'It's a label that was imposed externally by people who are not me'

That's what I think grinds with a lot of people, but it never seems to occur that maybe the term 'trans' was foisted on me and those like me in the same way. We're not all 'out, loud and proud'- I'm 'out' as myself and tend simply to answer to 'me'. All that stuff was forty years ago anyway- the userpic's undergrad me back in the seventies when it was all a deal more complicated and one had to lie a lot to get through the next day in one piece.

Fwiw and since you are nice enough to share- left handed white English(ish) woman of working class, Jewish and Romani origins amongst others; straight,married, academic historian and all round general purpose nutcase. :o)