Well, I'm a lot older and my facial features are not so oestrogen- malleable. Being on the absolute minimal dose for actual changes to occur - mainly for health reasons - is another reason. I'm still in androgynous, but still male clothes mode. As a result, I've never been seen as particularly feminine, except for a few smiles from women thinking I must be gay, obviously bi, or just one of those androgynous-gothic musician's type. Still, I've definitely had "those" looks. Fantastic, yes, but then it's also had the unanticipated fallout of still being "sired" and not receiving "those" looks when I thought I would. I've never seen any men feeling envious. But I have seen some seeming slightly disapproving, or else deliberately expressing indifference..
I reckon it's very hard to get any firm perspective on this from others, since age usually accellerates less time spent "in-between". Also there's some who don't even seem to experience this phase..
Another reason why I'm in-between is that I'm deliberately stalling transition per se, going extra slow in case I land in too deeper waters. For me the sense of being "half-way" brings up even stronger doubts about continuing on, since I realise I could go back if I wanted to, without it affecting too much others perceptions of me as the "male" they've always known. (But then this reminds me of that movie "Gattaca", where the younger brother says to the main character, when they are both hundreds of yards from the shore, daring each another to swim out farther than the other, "but you won't have enough strength to get back to shore", and where the main character says, "but I never intended to go back anyway..". As a result, he thought less about the return swim and so had more confidence in continuing on, swimming farther out, despite knowing the consequences it'd take him further from shore, closer to drowning).
So some days it's really tempting to swim back, to not have to expect being maamed all the time, or looked at wonderingly; because of the huge social restructuring required in order to feel that one is capable of being accepted, as a female.
