So...hairy legs.

[TayBay]

I'm so happy not to shave (in the female pattern) anymore. My arms might be spaghetti strands, and my voice might be a dead giveaway, but I damn do I have a manly leg-mane, and in a weird way I'm proud of it. I almost feel like one of the Bears. (Okay, maybe not quite.)

The thing is, I'm pre-T and not out at my job as trans (yet). I do light physical work on the hot and stuffy floor of a library. Since I work directly with the public, I don't want to risk seeming unhygienic, or otherwise making patrons uncomfortable.

And...and summer is coming. With shorts and stuff.

And my furry leg confidence has suddenly vanished at the thought of them actually being seen. Not just at work, but anywhere.

So: should I swallow my pride and shave, burn up in pants, or be self-conscious in shorts?

[Deinewelt]

Before transitioning and in boy mode, I always chose to just wear pants instead of worrying about people seeing my smooth girly legs.  If you really love it, don't let them take it away from u!

You could just trim it down a little so it isn't super noticeable?

[Ace_Javert]

I love my wooly trousers. But I'm no where near being passable as a guy. I had that kind of embarrassment for a while but even the thought of having to shave just put me off more than the idea of people being weirded out. It's all about owning it.
Plus, there are plenty of reasons people (ie cis women) don't shave too.

~Jav

[Adam (birkin)]

Well, obviously it depends on what makes you more comfortable...personally, when I was not passing I didn't like the stares and whatnot so I just shaved. It made me feel worse because I knew people were checking out the hairy "girl" and it just made me more aware of the rest of my appearance. I also didn't have a lot of inner fortitude and confidence at the time to deal with the a-holes that paid too much attention to the legs. But that was me and my interpretation of the situation. Also, if you do decide to shave and regret it, hair grows back.

[wolfduality]

I'm not passable especially when I speak. I have moments when I'm feel uncomfortable about my leg hair and have even had some comments from both people I know or total strangers commenting on "why do you have such long hair on your legs?", "why don't you shave?", "are you some kind of hippie?" and the like. I just snark "it's just hair, it doesn't affect you." when I get snotty 'tude. Otherwise, I just ignore and do my best to not feel self-conscious. Drawing attention to your legs by trying to hide your "luscious leg locks" will only make it worse.

[Contravene]

I'm pre-T and have always had really hairy legs to the point where I had to shave them every day or it would be noticeable. I love it and usually let it grow out, with the occasional trim, but when I have to be in "girl mode" I shave them. I hate to but it's not really a big deal, it'll always grow back plus it helps tame the hair down so I don't look like I have wolfman legs all the time. As much as I hate it, if I must be seen as a girl I would rather not call more unwanted attention to myself by being seen as a gross, hairy, hippy girl.

[Ms Grace]

No chance of coming out at work? That might give you the best of both worlds?

Being M2F I'm of course going the other way. I was a little worried at wearing shorts to work lest my hairless legs give me away - but I did, it got noticed and commented on (in the most hilarious way possible) and far from feeling self conscious it made me feel very awesome and I just said "full body wax"! When they asked why I said "why not?"

[Sea]

Hello TayBay,
I am also Pre-Testosterone. I do not shave my legs, they do look masculine and I wear shorts in summer. I do have to face some scorns and laughs from time to time.
Before I knew it I was already presenting myself as a male so that's what it is, at first I was taken by surprise that people would laugh at me for being the way I am. I don't think about that a lot but it does sting when I was called out for being masculine while having a biological female body.
I wouldn't know what else to advise you, this is my personal experience. Be strong friend, cheers!

[FTMax]

I was pretty self conscious about it at first. I started off wearing shorts around the house, then outside at night, then outside during the day. Unfortunately I can't wear shorts at work, otherwise I'd basically live in them.

Just build up to it little by little, and maybe tell a manager or supervisor about your situation.

[wkly1269]

I use to live in st louis and i refused to shave my legs.. but also didnt want to wear shorts due to not passing male...so i would literally be sweating my ass off every summer lol. i moved to montana about a 2 years ago and i decided about a year ago to say ->-bleeped-<- it. and wore shorts and you know what... people dont say ->-bleeped-<- to me. people legit dont give a ->-bleeped-<- haha so yeah.. i was like why didnt i start wearing shorts sooner?! lol i say go for it.. people probably wont even notice.

[Atypical]

I think I have shaved my legs/pits all of twice ever in my life. Even way before I was aware of what trans was, I wasn't about to take a razor to my skin just to make ->-bleeped-<-s stuck on gender stereotypes feel better.

It's your body. Not theirs.

[TayBay]

Wooly trousers and luscious leg locks. I love it.

If you trim without actually shaving, can you tell me how you do this? I might just stick with pants, but at least now if I do try shorts I can know I'm not alone in the struggle. I appreciate the support from MTF members too!

As for work:

This might be the little push I need to start coming out at work. My boss is pretty openly gay, so I feel safe telling him. But I'm nervous about changing pronouns when I can't keep track of them myself, and changing things up on my co-workers when we get along so well right now. In particular there's a woman from Russia who's very kind and motherly towards me, and I adore her, but I can see her being skeptical or resistant to it.

[mac1]

Before transitioning and in boy mode, I always chose to just wear pants instead of worrying about people seeing my smooth girly legs.  If you really love it, don't let them take it away from u!

You could just trim it down a little so it isn't super noticeable?

Guys don't have to have hairy legs.  To date, I have only appeared in guy mode.  However, I try to shave my legs (lower portion when possible) and wear shorts in the summer.  Nobody appears to pay any attention.

[FTMax]

If you trim without actually shaving, can you tell me how you do this?

I trimmed my pits for surgery, and I'd imagine it's a similar procedure for legs. Grab some clippers like you would shave your head with, and choose your length. When I didn't want tape to get stuck in my armpit hair post-op, I trimmed them with a #3. I think they all have lengths on them, so you could see how long that is and figure out if that's good or too short/long.