Past made perfect
“So lets assume I wanted to make a man dress and act like a woman. How could I do it?”
“Against his will?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if you were being crude, you could kidnap him, drug him, and use threats of rape or other bodily harm.”
“I would rather something more subtle.”
“LIke what?”
“Hypnotics.”
“Not terribly effective, or so I’ve heard.”
“It depends on how they’re used. For example, did you know it was possible to plant a memory? To make a man remember spending his childhood dressing up?”
“Like I did? Sounds far-fetched.”
“Its true. You recall dressing up, of wanting to be pretty, dreaming of being a girl. All this could be implanted hypnotically. “
“Wouldnt the person be able to tell these were false memories?”
“By what way? They would seem as ‘real’ as any other.”
“What about the memories they replaced?”
“Do you remember everything? Days blend into one another, if some were missing, would you really be able to tell?”
“So the person wouldn’t be able to tell they didnt spend time as a girl like I did? But even so, how would that matter in the present?”
“Well, what made you decide to transition?”
“I finally stopped being afraid. And I dealt with my childhood traumas.”
“Or what you think were your childhood traumas. But the point is, you act in the present in part because of the memories of the past.”
“So your hypothetical victim would choose to become a woman, based on a lie?”
“A lie they would never be able even tell wasnt the truth. At least possibly.”
I got up, smoothed my skirt, and said, “It sounds like fiction to me.”
But I went home, and couldnt get the conversation out of my head.
“I know what happened to me. I know who I am. I’m a woman, and always was, even when I tried to pretend I was a man. I know the truth.”
“Dont I?”