My name is a nice feminine name, but I often feel weird when people say my name. I also feel extremely uncomfortable introducing myself. This causes problems meeting new people. Whenever people ask for my name I often have to force myself to say it. I don't know if this is gender dysphoria or me just having problems with my name. I'm kind of attached to it because of my parents.
If you experience no other symptoms of gender dysphoria I would say it is just you having a problem with your own name. But if you do then it very well could be linked to gender dysphoria but even then I know pleanty of cisgender people who experience issues with their name so I don't think it is uncommon if it isn't dysphoria.
I can relate, I feel very awkward and uncomfortable saying my name out loud. For me, it's a little bit of both, I think. But it may be different for you or others. I don't know enough about you to give you a clear opinion.
When I was a kid I was paranoid about looking like a boy. I thought I looked different from the other girls, so I overcompensated by always wearing dresses. I'm not sure if that's gender dysphoria or OCD. I suspect it was OCD. Sometimes when I look in the mirror I feel like I'm not a real girl or really a drag queen. I also feel extremely uncomfortable being with guys. I don't know if that's because I'm gay or experiencing gender dysphoria. I sometime fantasize about having gay sex with guys. If I try to fantasize about having hetero sex with guys I get turned off.
You're not the only one. Might there be a unisex abbreviation ? Like Al.. or the first letter... Jay for example being an abbreviation for names beginning with J... (*hug*)
... me too, but I just couln't help it, and all the teacher's and my parent's efforts were useless. I went as far a chopping off my hair myself as a kid. I've been hearing "you look like a boy" all my life, I sometimes wonder if the sentence shouldn't be my new name... THIS. Everytime I looked at the mirror. Here I must ask you what kind of clothes you usually wear. You might feel repulsion or fear of being perceived as a female by them. I'm pan, gravitating most often than not towards gay, and being next to them always felt a pleasure... Unless they were perceiving me as a potential -female sex partner. Then the boys change the record, and it becomes uncomfortable. Your fantasies doesn't define your sexuality. You could dream of doing an elephant, and then in real life never do it when having the chance. And then there will be fantasies you'd love to try, at least once... Maybe this could be one of them? :icon_wink
As for the name thing I feel you. I have a pretty feminine name myself and what makes it worse is that everyone I know with my name (which is a lot) are pretty feminine. So I begin to associate my name with that. You could try shortening it, using your middle name, or just introduce yourself with a different name.
I usually dress femininely, but a bit casual. Some people think I dress like a hipster . I hate being perceived as a possible female partner by guys. It makes me feel dirty and repulsed. I can usually tell when guys think like that as well. I remember that a younger male teacher perceived me that way. He kept flirting with me. Since I was in special ed he probably assumed I was oblivious. When I was with my boyfriend I felt fine when we were just chatting, but when we did romantic stuff I always felt weird. I also avoided kissing him, but I was fine with holding his hand and cuddling. When I kissed him on the lips it was gross. I also cringed whenever he tried to be romantic. I also feel weird when people of any gender ask me about having a boyfriend or assume I have one. Maybe I'm just getting sick of being closeted.
