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Passing less since starting T!!!!

Started by xAndrewx, February 22, 2011, 01:07:16 AM

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xAndrewx

Alright so wasn't positive if I should put this here or in the ftm section but since it's me venting and not asking for advice I thought it would be best here.

So before starting T I passed 95% of the time and even my first month after starting T I was passing about 95% still. This last month has been grrrr! I thought ya know since I already passed almost constantly pre-T it would just get better after starting or at least stay the same, right? Wrong :( I'm passing about 75% now. Please to those who don't pass very often think I'm horrible for this bothering me. I really am sorry, it's just frustrating to go from one to the other when I thought it would get better.

The culprit behind this? My job. Yup, it's because I have to talk to my customers in a soft and gentle voice (I'm around a lot of kids every day) and I can't seem to find that balance just yet between deep voice while still seeming kind and deep voice while being harsh. Also although my name tag says my preferred name (doesn't help that Drew is gender-neutral though) my schedule says my legal name so my name gets written down on the wall for everyone to see. I've been there less than a week so I'm hoping once I meet all the managers they will start putting my preferred name down. So they erase and fix it when I get there which means my manager thinks I'm female. Normally with the average person I have no problem correcting them but with my boss? Yeah I just can't seem to do it. Sorta funny though because he switches between pronouns even in the same sentence sometimes I'll go from being he to she.

The cool part of this is I've noticed when anyone calls me female they shortly after call me male so at least I am passing somewhat. Going to wear my other binder tomorrow (gives me less bounce) and shave which usually seems to help me pass and with any luck I'll pass a little better tomorrow. Thanks for letting me vent all :)   

Hyde

Passing less after starting T? That's the first I've ever heard of that circumstance. I don't really think you are horrible for letting this bother you, especially since T usually does a good job masculinizing your physical traits with some time. It's reasonable to have those feelings after taking that big step forward towards actively altering your body.

The fact that your job is new explains a lot of things. If you were passing well before to the general public, it's probably because people don't take too long to observe/think about your features or probably judge by your appearance alone with a glance. I'm sure the young kids wouldn't be able to scope you out. However, certain jobs in general, especially yours where you have to handle kids, require plenty of direct and more in-depth social interaction. There are bound to be people out there, particularly adults/parents, who have a keener, experienced eye and ear for scoping out what you biologically were; After all, they've had children to observe while they were growing up.

Drew sounds like a very masculine/boys-only name to me. In my experience, I've never met a female named Drew. I don't think the name would pose to be a major problem, IMO.

My suggestion to you for your voice is to practice speaking in a calm voice at home while adjusting to it. That way you will have time to look for the right balance between gentle/masculine without feeling pressured to come up with it on the spot during your job. Having a good grip on your voice, I imagine, does take some getting used to, since it's equivalent to a teenaged boy going through puberty. Since you're actively taking T, practice would benefit you feeling better about your vocal cords and how your voice sounds. If you have any favorite voice actors or male actors with voices that you admire or want to be like, I would suggest listening to some of their voice clips and trying to imitate their lines, especially if they have kind-sounding ones. It's a good confidence booster. 

I think your boss would be the most important person to talk about your gender-identity. After all, once you speak with them and get things cleared up, your co-workers should recognize you as male as well and everything should gradually fall into place. I can understand the fears though, you most likely don't want to lose your newly earned job. Just confront him at a good time in private and ask to speak to him.

I'm sure with more time, you will be passing without needing to deal with any of this hassle. Good luck with everything dude.
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xAndrewx

Thanks Hyde :) I did sing a lot when I got home last night, kind of experimenting with my range and such. My boss last night just didn't use pronouns so it was a little better. The problem is that I work at a theme park with thousands of locations and hundreds of thousands of employees so while I outed myself and got everything set up with the people who hired me, I then had to out myself to my trainers, now I'm just waiting to find out where I will be most permanently placed before I talk to the manager. If I'm only working with him occasionally (although it really sucks) I'll deal with it because last night my co-workers did awesome and gendered me correctly!

Maybe the other night was just a really bad night but at least last night went well and hopefully soon I'll find out where I am going to be most of the time and give the managers there a heads-up if needed. Thank you for the advice :) It helped and it made me feel a lot better :)