# Have You Ever Considered Being the Opposite Sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012 "2001-03-14T21:50:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eo\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ebca7d/32.png) [@Eo\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eo_Echo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/21 "2001-03-16T03:07:06Z")
It’s the curiousity factor. I wouldn’t necessarily want to be a woman for the rest of my life, but it would be so interesting just to see what it was like, how broad the differences really are. ---
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/22 "2001-03-16T03:38:35Z")
JBirdman just about said it for me. I’d love just to see what it’s like and if it’s really that tremendous of a difference. And if it were just for a short period of time it’d be great to learn what guys really like to be ummm… better able to errr… make a friend of mine feel good. Kitty ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/23 "2001-03-16T07:00:47Z")
One of the reasons that I role play female characters fairly regularly is because I am curious as to the change in perceptions and physicalities that being of the feminine gender would have. Yes I am curious, a healthy curiosity I think. Oddly, what I am most curious about is what would it be like to be pregnant and to give birth. ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/24 "2001-03-16T07:04:39Z")
Oh, if you want a decent book on the subject of characters who change gender, try Varley’s Steel Beach The main character is male, then female, then neuter in the course of the story. He also has a pretty interesting dialog about the nature of sexuality and gender identity. Ie, if a gay man became a woman, would she still prefer men, or would she now prefer women? Is her sexuality oriented to a specific gender or sameasself oriented basically. Very fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@The\_Tof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tof)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/25 "2001-03-16T17:52:23Z")
I have considered it… Almost from a completely sexual point of view. More to the point, I want to know what it feels like having sex as a female. I’ve never wondered what it would be like socially to be female. ---
**Author:** ![Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Morrison\_s\_Lament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrison_s_Lament)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/26 "2001-03-16T18:11:53Z")
I sometimes feel like crying when I see lesbian couples together… Why did I have to be born as such an inferior looking, hairy-assed creature, constantly obsessing about a veiny piece of meat in my pants? I wanna be a leeeesssssbbiiaaann!!! Of course, I guess I need to be a woman then too, so yeah, I have considered it 🙂 — G. Raven ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/27 "2001-03-16T18:18:37Z")
I believe it was Steve Martin who said, “I could never be a woman - I’d never take my hands out of my own pants.” SO and I’ve talked about this, too. It usually comes up in the context of what sex is like for the other. It would a kick to actually experience it from the other side, I think. As long as I have a return ticket. I very much like being a man and all that goes with it. ---
**Author:** ![PolishSausage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@PolishSausage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PolishSausage)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/28 "2001-03-16T18:25:21Z")
I feel the same way as the most everyone does; thought about it, curious about the multiple O’s. All that stops for me when I think of having a period. I don’t have any hang-up’s with my SO’s periods. I just know I don’t want one. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/29 "2001-03-16T18:49:51Z")
When I was a lonely lad, always pining for female companionship, I had this recurrent fantasy. A machine with two chambers. I go sit in one, close the door, and pull the level. In the other chamber the machine replicates me as female. She/me would be my instant soulmate. We could totally understand one another, make love, and do everything together. I tried to imagine how my female self would look. The ancient Greeks considered this question too. Teiresias was a man who was changed into a woman for 12 years, then changed back into a man again. He was the only one who could settle a dispute between Zeus and Hera over who enjoys more in sex: the man or the woman? Teiresias answered it was the woman. Ursula K. LeGuin’s 1969 book _The Left Hand of Darkness_ was the ultimate gender-bender novel. The people on that planet are all neuter. Except at certain times during the year: any individual can develop into a female (and conceive) or into a man (and impregnate). They alternately turn into women and men in between the neuter periods. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/30 "2001-03-16T19:02:06Z")
Didn’t Tiresias then get struck blind for daring to question Hera’s judgment? I’m as feminist as the next poor confused nice bloke, but damn that sounds like a period-related injury to me. When goddesses ask you a question, the best thing to do is keep your own opinions to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/31 "2001-03-16T19:26:16Z")
I notice that our two or three transgendered Board members are maintaining a polite silence, no doubt rolling their eyes . . . ---
**Author:** ![Necros](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/necros/32/11086_2.png) [@Necros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necros)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/32 "2001-03-16T19:51:50Z")
**foolsguinea** said: > [@](#): > > But ooh, girls get to wear pretty clothes… This would be my reason for wanting to be the opposite sex. As a man, I don’t have to desire to dress as a woman, but if I was one, I’d take advantage of it. ---
**Author:** ![Eo\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ebca7d/32.png) [@Eo\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eo_Echo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/33 "2001-03-17T15:00:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fairy Princess Kitty \* > **JBirdman just about said it for me. And if it were just for a short period of time it’d be great to learn what guys really like to be ummm… better able to errr… make a friend of mine feel good.** I hadn’t even considered _that_ aspect of it. Hey Kitty, wanna trade bods for awhile? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/34 "2001-03-18T03:25:18Z")
I wouldn’t mind being a woman for a specific short period of time, just for the experience, but in general, I like being a boy. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/35 "2001-03-18T03:33:01Z")
Yeah, I’ve considered it. Mostly in the sense of “If I were male, nobody’d assume I’m a lesbian 'cause I wear my hair short and like race cars.” (Yes, I used to face that a lot… and then I grew out my hair.) ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/36 "2001-03-18T04:07:23Z")
Well if you want literature on the subject go to [http://www.fictionmania.com](http://www.fictionmania.com) Yes there is alot of fiction on the subject. You can find some really interesting ideas in stories there, going beyond **mere** psychologists:). You can also find alot of sexually explicit words, I don’t know if I should post it, but hey it has a disclaimer and you really have to try to find it. I am transgender to some extent so yes I think about it quite alot. I wished I could be when I was 13 really badly, and later created a personality to pass as a male (my own opinion from what I have read on the subject). Basically I’ve had pretty much every fantasy on the subject. Its funny though, I am one of those guys who is built to be a weightlifter and can develop muscles bigger than most guys doing less excercise than the girls. And Eve, I don’t think the rolling of the eyes happens untill Wildest Bill says “How could you ever consider being the opposite sex?” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/37 "2001-03-18T04:56:12Z")
Once when I was about 20 back in Ohio I was hangin’ with one of my homies and we looked at the cover of a Rick Derringer album, [_Spring Fever_](http://www.sound-ground.com/fans/muskitom/RD2.JPG). He had made up his face to look like a woman, had his hair done like a woman’s, and was posing in a feminine attitude. He really did look almost like a woman. Mr. Ken and I asked each other if we ever speculated what it would be like to be a woman. Obviously Rick Derringer had considered it. We both admitted, yes, we had tried to imagine it. I mean, how could anyone _not_ be curious about how the other half lives? ---
**Author:** ![JonScribe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@JonScribe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonScribe)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/38 "2001-03-18T22:08:56Z")
Well, it’s like the book says: “Men are from Mars, Women Want a Penis.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/39 "2001-03-19T00:12:32Z")
There’s anther facet to this – one thing 've envied about women is that men always seem to be interested in women – virtually all women – but women aren’t as interested in men. Mrs. Cal, for instance, continues to be hit on, while I haven’t had any women inerested in me in ages. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2001, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012/40 "2001-03-19T01:47:28Z")
I think everyone does, as has been stated here. TMI! When I was young… like 6 or so, I had a period where I used bandaids to strap down the little willy… I thought that the female areas were a lot more asthetically pleasing. Still do. Then there is the subject of the O, and penetration, and several other things… My wife and I have discussed the whole “Body Swap” Idea before… I think we would do it, but for different reasons. Might be interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-considered-being-the-opposite-sex/58012.md?page=3)