pirate-blues said:
Tantrika said: just got off the phone with Nana had intended to call before bed and just wish her a good day
know that it is the alzheimer's causing it but I love her so much and want to talk to her so much but she causes me so much dysphoria
she had to go because the staff was delivering food but just before that she was telling me how much I have "grown up" in the past year changes to how I talk and look and everything at which point I was in a bit of a cold sweat because Mom does not want me formally out to Nana, and I thought she had taken notice of the voice training and estrogen pills (she comments when I see her that I seem to have physically grown; just respond by teasing her for making fun of me being fat) and I was all "uhhhhh (howdoIrespondtothis)" then she went "yeah, you've gone from a little boy to a real man in the past year"
and I just died a thousand deaths inside, but tried to roll with it then she had to say goodbye and am now sitting here debating having ice cream with my good cry or just sobbing myself to sleep
blah
I'm sorry babe, I know I cannot relate to the gender dysphoria, but my grandma has always kind of made me feel like ass. How I dress, how I look, oh you live in the city alone?! Oh you drive alone on trips over an hour?! Gettin' a little pudgy, lookin' a little skinny - eat this, take that nose ring out, pull up your dress it's too low cut, you're too fresh(in that old timey not a compliment way), why aren't you married yet?!(this one has been going on since I was like 22 lol). I know it doesn't compare. But it has made me fully dread seeing her in the past.
Only been able to get through it by telling myself that she loved me regardless and she just wanted best for me. But it did also make me pull back a little and stop seeing her as often. I do regret that. Now she's so far gone that she's just much less critical, and oddly enough, it kind of makes me sad .
I know your mom doesn't want you out to your gram, and maybe she's right in trying to protect you - but you might regret this if you never do tell her. And she may be more understanding than you think, especially if you explain it to her gently, like a child. I know it hurts though, and I know it's something I haven't fully felt, and I know that I don't really know what the fuck I'm talking about and that coming out as trans to certain people is a decision that has to be weighed carefully. ...
I couldn't sleep so I am kind of back (and appreciation to Niffla as well )
Ironically, can relate to your grandma making you feel like an ass but that was because my mother's mother always harassed me growing up at my youngest it was issues of posture and that kids should be "seen but not heard" think that quote fucked me up more than anything; made me really soft-spoken but highly visible through fashion which resulted in her degrading all my fashion, my makeup, my nails and so forth in my older years it was the long hair, fingernails and so forth never actually made peace with her with regards to those things; but made peace with her best I could on her death bed so you relate more than you realize and that makes me feel more supported so thank you
that is not actually the case with my Nana (grandmother on father's side) tho she has always been accepting and supportive of me, never questioned me eating at her table in gothed out makeup in my teens
so that comes to my sort of misrepresentation of my mother's input Mom has strongly advised me that as nice as it may be to be correctly gendered even within Nana's dementia it may not result in me actually making it through to her but more problematically, if she makes sense of it but is not able to then remember to keep it from my aunt (my Nana's daughter) things get more troublesome
my aunt is a pretty staunch Catholic, of the type with a pastor who complains about "having to recognize 72 genders" and while it -may- be possible for me to reach her through her transphobia it is also likely 'safest' for me to not have her know about me being trans because she holds power of attorney over my Nana's will
honestly, just had a perfect storm worst case scenario on this phone call more than anything normally get to talk to her long enough to brighten me up aside from dysphoria inducing comments and this particular call was characterized by her thinking I am still in my teens just coming out of puberty, so a 30-year-old testosterone sounding voice sure would have sounded like growing straight into a man
honestly would have prolly laughed to myself after the call if having more time to process, due to going into second puberty but the call went from her saying that, to me gently moving to age and birthday discussion to figure out how she was interpreting me to being interrupted by the staff for her meal so hung up straight into a dysphoric episode with nothing to really offset it
on actual worse days, Nana has to be walked through remembering that her second son had a kid at all but on better days she can recall most of my recent past 2 decades of life and me visiting her on a regular basis over the past few years alzheimer's is a mess to deal with and it is frustrating knowing it will only get worse x-x
Also, as fair is fair my mother has no issues with me being out to her father so do comprehend that her concern with regards to my aunt vis-à-vis Nana comes from a place of honesty
do sincerely appreciate you opening up a space for me to pour all this out 
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