This speak volumes about my own journey as a Trans woman. As Ive mentioned elsewhere, being another, "later in life" transitioner, my male identity "template" is more dominant and a fixed part of who I am. And I have no desire to fully erase that part of me, or for that matter hide my Transness. My former male self is like an old friend and it has served me well over the years, providing me w/ interests and skills that I continue to embrace. But I also knew from as soon as I began hormone replacement therapy over 4 years ago, that I was finally on the right path for being the person that I truly am inside :) . "play acting" was years ago when I was pretending to be, Steve. Although I was largely successful at it, I was never all that comfortable within. I marvel at finally being able to embrace my feminine side, Im comfortable knowing there are parts of the old me in the shadows too. In todays society, gender roles are much more loosely defined for both kids and adults. Men are still expected to be strong nd confident, which I was never that good at doing,.