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Look in the mirror
Have you ever encountered a mirror, especially a full length one, unexpectedly and *really* seen yourself?
Most of the time when we look at a mirror, we are checking details and ignore the "overall" picture.
But when you have that unexpected encounter, you see things without the usual filters. It can be a bit of a shock.
First time it happened to me was in my first apartment. There was a full length mirror in the bathroom and one day after a shower I turned just the right way and saw myself in it. Suddenly, I realized that I wasn't a scrawny kid anymore.
Many years later after a dom friend encouraged me to try cross-dressing, I had it happen a number of times while working for a friend fixing computers. The mens room there had a full length mirror inside the door. You opened the door and there you were. If the lights weren't on, the shadows made it easier to miss that it was a mirror.
One day, I opened that door and saw myself as a woman (in spite of wearing men's clothing at the time). That was another shock/surprise. Had that sort of thing happen several times. Sometimes I saw a guy, sometimes I saw a gal.
So if you ever have one of those moments, go with it.
ps. I understand that some folks with various kinds of dysphoria have something that's pretty much the opposite occur. They look in a mirror and see something that isn't reality but instead something very negative. More or less *all* filter, and bad filters at that.
While not having experienced that, I suspect the way to tell the difference is how you feel about what you see. If it's a surprise, but just "different", it's probably the reality view.
If it makes you feel bad, it's more likely the filters getting carried away.
Most of the time when we look at a mirror, we are checking details and ignore the "overall" picture.
But when you have that unexpected encounter, you see things without the usual filters. It can be a bit of a shock.
First time it happened to me was in my first apartment. There was a full length mirror in the bathroom and one day after a shower I turned just the right way and saw myself in it. Suddenly, I realized that I wasn't a scrawny kid anymore.
Many years later after a dom friend encouraged me to try cross-dressing, I had it happen a number of times while working for a friend fixing computers. The mens room there had a full length mirror inside the door. You opened the door and there you were. If the lights weren't on, the shadows made it easier to miss that it was a mirror.
One day, I opened that door and saw myself as a woman (in spite of wearing men's clothing at the time). That was another shock/surprise. Had that sort of thing happen several times. Sometimes I saw a guy, sometimes I saw a gal.
So if you ever have one of those moments, go with it.
ps. I understand that some folks with various kinds of dysphoria have something that's pretty much the opposite occur. They look in a mirror and see something that isn't reality but instead something very negative. More or less *all* filter, and bad filters at that.
While not having experienced that, I suspect the way to tell the difference is how you feel about what you see. If it's a surprise, but just "different", it's probably the reality view.
If it makes you feel bad, it's more likely the filters getting carried away.
no subject
With me it's not "there's something wrong with the image". Instead it's an "oh, that's *me*".
The gender flipping was just my gender identity doing flip-flops (I think)