I came across this very interesting article by the young Australian writer Madison Godfrey. She identifies as trans, though not in the way some people understand the word, but more closely as non-binary.

Some of her points may be obvious, but they weren't to me. First she explains that being trans doesn't mean you are transitioning, or want to transition, from one type of body to another. Many trans people do, but really this is just an affirmation of something more fundamental, namely that their gender identity does not correspond with the formal record of their gender at birth. You can be (relatively) at home in your own body and still regard yourself as being of a different gender.

In my case, I would transition if it was realistic to do so, but it isn't, and I don't feel so strongly about it that it's more important than anything else in my life. I'm coming to realise that I probably identify internally more as female than male. Coping with what that means is my main priority at the moment.

Madison Godfrey is more comfortable with the idea of being non-binary. She wishes there had been a third option on her birth certificate. You can tell that the concept is liberating for her. She doesn't have to behave or feel in a particular way. She can just be who she is.

Then she brings in the concept of gender euphoria. This was important for me in giving a name to the feeling I have when I'm dressed as Ariane and able to behave as Ariane in the company of others. It makes me feel deeply happy, at peace with myself and others, more fundamentally human. Euphoric in other words. So thank you Madison for doing the job of a poet, and clothing meaning with words.