting to be seen as a woman socially. I love being called she/her, I love appearing feminine, and I feel like I am just SO disconnected from men. The only places I fit in are with other women.

With that being said, I notice the huge difference between how women talk to me vs other women and it hurts. I hate how hard I have to work to feel like they trust me, I feel that when women meet other women they hit it off so easily. I'm pretty good conversationally, and I don't find it hard to talk to women, I just have to inherently work so much harder to be friends with them because of how I look.

I feel that the more "masculine" I am the more I am masking, I feel that the only time I'm truly myself is when I'm feminine, but that doesn't inherently mean I'm a woman. What does it mean to feel like a woman? I can't even begin to describe what it means to feel like a man because I surely don't know.

If gender is all made up, how am I supposed to know if I am a women? I know cis people don't question these things for 4+ years, I know something is up. But how do I know?

Posted Dec 7, 2025, 10:45 PM UTC · edited

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