Are You Afraid to Explore Your Gender?
Dr. Z explores the fear of exploration—when people are afraid to even start social transition because they fear confirming they might align with transgender identity.
She's noticed quite a few people commenting about their fear of exploring themselves via social transition. There's a part holding itself back that doesn't want to accept or acknowledge the possibility of identifying as trans.
In Dr. Z's personal and professional experience, it's actually much more detrimental to not explore who we are and not go down that path. When people say they're afraid to explore who they are, it's almost like the fear of exploration itself is going to "make" you transgender—and that's really not the case.
You can't turn someone into something they're not. Just like exploring sexuality won't "make" you gay, exploring gender won't "make" you transgender. It's something that either exists in you or it doesn't—something innate for many people.
Watch to find out why you should embrace exploration (only by exploring can you learn and affirm who you are), why the real fear is what you'll do once you learn (not learning itself), and why not exploring creates a cocoon of paralysis.
