When Do You Stop Being Trans?

I've been asked this question quite a few times now by a surprising number of people and I feel like talking about it:

"So at what point during your transition do you stop being trans? Like, when do you go from transgender woman to just woman?"

This question irritates me, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly all the reasons why... I find it to be such a baffling question. What logical steps would lead a person to think about it in this way?

Perhaps it drives home the point that people really believe there is such a solid difference between transgender women and cisgender women? Like they're two entirely different genders, and thus should be treated differently?

Perhaps it also demonstrates such a great lack of understanding about how society sees trans people, and how we must live for the rest of our lives? 

I suppose it also reminds me that I will never not be trans, and thus I will have to continue receiving questions like these for as long as I continue to remain an open book.

In any case, I try to be patient. I tend to answer that question by saying something along the lines of, "Right now would be nice, if you'd like to start treating me as you would a cis woman. It's up to you."

Honestly, it's a label. A social construct. You are welcome to forget that I'm trans and just call me a woman. In fact, I would probably find that very refreshing. The "trans" adjective is merely used to describe how I was assumed to be a different gender at birth, just like how "cis" is an adjective used to describe a person whose gender was assumed correctly at birth.

Just don't forget that the noun used for both of those adjectives was "woman." You are using the word trans as a way of describing the woman, the same way you would say blonde woman, or brown-eyed woman, or cisgender woman. The noun is woman, and that means you're referring to a woman.

So no, chances are I will never stop being referred to as a transgender woman. Just like I will never stop being a white woman, or a brown-eyed woman. This is just the reality of my existence, and the only thing about this that can really change is the way I am treated by others. And the amount of patience I give to these types of questions, of course. ;)