"Dr. Strangegirl, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Being a Woman"
As told by "Doctor D"
Dictated to, transcribed, and edited by Sarah Rayne

[FOREWORD: A long time ago, I heard word of a strange phenomenon: men, without warning, suddenly transforming into women overnight through means unknown. After attempting to inquire about it, I eventually, after a lot of searching, got hold of an individual who only referred to themselves as "Doctor D". With their approval, I offered to hear their thoughts on the matter, as they seemed to be knowledgable about the subject, and turn their statements into an article. This article was written some time ago, and while I've tried to submit it to many reputable sources, none have taken this seriously at all. So, for posterity's sake, I'm going to just make this public, so that others might be able to get a good idea of the strange phenomenon that Doctor D has presented. - S.R.]

Hello there. My name is Damien...well, okay. that's technically what I used to be called. I haven't settled on a comfortable new name since everything happened, so...let's just go with "Doctor D" for now. Everyone seems to call me that anyways in lieu of any other name, so it should work for now. But enough about that, let's get straight to the point. I have things to tell the world, very important things. In order to better communicate these thoughts, I've, at your suggestion, decided to have them transcribed, so that others may be able to cope better with certain...happenings, so to speak.

Around the internet, you've more than likely seen stories, or pieces of art, where some no-name, unknown, dregs-of-society nerdy-ass jabroni somehow, through various methods, gets transformed into the hot anime woman of their deepest desires. You'd think the whole thing was fiction, that it could never happen to anyone in real life, right? Heck, I thought that myself. I'd only ever come across this stuff a few times, and completely dismissed it as some sort of weird wish-fulfillment fetish thing.

And then...well, I became the protagonist of one of those stories.

The transformations happen differently for every person. For some, it's a magical affair - maybe a particularly jerkish wizard (or witch) decided to pull some form of test on a poor sap, or just recruit them as a new protege; maybe a genie did their...genie thing, and granted someone their greatest wish, which was, deep down, becoming the woman of their dreams. For others, it's technical mishaps - a lightning storm hits while someone's playing on a game console and it sucks them in, or a computer virus infects someone's computer while they're watching the latest anime. In rare cases, it's science gone wrong - pills, chemicals, shady clinical trials, things like that.

Some are lucky - they get the instantaneous "poof, well now you have boobs" transformation. No pain, all gain. But most individuals have to...well, go through the nitty-gritty. The slow, laborious, sometimes painful (and depending on your disposition, arousing) and even occasionally downright gross transformation.

[For privacy's sake, D waved away all attempts at inquisition about how her transformation went, and simply wished to move on from it. - S.R.]

Of course, in spite of all this, there's consistently one thing amongst all the pieces of fiction and art that talk about these situations: what happens afterward? What happens to the protagonist after all the gender transformation is said and done? How does their life change after their body stops doing so? So today, I'm here to break the silence and answer these questions. I've spent the past few years talking to others affected by this, and I'm going to draw from my personal experiences as well to help everyone understand what goes on after the story is all done.


First, I should talk about the immediate reaction to the transformation. Judging by the stories I've read, and the individuals I've talked to, the most common response to gender transformation is...well...feeling one's self up. Top to bottom. Every inch of the new body. I like to imagine that the real reason for this is due to the average nature of the people who are transformed - being that they're typically shut-ins or self-proclaimed "otaku", they've likely never felt, let alone seen, a female body, and must investigate every inch of this new, alien situation. However, others have told me that it's a gut-instinct therapy of a sort - the self-feeling releases hormones that better allow the body to become adjusted to the new female form much quicker than if they'd gone without. [Once again, this was a case where D refused to acknowledge what they did in their situation. The sheepishness of her denial suggests she may have done so, but I'm not going to jump to conclusions. - S.R.]

However, once the immediate effects pass, the long-term ramifications begin to settle in. The first, and most important, situation that typically has to be dealt with is the reaction from friends and family. There are luckier cases - some have no immediate friends or family to worry about, so the transformation becomes an impetus to start their life over from scratch. Allegedly there are others that simply get teleported into the world of whatever game/anime they became a character from, and live out the rest of their life within that fictional situation. But others must brave the immediate trial of explaining their situation. Some may live with tolerable family members or friends, who may accept, even embrace their newly female companion, but others may not be so fortunate. One individual I spoke to discussed how their family threw them out on the spot due to religious differences, seeing their "former son" as an abomination, in spite of them being far happier with their new state of being.

Once that has passed, the next state is a state of personal acceptance. Many go through a state of self-exploration, thinking about everything before, and even during, the transformation. Eventually, they come to realize that maybe, deep down, this was what they truly wanted to be, and that they'd kept it stored away inside for years. I was one of those individuals, too - I'd always found myself quite enamoured by the character I now physically present as, but could never understand why. Had I realized sooner that it was out of a desire to be just like her, I think my life would have been quite different! Perhaps it might have been good to have kept it hidden for so long...but I digress.

