My opinion...for what it's worth

I'm taking a brief pause from my backstory to address something that I said in that post.
The issue of defining oneself and others in the CD/TG/TS community is one that rarely fails to see virtual inkwells fly, whistles blow, and tempers flair. For some reason Humans seem to be hardwired with the need to catagorize ourselves and place everyone inside neat little boxes, these boxes rarely fit, though. I tend to identify as HUMAN because I don't feel that I meet the criteria to describe myself as a meat popsicle! Sadly, that description isn't enough and more is required.
My own definitions are for my own purpose and are in no way any attempt to catogorize anyone but myself or to push any kind of political agenda. IMHO, CD means that you are driven to dress but are otherwise content with your birth sex and gender. TG means that you are unhappy with your birth sex and gender and are trying to do something about it. This would describe those who are going through counciling and are undergoing HRT but are not currently surgery tracked. TS would describe those who are on HRT and are surgery tracked, or would be if they were able to be. None of these groups are self contained and there is a good deal of grey area in between them, with a fair ammount of shifting back and forth.
By these definitions I consider myself to be Transgender because... well, because I can! You don't get to define me, I reserve that right for myself, and by the same token I don't get the right do define you, either.
Okay, have at it!

Once upon a time....

Well, now that I've introduced myself to you in my first post I guess it's time for the dreaded...wait for it...OBLIGITORY BACKSTORY! OH, NOOO! I know that this is a story that you've probably all lived yourselves and heard about a million times so I'll try to keep it brief and interesting. At the very least I may be creating a non pharmacutical sleeping aid!
Why am I Transgender? That's a question that I've asked myself my whole life and the simple answer is that nobody knows! I was born in the 60's and I know that my mother nearly miscarried me, I also know that DES was commonly used in those days. Am I a DES baby? Sadly, I'll probably never know. My mother passed away many years ago so I can't ask her.
Anyway, I knew that I was different as far back as I can remember. One of my earliest memories was getting caught in the bathroom with my mom's lipstick, for which I caught holy hell! None of that stopped me, though! It just forced me into the closet and to get creative, which got easier as I grew older and got left home alone more often. I was an only child and as I approached my teens it was quite easy to find time to dressed. I would raid my mom's closet and wear her clothes for a couple of hours then quickly change before anyone would come home. I even made ny own artificial nails!
I was never all that popular in school when I was younger and was always called gay, fag, queer etc. and for years I thought that I must be because everyone thought so! When I was in my mid teens and we moved to a different town I was determined to make a fresh start so I swung to the classic ubermasculine overcompensation but the dressing still never stopped.
Whew! this is going to be a long one! I guess I'll have to break this story into at least two parts!