Importance of forhead

[DuchessBianca]

Hello! I'm at the point in transitioning where my bodys had enough to to get used to it/build up etc... and rapid changes physical changes are most likely and I'm also starting to switch my wardrobe for more appropriate clothing but this has me thinking, I'm sure many of you can relate but my forhead/skull isn't exactly overly feminine so that has me worrying and staring all the time comparing it to other females I see in public. Long story short how huge of a factor is forehead in passing? Am I exaggerating or worrying too much when I think to myself that it doesn't matter how feminine my face may turn out as I'll never pass with my forehead? I'm assuming outside of surgery the only thing that could help i getting some bangs?

[Sophia Sage]

Yeah, I think the forehead is very important, because we look each other in the eyes and though people aren't consciously aware of the general differences of a testosterone-poisoned bone structure, I do think they pick up on it at a subconscious level, at the very least.

If you have any kind of a brow ridge, this can be a problem.  Bangs are pretty reliable at hiding it, as are certain kinds of glasses.  Facial surgery is what it takes to get rid of it, usually in conjunction with rhinoplasty. 

Now, context is also important.  If everything else about you is obviously female, you likely won't get clocked.  Once people get to know you, if you haven't already been clocked then your gendering is likely to stick.  But then there will be people who just can't stop looking, and once they pick up on it they start looking for other cues to confirm their suspicions or resolve their sense of ambiguity.  Interestingly, a very good voice can nip this in the bud. 

But yeah, it's pretty important if you want consistent, unambiguous female gendering.

[Lady_Oracle]

Adding on to what Sophia mentioned, like yeah its true about the voice in my experience. I had mastered my voice early in my transition so passing became pretty easy once I had laser and on hrt.

Answering the question though, it matters quite a lot BUT, again like what Sophia mentioned if you have enough feminine characteristics then it can balance it all out and negate the brow issue. In my case I never developed a full brow ridge, its very subtle in the sense that cis people in general aren't able to clock me over it and because my body is shaped "cis" and my face has mostly feminine qualities to it so it offsets what little brow I do have and if I wear makeup and accentuate those features, this boosts the offset even more. The only way to see my brow fully is through my side profile but even then due to my hair its really not that noticeable but of course to me it is lol.

Over the years every now and again I end up obsessing over my few masculine features cause dysphoria does that to you and its hard to ignore it. Anyways what I'm trying to get at is that there are so many little things you can do to balance and negate the brow even if you don't have the most fem bone structure. It just means you're going to have to put more effort into your clothing and makeup styles.