I'm just curious. I dress like a guy. I don't own anything female other than underwear and bra. I have a man's haircut. The whole deal. I do shave however. Because of my breasts and because of my voice. No I don't have the highest voice but it isn't low enough at all to be considered male. But anyway, there is still this element of "embarrassment" to not shave and still pass as female. I'm getting a binder soon so all is well in that end. I shall try to pass as much as possible and what not.
Also, something I'm worried about is getting my binder but using it for school. Like this semester already started and I don't really want to rock the boat. Though a binder doesn't really seem like a big issue. I guess I just gotta stop caring. But as for the shaving, I definitely think I will continue doing it since I have shorts and for now, I am "female" in the eyes of prof's and peers.
I stopped shaving when I was 16. I didn't really care about it. I would wear shorts, or a muscle shirt/tank top. Nobody really cared.
I lived androgynously for years, but like you didn't bind so it was obvious I had breasts. I didn't want to endure the teasing that always came from my family or others when I had hairy legs and pits, so I shaved. I stopped altogether about 3 years ago. About binding, my family never even noticed I had a flat chest - or, if they did, didn't comment.
I noticed that I was the only one who seemed to care. My dad gave me some grief for it, but he was just joking around. It just took getting through the "what will other people say?" in my head.
I don't generally wear shorts, but in cases where I have had to in the past, I shaved my legs. I still do get read as female sometimes. Haven't shaved them now in about a year and a half. Not much hair, but makes me feel better, manlier. I stopped shaving armpits around 6 months ago.
Mind you, there are plenty of men who shave parts of their body, even though it's usually considered by a society as a more "metrosexual" thing to do.
Currently, only thing I do is occasionally trim my underarm hair and shave "down there" though.
I'm pretty hairy.
I haven't shaved my face recently because it's been really irritated, but I probably should.
I don't shave and I don't pass, either, so I understand the embarrassment. I've actually gotten a lot of ->-bleeped-<- about it from family. ::) Sometimes people will look at me weird if I'm wearing shorts, but generally strangers don't give a crap.
But yeah, I'd say stop shaving when you feel comfortable and not before. I've met dudes who shaved/had very little body hair, so you're covered. ;D
Quote from: he who shall not be named on February 03, 2012, 09:56:35 PM
I don't shave and I don't pass, either, so I understand the embarrassment. I've actually gotten a lot of ->-bleeped-<- about it from family. ::) Sometimes people will look at me weird if I'm wearing shorts, but generally strangers don't give a crap.
But yeah, I'd say stop shaving when you feel comfortable and not before. I've met dudes who shaved/had very little body hair, so you're covered. ;D
Yep! It's all about being comfortable! :) Not there yet though! lol
Thanks for everyone for all the great answers
I know a few dudes that shave. A couple of them are cyclists so they do it for that purpose but another one just does it because he doesn't like body hair.
The social "stigma" is definitely on females though if they don't shave. Which I always thought was lame. I think a lot of women out there really don't like shaving but do it because otherwise people would look at them weird or they think men would think they're not feminine.
So if you're not passing and you don't like shaving, then it's really just a matter of YOU being comfortable with it and comfortable with the fact some people still might give you sh*t about it.
For me, personally I go in phases of it. Basically whatever I feel in the mood to do. I don't do any "manscaping" though. Just not really into that lol
I stopped shaving about 4 months ago completely. But even when I did shave, it was usually only my armpits because I go to the gym very regularly. My legs were usually neglected, since I wore sweatpants. Now I just kinda leave it alone. People tend not to comment, and if they do I just raise an eyebrow at them. The only shaving I do now is my peach fuzz on my face, but mostly because when I am down it makes me feel better.
I know several guys who do shave though, and two who wax because they like it. I might shave in the future, but eh. We will see. I tend to be pretty lazy about shaving.
I stopped shaving my legs and stuff, but it's winter so I haven't been seen in shorts yet. Nervous for it, but I was sick of it. I still shave downstairs though, the hair there bothers me a lot.
I was made to start shaving at around 11, but stopped completely at around 14. It was risky in P.E (Physical education, or gym class) at school, but thankfully our P.E school uniform though it consisted of shorts, also included knee high football socks. The same for both sexes. So noone saw my hairy calves, though some people would comment on the slight hair on my knees.
I remember one day, I forgot my socks. I was freaking out, as I would have to do P.E without and everyone would see my legs and Id get done for forgetting part of my P.E kit. My twin sister stepped in and let me use her socks, she saved me so badly and I was so thankful!
Also, around 15 I started wearing bandages to flatten my chest. Though after being forced to wear a (hate the word) bra, at 11, I never did after age 12.
