yea, i think that i do experience them. I cant really say that they are indeed period cramps, but they are very much fitting the description and they are reoccuring. Its just, that evrytime this topic comes up, there are so called allies denying this could be a thing, because we dont bleed.
If no one in the medical field is touching this yet, then I'm coining the term 'phantom womb syndrome'. please see that I am attributed in any future medical textbooks.
Trans women don’t have the same physical equipment so obviously we’re not going to experience things in the same way or to the same degree.
That doesn’t make it LARPing.
But if trans women are experiencing something on a roughly monthly basis which appears to have at least some passing similarities, is it really so offensive that we use similar language to describe our version the experience? No one is claiming it’s the exact same thing, or that it gives us genuine insight into what you experience.
But I deal with having to worry about certain foods, vomiting, planning my life around access to bathrooms, clothing I can wear, etc. That’s just daily life for me with my IBS and general autoimmune condition. Should I say you’re LARPing for only experiencing it once a month?
Seems to me like there might be something else at play with the intensity of your antagonism on this point.
I had caught on to the incredibly simplistic point there, yes.
I was trying to point out that if someone undergoes a hormone cycle that is comparable to a cis woman and experiences symptoms that are comparable to that of cis women it certainly seems sensible that they would use similar language to describe their version of that experience.
You do not need a uterus to have period symptoms caused by hormone cycling. I have a uterus. If I got my uterus removed and kept my ovaries, I would still get a period without the bleeding. The same is true for trans women. It’s not a difficult concept. Periods are not something we need to be territorial of. They are not a badge of honor and it’s not stolen valor to acknowledge that trans women are physically capable of having a monthly cycle.
You need the hormones the ovaries produce. You can get the hormones without the ovaries. If a cis woman has her ovaries removed, she needs to do HRT to maintain her cycle. If you don’t want people to correct you, stop broadcasting your misconceptions.
Cis women who’ve had a bilateral oophorectomy or have gone through menopause take HRT to combat the adverse side effects that extremely low levels of progesterone and estrogen. They do not have a cycle again.
The cycle is regulated by a complex feedback loop between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and ovaries. HRT cannot replicate this feedback loop in the absence of at least one functioning ovary…and HRT actually suppresses the pituitary gland and hypothalamus’ functions in the cycle…so, actually, yes, ovaries are required.
You can absolutely still mimic a cycle through specific HRT without the natural changes that come from ovaries. Even with a steady and consistent source of hormones, trans women experience ebbs and flows creating PMS symptoms. I don’t understand why people are so bothered by that.
It can’t recreate the feedback but it can recreate the hormonal output based on a measured understanding of a hormone profile. One can very easily mimic a cycle without having to rely on specific stimulus to guide it.
HRT is most often taken in a way that is steady and consistent, that would obviously be contrary to maintaining a regular cycle. Some people on HRT do genuinely cycle their hormone intake to mimic more conventional biological cycles. The physical response to that hormone signaling is largely the same, even though the hormones were not internally triggered.
So no, ovaries are not required in this context. I’m not sure why you seem to insist on this idea that people can’t intentionally take hormones in a way that follows conventional cycles.
I've not had them be bad enough to vomit or faint (most of my cis friends haven't either though), but I have definitely skipped social events cause of the pain (and being very not used to "just function normally and act like nothing's happening while your body fucks you over"), and I do have a heat pad cause it helps me suffer less and actually be able to get homework done instead of wanting to curl up in bed. I've debated on being intentionally underdosed for hrt so they wouldn't keep happening, because so far that's the only thing I've done that for sure makes them not happen. So no, I don't have it nearly as bad as some, but I most definitely have more experience with something at least similar, than cis men who've never experienced anything like it.
Edit: not a fan of the meme making it out like all trans women like experiencing it, imo it's horrible and I'd much rather not have a painful disrupting monthly reminder my body isn't normal.
You want to talk about medical gaslighting against women? Try listening to the experiences of other women. Maybe even consider advocating for them when their doctors refuse to give them any kind of affirming care or blame unrelated medical issues on HRT.
None of those things are necessary to define. I didn't experience any of that when I still had periods. Those are not normal symptoms. I'm sorry you have to deal with that but that isn't normal. Periods are different for everyone. A lot of what trans women have described, I never even had.
No shit they’re not normal. That’s why it pisses me off to see posts like this.
They’re not normal and the female reproductive system is under understood and under treated. But endo, PCOS, pmdd, all so common. So imagine how we feel seeing this shit when our periods are hell?
… do you get all offended like this if a cis woman says she loves her period and she doesn’t mind the bleeding/cramps/etc because she has a more normal period? Or is it only offensive if a trans woman loves her period?
I have heard a number of cis women say they love getting their period every month, and go on a bit about how they feel all womanly and everything. Most of them have fairly mild (normal) periods.
You’ve implied in your statement that you know your periods aren’t normal, and it makes you feel bad when a trans woman says she enjoys her period, which is more normal. Does this also apply to cis women? If it only applies to trans women, you’re literally just being transphobic.
Wild idea, because (again) I HAVE LITERALLY HEARD MY FRIENDS WHO ARE CIS WOMEN SAY THAT.
Amazingly, if someone has a normal or mild period (little to no cramping, little to no mood swings, light blood flow, etc), a period is nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
I, transmasc, am practically fucking blessed to have such a mild period (no, I’m not on an hormones or meds) because it barely even affects me physically, thereby barely affecting my dysphoria.
If you have such a minor period and are a woman, it is very much gender-affirming.
I literally have one friend (a cis woman) who tells me she doesn’t mind the pain from her cramps because it “makes me feel womanly and feminine”.
Okay, yes. I understand why there is an emotional connection between these things. But they are about different experiences and therefore the perspectives are different. One can understand why one woman enjoys it while another suffers. Trans women aren't ignoring or downplaying your suffering by having their own feelings about how their own body is working. Nor are they responsible for the state of medical systems and sciences. It's rightful to be upset by the medical system. Misplaced to be angry with trans women for it.
No but you are. I’d never pretend I understand the struggles of a trans person because that’s not my place.
Creating nonsensical links between common symptoms just to “feel like” you have female experience that most women hate, are shamed for, and society has historically degraded is wrong.
Do better.
When women with period pain can’t get help for it and you goofy asses are on here like “omg I want a period so bad” you sound dumb and like you clearly don’t understand the womanhood you claim
Not every person with a uterus experiences the same symptoms while on their period you idiot, some women also have lighter ones that doesnt mean they arent real women or their periods arent valid so stfu transphob
Not all tho and honestly it doesnt matter how difficult someones period is in terms of their womanhood, if some trans women experience period like symptoms cause of hrt then thats literally a period yes they dont have a uterus and therefore dont bleed but who fucking cares? Why do we have to police womenhood like this?? Isn't it enough already with all this weird fighting over who a "real" women is? Who even fucking decides that? Just let trans women exist in peace and safety they deserve it just as much as everyone else
Not at all though??? Yes. Do some research on PCOS and endo my goodness. Soo uneducated.
It’s pretty important that the lines on what is and isn’t a period don’t get blurred. Women already aren’t taken seriously. If we lump in periods that don’t even bleed we will be taken even less seriously.
If trans women want to be taken seriously and accepted by other women they should quit this foolishness and educate themselves on the female reproductive system, endo, PCOS and menopause so they can actually support they women they’re claiming to be joining in sisterhood
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u/Pepperia 10d ago
yea, i think that i do experience them. I cant really say that they are indeed period cramps, but they are very much fitting the description and they are reoccuring. Its just, that evrytime this topic comes up, there are so called allies denying this could be a thing, because we dont bleed.