I won't bore you with the elements of the philosophy or a detailed account of what I believe. In fact, one could say the essence of Taoism is to be on the fence permanently; to neither believe nor disbelieve anything. It is in effect, a form of agnosticism, and is definitely not a religion. Like Buddhism, it answers more accurately to the description of a 'way of life'. There is another side to Taoism, which is a kind of folk-pagan religion with a pantheon of gods and goddesses, but that's what happens when a pure philosophy is manhandled by an enormous population for about four thousand years.
The basic precept is that in no way must a Taoist ever try to corrupt the innate nature of anything. This innate nature is known as Virtue. Put another way, it's how things are in their natural state, at their most healthy, happy and beneficial to the world. People and things are as they are - including human nature - and it's arrogant to assume that we as individuals can have an effect on these things. That's not to say that people can't change. It simply means that people WILL only change when they want to, from their Virtue. It is only when a person sees through their own minds, eyes and experiences that a certain path is clearly the best one for them, that they will really make an effort to follow it. And the path that is best for all of us is the most natural one, and the most natural one is always the one that requires the least long-term effort. There is no use in struggling to become something that you are not - it will never make you anything but an unhappy version of what you are.
If 'heaven and earth' or 'Tao' (ie. the life force of the univcrse that lives in each one of us) have combined to produce a thing, then it is because that thing has a purpose. It will know its purpose from a young age, but the constraints of human socieity, forever arrogant and thinking it knows better than nature, will work on that Thing from the moment it's noticed, trying to turn it into something it understands. So that Thing will lose the Way and forget its purpose, striving hard to achieve what it's been told it's for. This is a scaled down illustration of what happens to the average human being.
When heaven and earth produce a transsexual, it is clearly for a reason. To heaven and earth there is no wrong or right, no good or bad, just 'is' and 'is not'. The transsexual person has, in an ideal society, the perspective of both male and female views, experience of life in both roles, and understanding and creativity that no person whose gender is less complicated can ever know in the same way. People like this can be of immense benefit to society - if only they're appreciated.
There are Native American cultures where transgender people have always been looked up to and respected as 'double spirited' people, possessing unique wisdom and understanding. Even in a society like ours, where such acceptance seems like a far-off dream, we can still be of great 'use' to the individuals we meet and know whose minds are open enough to learn. A great friend of mine who is Christians, tells me that since learning about my situation prompted her to do a lot of research, leading to understanding of things she never would otherwise have looked at, and she says it has made her life, wisdom and faith all the richer for it.
To the question, "I want to transition - should I do it?" a Taoist would reply a simple "Yes". If a transsexual is what you are, and it's in your innate nature to need the body of the opposite physical sex, then to deny this would go against your Virtue. It would also rob you of the full benefit of your unique placement in the cosmos. You have already lived as a woman - you need now to live as a man in order to both be comfortable in your own skin, and to fully realise the world from both sides. Otherwise there's a high chance that you'll be frustrated and miserable all your life. It has been medically proven that transsexual syndrome is not something that will go away, or something you can be talked out of. So if in order to maintain your sanity and be true to your Virtue, you need to change your physical sex, and fate has provided the opportunity to do it, you would be crazy not to.
A Christian would've told Joan of Arc to get back in the kitchen and stop dreaming. Many of them did! A Taoist would've said, "Go ahead, if it's what you've got to do." What we have to do in this sense is usually the very thing that will allow or encourage us to flourish and realise our true potential. If Joan hadn't ignored the conservatives around her and gone with what her Virtue told her she had to do, then no one would've ever discovered what a great military leader she could be. Sadly because of the times she lived in, it only resulted in her death. But would her life have been any happier if she'd been allowed to live it out unfulfilled?
At the end of the day, trying your hardest to be something you're not will NOT change you. It will only make you a miserable version of what you are. And only you can decide what or who you are. Be yourself.
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