The only time I've ever shaved my armpits was when I used to wear female bathing suits. I'd only shave right before leaving for the beach or pool or whatever because I hated it so much. Now that I wear a rash guard t-shirt and board shorts to swim I never shave them.
Legs I've also only shaved when I knew they were going to be seen by people outside my family and college roommate. I've never shaved them in the winter and there were a few summers I wore pants all summer to avoid shaving them (and because before I got the courage to wear men's cargo shorts, all I had were skimpy girl shorts that showed off my fat thighs which I couldn't stand). This past summer I was pretty much forced into presenting female all summer and since I work outside, I end up wearing shorts pretty much every day. Since I was presenting female and had to wear shorts at my workplace, I didn't want to make the company look bad or start any problems by having hairy legs, so I shaved (even though I hated every second of it). This summer I'm going to do everything in my power not to get roped into having to present female again (the main problem was they put my female name on my nametag and refused to order me a new one even though I offered to pay for it). So hopefully my days of shaving anything but my face are over.
I never really shaved. I did my arm pits legs a few times: for school plays when I was going to have to wear a dress, prom, graduation. Basically the times I was going to wear a dress. I shaved my arm pits more regularly than that, mainly because I was worried someone would look down my shirt sleeve and see my hair. After I went to college I decided to stop shaving all together, I was 18.
Hmm...I can't remember exactly when I stopped shaving altogether. In high school, I remember stopping and only shaving when absolutely necessary. I even wore knee-high tube socks during the summer to avoid it. It must have been the second half of my freshman year (junior college) that I stopped shaving completely. At that time, I was presenting only part-time due to school.
When I first got a binder, I was a sophomore in high school. My mom was so afraid that someone would notice, so she didn't want me to wear it to school. I obeyed until I just couldn't stand the dysphoria anymore. If anyone noticed the change, they never said anything.
The only times I shaved was when I had to. Wouldn't wear shorts or anything sleeveless
i haven't been shaving for a while now. i used to shave a lot- breaking away from that social stigma was difficult. the only time i shaved recently was going to get my new tattoo... knowing me as female, i wasn't sure the artist would appreciate working close to pit hair for four hours. i got paranoid about it. and i manscape, because i like things neat. i haven't shaved my legs for a year and i'm never touching them again with a razor, unless they're getting inked.
On a whim, I just stopped shaving in the past 2 months. I was tired of the skin irritation and discomfort, and I haven't gone back yet, though I know if I end up having to go home in the summer I will need to do it again since my family will find me disgusting.
Honestly, I don't quite get why shaving is gender-specific, seems odd to me that there are social stigmas about women who don't shave and about men who do - but I wear shorts here and nobody says anything, most likely since I pass okay and it's a liberal arts college. I've seen my fair share of girls who don't shave at all here :)
On binding, people probably won't notice, at least not enough to confront you about it. My mom and my partner are the only ones who notice when I bind, and my mom doesn't even say anything. She just finds an opportunity to affectionately rub my back to figure out what I'm wearing. :P
I didn't stop shaving, I started to shave :D
I didn't used to shave when I first started puberty and got a <b>lot</b> of hassle at school over it, so eventually my mum made me shave, to stop the teasing. I still shave when I'm going to be doing something where my legs will be on show, but the only time when that happens now is when I'm playing rugby matches, which is very rarely, and most of the time I forget, panic a bit before hand, and then just forget about it when no one comments. I started shaving armpits again because I don't want any teasing to start up again at school, and my mum started to give me odd looks.
i stopped when i realized i was trans (13) i didnt have a lot of leg hair back then so no one noticed. i didnt get any armpit hair until i was 15 (still dont have much) and i was out by then.
I was a sophomore in high school, around spring was when I started binding and wearing mens clothes( which I had to pay for myself so I didn't own much). The beginning of jr year was when I started to go by my chosen name at school, though most people who knew me before knew that I was transgender, even though it wasn't me who told them.
The summer between 10th and 11th grade was when I cleaned out my closet to where I only had mens clothes and binders, nothing else. I didn't shave as well, but the not shaving and being viewed as a girl pushed me to shave my legs, which made me extremely depressed so I never did it again.
During sophomore year as well was when I got my hair cut short, but still girly, and then every time I went to get it cut I had it cut shorter and shorter to where I could go to a generic hair cutting place and ask for a mens haircut without a problem.
