Neutrois

Oh, how utterly fascinating! It explains the chest and hips, sure enough. That's a different variable than I've seen before. James White's Hudlar change sex, but a mated couple will alternate around each pregnancy. The aliens in _The Left Hand of Darkness_ seem to have a random sex development in each fertile cycle. I look forward to hearing more about Exuberance & friends.

My centaurs don't tend to form tight sexual bonds. But for the ones who have riders, that's the dominant pairbond in their culture. One important aspect is that centaurs are herd creatures by nature; they actually can't take care of themselves properly alone, because there are parts they can't reach. A mount-and-rider pair can go places a whole herd couldn't, so it gives them some interesting freedoms -- in the context of a very intimate relationship.

The smaller, faster kinds of centaurs make brilliant skirmishers. A riderless centaur can twist around to fire over his own haunches. Put a rider on him, though, and he can focus all his attention forward while the rear-facing rider covers the back. Arm them both with an assortment of recurve shortbows or crossbows, and they're wickedly effective.

Then there's the centaur cavalry. They're like tanks, devastating and unstoppable. Imagine something with the mass of a destrier, in heavy plate armor, carrying one or two heavy lances or polearms. Now add a moderately armored rider with more lances, heavy or light, and a sword for close combat. Now get the centaurs hopped up on tarragon so they'll charge anything, even a fire wall or a square of pikes. They might not survive the charge, but they will by gods put a hole through that line.

Most centaurs lean towards prey mentality: they don't like to fight, they'd rather run, and they spook easily. But some of them are downright ferocious, and you *do not* want to be on the other side of that fight. I have one poem about the centaur cavalry in action, "The Defeat of Silea." I hope that one finds a home soon; it'll be fun to share.

I wish you luck on your journey. Know that there are people in the world who respect your indentity and your right to be who you are.

The Canadian health care system is very different from America's and I don't know how well or poorly it handles the need for gender-driven body modification. Quietly seek out the queer/trans community in your area and ask for recommendations -- health care providers who specialize in treating such people tend to gain a following and people will refer new seekers to them. A GLBTQ-friendly practitioner might be sympathetic towards someone aiming for Neutrois.

As for linguistics, yep, I love hunting for words across languages. Watch for books like _They Have A Word For It_ and both volumes of _Tingo_.

Glad I could help.

*wink* If you haven't already done it, hit the "linguistics" tag in my blog. I have a lot of vocabulary on here that I think you'll enjoy, and links to some stuff that other people have posted too.

Also well worth a peek is conlangs which is a gathering space for people interested in constructed languages. A lot of good vocabulary pops up there too.

And you must read haikujaguar's excellent series "The Aphorisms of Kherishdar" for sociological science fiction that always begins with an Ai-Naidari vocabulary word. Good brain-stretchy stuff.
http://www.stardancer.org/kherishdar/index.phtml