It's sort of anticlimactic when you think about it, hormones generally have the most noticeable impact on people whose bodies exhibit strong secondary characteristics of their GAAB (It goes without saying if started early enough they can prevent irreversible changes from the body's GAAB hormones). But the physical effects hormones have on your body aren't what is going to make going stealth difficult; it's the changes to your mind. There are plenty of FTM's who pass just fine without hormones. You have the added advantage of puberty with testosterone on your side. But once the hormones of their GNAAB hit a transsexual's brain, it's like pushing a toboggan off a cliff. As the chemicals begin to alter your mind and perception of self, it will become increasingly difficult for you to keep up the facade of being a man. Change your mannerisms or grooming, lose your 5 o'clock shadow with electro/laser, begin wearing any makeup. thin your eyebrows, grow your hair, mix in women's clothing with your wardrobe- that's another story.
None of this applies if you aren't transsexual. My female alter and I have completely separate lives so from a transgender perspective you could say we are "stealth." I'm a trauma survivor with dissociative identity disorder (DID), tall and rail skinny with extremely androgynous features. My female alter had no problems with people recognizing she was a girl before I was given HRT when I was misdiagnosed with GD, and hormones have had very little effect on my physical appearance. Five years on a transition level dose of estrogen, I go without a shirt at the beach and no one ever questions my masculinity. Hormones eliminated my female alter's body dysphoria by decreasing my body hair so my body looked more like it did when she fronted for my System through junior high but had zip zero nada affect on my brain. Hormones can't change that; it's my job in my System to be a guy. What took five years of therapy to understand is that the psychological relief I get from estrogen has nothing to do with giving my brain the right hormones. The peace came from chemical castration and meeting my need as a trauma victim to end the cycle of abuse once and for all.
