Coming out to Older People?

[AbeLane]

So. I live in an apartment building where a majority of the tenants are elderly people. I'm 28 myself, so I joke that it's like living in a building of grandparents. I get along with several of them and help them out when they need it or just joke around. But there are a lot of them that are annoying, always drunk, or just nasty.

While I've come out to pretty much everyone else, I have yet to say anything to my neighbors. I know if I were to tell just one person it would spread through the building like wildfire (news/rumors do that here) but I'm not sure how they'll react.

I wouldn't worry about it at all, except I'm starting T soon and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hide it once my voice starts dropping and facial hair hopefully starts growing. Part of me wonders if I should just become a hermit (with school starting up I usually don't interact with my neighbors as much because I'm busy anyway).

It's just that even the ones I get along with are VERY conservative. And I don't want to have to deal with nasty looks/comments. (I already get some because they assume I'm a lesbian because my hair is short).

What should I do? Should I try to explain it to them? Say I have a cold forever? Moving isn't really an option for me.

[KristinaM]

I don't know about your relationship with them, but in my opinion, what you do is what you do.  They don't have any direct influence over your existence, so let them think what they want to think, just keep being your awesome, friendly, helpful self and they'll see you for you, regardless of how things change.  Just don't jump in with both feet, lol, make the outward changes more gradual.  Plus, thanks to double standards, it's usually more OK for girls to wear boy clothes anyways.

[AbeLane]

I don't know about your relationship with them, but in my opinion, what you do is what you do.  They don't have any direct influence over your existence, so let them think what they want to think, just keep being your awesome, friendly, helpful self and they'll see you for you, regardless of how things change.  Just don't jump in with both feet, lol, make the outward changes more gradual.  Plus, thanks to double standards, it's usually more OK for girls to wear boy clothes anyways.

I've always been more masculine presenting (i.e. I wear men's clothing, have a guy's haircuts, ect) The issue becomes when my voice starts lowering and I grow facial hair.