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27/09/2014

A time before HRT & surgeries

transmanconfessions:

Before all this science and medicine, HRT and surgeries came along, how did trans people in the past deal with this? Did they merely dress up and played the part? How did they deal with body dysphoria?


There are a number of historical accounts of “passing women”[1] [2]. Usually, they are assumed to have cross-lived for some other reason, eg, to make a living in a male profession, join the armed forces, or marry a woman. It’s impossible to know how many of them would have chosen to transition as we understand it, but they elected to live at least parts of their lives as men, under penalty of brutal humiliation at best, if they were discovered. I can’t believe that some of them wouldn’t have identified as FtM and pursued treatment if the option had existed.


The historical accounts only include the ones who were “outed”, or who went back to living as women. I assume there were others who managed to stay under the radar.


Some of it is genetic luck. Here’s a video of author Norah Vincent promoting her 2006 book, “Self-Made Man”, about her year of cross-living without benefit of hormones. She’s 5’10, with a naturally deep voice. I’ve known a few tall, masculine-featured butch women who were consistently read as men by strangers, even though they didn’t want to be.



20 years ago, at the gender center support group, I met a guy in his 60’s who’d been living as a man for 40 years without any medical intervention. He’d managed to get ID with his correct info, back when it was harder for the government to track someone’s identity than it is now. He’d lived with a woman as her husband for decades, and they’d both told her son that he was the father. He lived in a blue-collar suburb, without a community of masculine-looking women for comparison. He was tall and angular, with a cigarette-cured voice. As far as he was concerned, he’d already transitioned on his own. The only reason he was visiting the gender center then was, he wanted to find out how to claim Social Security benefits for himself and his wife.


Musicians Billy Tipton and Willmer Broadnax are two 20th-century DFAB people who lived as men for most of their adult lives, who, as far as I can find out online, never used hormones, although the possibility existed during their lifetimes. Tipton was married to five women over the years, and raised children with at least one. Broadnax began his musical career with his brother, who apparently supported his male identity.


I hadn’t thought about this before, but perhaps a crucial element is having someone else who will vouch for your manhood. Having a third party introduce someone as their husband, brother, etc, and use a male name and pronouns probably went a long way to dispel any gender ambiguity.


I realize, looking back at your question, that you contrast resolving body dysphoria with “dressing up and playing the part”, which I interpret to mean living in the world as a man. I imagine people figured out methods for hiding their breasts and padding their crotches, if they thought they needed to do so to be recognized as men. But the concept of body dysphoria, distinct from gender dysphoria, is something I’ve only recently encountered. I don’t remember it from my own time pre-transition, and I’m having a hard time understanding it as a separate experience.


I don’t know much about the history of MtF transition, but many different cultures have independently come up with social roles for gender-variant DMAB people, so the idea has been out there long before HRT, etc.

- repost from BiggChronos

Losing family



How to make voice sound deeper Pre-T

   
How to make my voice sound more deeper and more natural? Any training tips?
http://youtu.be/oegzhs410f8 No need to use T with this strategy, but it takes commitment to get results. Hope this helps
-Jackson

Sexually frustrating

The first 24-48 hours after a weekly testosterone shot are the most sexually frustrating.

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New Facebook account

I created a completely new facebook account and only added people who already knew I was ftm

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19/09/2014

Continue being feminine?

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Partner having a hard time

My partner seemed fine with my changes to begin with and would be really happy to see new changes, but recently she has been having a hard time with it all and I think she is no longer attracted to me. I don't know what to do.

17/09/2014

Scared to death

I am scared to death about starting Testosterone, but I’m also so excited that I can hardly contain myself.

Reclusive

As I grow older, I become a lot more reclusive. I figure that I rather stay in my room and fantasize about what could have been than to face reality of being born female. 

14/09/2014

Survey - Marginalization, Mental Health, and Empowerment Team

Are you a person of trans experience? Let your voice be heard!
If applicable please take the survey and/or please post on your tumblr page!
We are a group of researchers from the Marginalization, Mental Health, and Empowerment Team at Columbia University. Our team is made up of LGBTQ folks and allies. We’re interested in learning more about your experiences with marginalization and empowerment as a trans individual. You will have a 1 in 25 chance to win a $25 amazon gift card!
Click this link or copy/paste into your browser to participate:
http://bitly.com/transCU

mmheteam

Wrong

Sometimes I can't breathe, the crushing thoughts of just 'wrong' repeated over and over. It scares me.

Wrong field

i'm cracking my head to search for a suitable job. i have a degree in science field, but people doesn't seems to be able to accept a trans person in that field, sometimes i just felt i have choosen the wrong field to study.

01/09/2014

Misgendering - Part 2

In response to my original post about not blaming others for misgendering you when you don't pass:

I don't mean people who know about your ftm status and yet refuses to use the right pronouns.

I am talking about ftms who complain when strangers use female pronouns. How would they know better when you still look like a butch??

[Singapore]