Would I like to have, say, Keira Knightley's looks? You bet I would. Would I ever do it though? No way.
For a start I wouldn't be me if I did. My face may not be an oil painting, but it has gotten me through life without any adverse comments and in all that time I've kind of gotten used to it. I can see some masculine features in there, I can also see some feminine ones too. It's a mish-mash - but then I look around me at the women I see in the street and I realise that I am a lot better off than many of them.
You want to see high and ridged foreheads? Then look HONESTLY down your local high street at the women, and this time don't cheat by only looking at the pretty ones. If you look at ALL of them you will see some right old neanderthal skulls, and they are cis women.
Jaws? Again look honestly. Many women have jaws like prize fighters. Same goes for noses, and indeed any other physical attribute that you may single out, big frame, small hips, excessive height, big feet, adams apple, there are cis women out there with all of them, and when you actually force yourself to notice them in surprising numbers too.
So the real question is WHY? Why do you want to do this? Is it because you think that you don't "pass" (I hate that word) and you believe that if you fix the flaws that you see that you will? If so THINK AGAIN. I have seen many many transwomen go though years of endless surgeries and they STILL don't "pass" at all. They look like bloody film stars and yet they get read in seconds - yet the woman down Fore Street with the neanderthal skull, big nose and square jaw doesn't. Ergo "passing" actually has very little to do with how we look, beyond a certain point.
If you genuinely want to change your face because YOU don't like the way you look then fine. Like SRS you must do it for you and you alone, but don't do it with any illusion that it will change the way anyone else will look at you because I can assure you, based on many many observations, that it almost certainly won't.
It's perfectly normal to hate the imperfections that you see in yourself. The important thing is not to go of chasing rainbows. Surgery can do wonders, but perfection isn't on offer yet, and if you do go down that road it is very easy to become an operations junkie. The sort who is forever going off having a little nip here and a little tuck there. That is both costly and ultimately futile. Such people also often end up being cruelly laughed at behind their backs for their obvious obsession.
Finally if you want romance in your life you will almost certainly find that easier if you can learn to compromise both with yourself and with others than you will by shooting for perfection. One of the things that Alison and I both respected in each other when we met is that we were both firmly of the opinion that the SRS was the only operation that we were going to have. We both knew we had faults, but we decided to live with them in the interests of stability. We have both bent that resolve slightly, Alison by having a BA and I by having a stage 2 to my SRS, although that was partly for medical reasons, but the principle stands. Learning to compromise and accept our respective flaws has kept us together for 22 years.
So my two cents worth. Yes it is perfectly normal to have insecurities about how you look, but no it is generally not a good idea to go chasing those dreams unless you have very deep pockets and are prepared for a lot of disappointment.
Like I say, it is just my opinion - and before anyone jumps on me, yes I know there are people who can and do benefit, but I sincerely think that they are actually in the minority.
