Hello everyone!
I've been a member on Susan's Place for a little more than a year now but this shall be my first post on the forums and I figure there's no better place to start than with an introduction! I currently have no chosen name (although I have a couple of ideas) but, for the time being, you can call me by my internet handle "flowersformiceandmen". I'm 23 years old and live in London, England; I enjoy reading, writing, listening to music, playing the guitar and blogging.
Why am I here? For the past few years, I have been questioning my gender identity and taking a closer look at my life. I was born as an unambiguous male and have lived my life as one, I feel uncomfortable with presenting as male and with my own body. I have simultaneously been growing more uncomfortable as my body has became masculine over the years. Namely, I do not like having body hair sprouting everywhere, broad shoulders, deep set eyes and other masculine features. Unfortunately, I began to lose hair from a young age and my hairline receded slightly and it has become thinner with time. At the age of 21, I decided that enough was enough and I made the informed decision to begin self-medication with the DHT-blocker finasteride which I purchased from an online pharmacy. Although the medication was successful in its primary purpose, I had to stop taking it due to unrelated mental health concerns (depression and anxiety).
I have struggled with issues of gender identity and expression on my own and I have learnt that such matters are more nuanced than it appears to be. My parents are not supportive of this part of me and refuse to talk about it, let alone take time to learn more about such a fascinating aspect of every culture in the world. I have a strong and persistent desire to transition but I think it would be wise to take time before I rush head first into such an important choice.
I'm becoming an active member of Susan's Place in the hope that I may learn even more information about ->-bleeped-<-; share more of my own story; hear the narratives of other transgender people; voice my own doubts; be advised on certain things like laser hair reduction and, lastly, to make a few friends with similar interests. I look forward to posting more on here.
Sincerely,
flowersformiceandmen.