After acceptance, though, new problems present themselves - re-integrating into society. It was not easy for me, considering I had a job as a teacher at a university for a long time. Imagine trying to explain to a university dean that yes, this is who you are now, and that yes, the platinum-blonde drill hair is perfectly natural and not changing anytime soon. Unfortunately, despite everything, while the dean was at least...somewhat understanding, my new appearance wasn't "professional" enough anymore, and thus I was let go. Thankfully, I was granted the opportunity to go back to college, and I used that opportunity to change my profession to that of a therapist. (Specifically, one who could help others afflicted by sudden gender transformation - or even those who may not be so magically lucky, and might need more...conventional means.)

But others, as previously mentioned, are not as lucky. One individual I'd conversed with had lost everything - a job, a girlfriend, effectively an entire future, because they were now a...pink-haired, rather buxom woman instead of the boring dude they were prior. I'd convinced them to give life a second shot, to see my state as an inspiration, and - well, the last time I talked to them, they hadn't gotten everything quite in order yet, but they at least had a job that was accepting of their...physical state. (Though apparently they had to at least dye their hair, which did disappoint them a little bit, but I assured them it was a step forward nonetheless.) 

Oh, in all my rambling I'd completely forgotten one major change that can make or break someone, post-transformation: wardrobe! From my research, many individuals who are transformed often have their clothing changed to that of the character, which for some is quite advantageous (especially for those who may be into cosplay), though some are not quite as lucky, either because their prior clothing no longer fits their new body, they may have lost a favorite/necessary item of clothing, or in some cases, might have gained an outfit...too risque for public consumption. I'll admit to saying that I lost one of my favorite suits in the transformation, though I gained a rather cute and frilly red outfit out of the affair, which I've grown quite attached to after all this time. Though, for those who might have fallen on harder times, I've been working on providing financial aid to those who need new wardrobes, especially for people who might have gone through extremely sudden and rapid physical changes (for example, a rather lanky individual becoming a huge, buff, tall woman.) It's...rather hard, sadly, but I'm providing whatever help I can. Also, I've been doing my best to provide physical assistance as well, be it acclimating to the weight of larger bosoms/posteriors, or walking in the heels that their new outfits may have provided for them.

Now, going back to the topic of long-term effects, one other thing that comes to mind is the mental changes. Many individuals often find themselves slowly, but surely, leaning into the personality of the character they became, adopting their mannerisms or quirks. Frankly I'm unsure if this is a conscious effort, if it's some residual effect of transformations, or if there's some form of unconscious desire tied into all of this. My research on this is far from finished, mostly because I have yet to recognize any changes in my own mental state. (Though, I've noticed my laugh being more...noblewoman-like? Not honestly sure if it was like that prior to transformation, but it makes me feel good nonetheless.) The rate of change seems to vary as well, when it does, I've seen a few patients be fine one week, and the next they're extremely flirtatious and other such things. (Not that I...mind too much, but it's a professional environment, you know!) Some cases have even forgotten about me entirely, and at least one case forgot everything about the modern age, reduced to some sort of....embarrassing medieval commoner mindset!

...ah, I'm sorry, I might have slipped a little there and gone off the rails. [At this point, D requested a short break, and some hot tea. During the break, she also took a few calls from patients, one talking about how they finally obtained a job, and another, a new patient from what I could tell, inquiring about the aforementioned physical aid, as they apparently wanted to wear their new outfit more but wasn't used to walking in heels. Once all was said and done, she transferred all other calls to her assistant, and resumed the discussion. - S.R.]

Anyways, now that that's passed, let's go back to everything at hand. Actually, to be precise, let's go back to the topic of mental changes, because I should bring up another long-term effect, and that's personal knowledge and skills. Often times, a transformation comes with a form of...fulfillment, let's say, usually relating to a character that may possess a skill that someone may desire to have - singing, dancing, fighting, and...yes, even sexual skills. In almost all cases, the transformation passes along the knowledge of such things that the character had in their original source material. Even I'm not immune - I've got extensive martial arts knowledge now, which was not something I was expecting to know at all. (Thankfully, given my profession, I haven't had to make use of it much, but I still go through practice every day, for safety's sake.) It seems to tie back into the "deep desire fulfillment" that permeates a lot of cases of transformation.

And I think that should be the last thing I talk about here - fulfillment. Every single person I've talked to on this matter, all agreed on one thing: they were happier in some way since it had happened. They spoke to me as if it was something they'd wanted all along, for some undefined period of time. And...well, I can't deny it. I never thought about too deeply until after my transformation, but even I found myself lost in identity for a long time. And maybe...maybe there are others out there, who may feel similar, even stronger, thoughts about such matters, but may not have the fortune of having some wizard show up at their door, or the luck of finding an unmarked cartridge of an old video game, or the chance of corrupted episode of an anime. So, in that case, I'll put this message out there: you're welcome no matter what you may see yourself as on the inside. And some day, you'll be able to show the world who you really are.

Even if who you really are is a platinum-blonde, drill-haired, red-suited noblewoman. [Laughter.]

[AFTERWORD: I haven't talked to Doctor D since this interview, unfortunately. Though I did get into contact with a few of her patients, and she's still been doing good work for the community that she's building, even if her attitude is apparently a little more haughty than it was when I spoke with her. Here's to hoping that my public posting of this article brings her more success. - S.R.]