[AnnieBL]

Hi Michelle,
I understand your surprise, Michelle. I've written in the past that I have a strong male identity. There are three reasons why I picked group 1.

First, my Clara identity is not a static thing. As I embrace her and give her freedom, she is growing stronger each month. Many aspects of my male identity are being merged with my female identity, and I don't find that my male identity is being threatened or displaced.

Secondly, if I woke up tomorrow and found that I was a GG with the same personality, IQ, and moral values that I now have, I think I could adapt to the change fairly easily. Most of the things I like to do are not exclusively for men. I would be viewed, though, as a strong-minded, independent, and somewhat unconventional woman, much like several woman in my relation.

Thirdly, I've discovered that my allegiance to the male sex is fairly weak. I prefer the company of women and men who have a softer side. I have few male friends; my wife is my best friend, in fact. I never really liked the male body. I've tried nearly all my life to fit the template of a normal American man, and never could really make it work. I love the female form, and would prefer to look like a woman. I guess that's why I'm growing breasts, ridding myself of body hair, and why I like to dress up as a woman. I wish I could fit the female template well, but that's simply impossible.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the only thing that I would miss as a woman is the muscular strength that I now have (although I'm nowhere near as strong as most men). I would have to compensate for that, or forego some pursuits.

My sexual orientation would switch to same sex since I'm sure I would still be attracted to women. Would I want to be attracted to men instead? That would make me a different person, wouldn't it? I'll say 'no'.

Clara

I can go along with a great deal of what you say here, yet I find myself in Group 2, admittedly after some reconsideration prompted by Flame. Possibly an essential difference is that I don't think my brain was strongly conditioned for either gender so that as I grew up I tended to lose my chilhood friends as they each became 'one of the girls' or 'one of the boys', and myself became increasingly withdrawn and developed a speech impediment. Because of my size I was reasonably immune from bullying by my peers, but not from some adults, and tended to attract misfits of various types, none of whom I felt at all close to, but who did provide some companionship. Technical hobbies, sometimes shared, and later travel were also an escape. On becoming at puberty fully a physical male, I was left with an intense curiosity as to what it would feel like to be a woman, and an almost total inability to initiate any contact with one, however physically attractive.
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You are very fortunate that Clara and your wife can get on. My own wife and long time lover, and even longer best friend, is much less comfortable with the changes in my body and the concept of it being less than fully male. She tries quite hard to slide away from any direct discussion of the situation as it applies to us, which makes it quite hard to reassure her that our relationship is not threatened and she is not expected to become in any way lesbian.