I never used to shave my legs/armpits when I hit puberty, but when I started to get in trouble for not doing P.E. at school and my grades reflected that, I had to, because when I didn't, I knew people were staring and making fun of me. Not to mention, being in a female change room was traumatizing enough for me. I stopped for a while again, but then I began dating a girl who was not accepting of the fact that I was trans - why I dated her I will NEVER understand - and she gave me a hard time for not doing it, so I started again. When I got out of that situation, I stopped. So for the most part, I haven't since I started high school except for the few times I couldn't get away with it. I haven't done it in aaaages now. 'cept for manscaping, but that's for the sake of my other half. :P
Eh I stopped shaving when I felt comfortable enough to do so during my experimentation with my appearance(a few months before I determined I wanted to transition, which was like two years ago for me). Sometimes I shave/trim my underarms because I don't like how my binders rip the hair out, but otherwise, I'm a furry guy. I change in the bathrooms and wear sweats for weight training, so I've not gotten looks or anything.
I mostly stopped shaving late in high school since I almost never wore shorts anyways but I did so periodically throughout a few years after that but then I just got sick and tired of doing it and didn't see the point even though I had a partner who 'preferred' that I shaved. The only thing I shave now is my face (even though it doesn't really need it, there's still a little bit of hair coming up). If I need to do anything else I use scissors to trim. I just do not like having smooth skin, it feels strange and weird and I think I look better with hair (and I feel better about myself too).
For a few years my mom was kind of like "When are you going to shave your legs again? You don't want to go out like that." But I would keep saying that I didn't care what people think and she eventually stopped asking me.
I hardly ever shaved my legs and I just passed it off as a punk rock thing. Lol yknow, F off I'm gg allin, your legs are as ugly shaved as mine are not, etc.
I stopped shaving as soon as I made the decision to transition.
If people perceived me as a female with hairy legs I couldn't care less that they noticed my hairy legs. What I cared about was the fact they considered me female. So I took steps to change that.
Quote from: poptart on February 08, 2012, 02:28:36 AM
I stopped shaving as soon as I made the decision to transition.
If people perceived me as a female with hairy legs I couldn't care less that they noticed my hairy legs. What I cared about was the fact they considered me female. So I took steps to change that.
100% this
The only person that has picked on me for it (in jest) is my little sister so Im sure to send her picture messages of leg hair updates :D
My armpits I only recently stopped shaving, and I still don't see why that would be a gender thing. I always felt like guys should shave their armpits too, for aesthetic reasons. But I tried growing it out, and it's okay.
As far as binding at school - I don't have experience with that, but I did start binding at least 6 months before I was out in all realms of my life. A couple people noticed but nobody said anything. It didn't cause any problems for me, really.
I stopped shaving a few months before I came out and no one has ever said anything to me. At first I would kind of get weird looks from some of my family members, but no one ever actually said a word about it, though I think people who didn't know me didn't say anything about it because I had dreads at the time. I think they just thought I was a hippy or something.
I never had enough hair on my legs to even shave them. I would have to look with a magnifying glass to even find them. I don't shave the underarms because I like hair there. Then again I am pre-transition so if anyone were to look I guess they would just assume I'm just nasty lol.
>Always hairy, rarely shaved
After 16 I never shaved. Only got one comment on it from a girl in my gym class because we wore shorts.
"You should really shave your legs, haha!"
"Why?"
She looked challenged and uncomfortable. I just smiled lazily and continued with my business. (Misspelled the last word on accident and spell-check wanted to make the last word 'bushiness' :P)
I hate shaving....i started waxing because shaving every 2-3 days became such a chore.
Yeah i'm lazy! :laugh:
I stopped shaving my legs last year I think, during school. Up until the moment I stopped I was very worried about what other people would say, but then I realized that they would just see me as a guy completely with the hairy legs and it wouldn't be a problem. I did however reassure myself by coming up with a multitude of smartass comments to throw their way if they questioned me. Getting angry always works to keep away any uncertainty. Anyways, when my leg hair grew out it was amazing. I used to get all this horrible razor burn and nonsense, and now I don't have to deal with that crap anymore. It is awesome. I have really hairy legs too, for being pre-T. I don't know if they could get hairier.
On another note, I was at a sidewalk art contest last weekend and there was this beautiful girl there with unshaven legs. Even though the hair was brown and visible I thought she was very pretty. So it goes to show that hairy legs shouldn't be a gendered thing.
I haven't shaved in about a year and a half. My arms are really hairy but my legs don't look unshaven. You need bright sun light to see what little leg hair I have. I do shave my pits though, because they get red and sore if I don't. I don't know why, but it's best to avoid pain anyway.
Quote from: Danielle×o on February 08, 2012, 06:22:28 PM
I hate shaving....i started waxing because shaving every 2-3 days became such a chore.
I don't think it has anything to do with being lazy.
Shaving sucks balls, man.
When I feel my legs after the day(not even 24 hours later) and I can feel my legs becoming prickly again I just want to jump in front of a bus.
So yeah, you guys are lucky for being able to let your selfs go lolol.
I was androgynous before I came out as trans, so probably not since I was 17. So I guess it's been 4 years... I may have shaved them once when I was 18/19 for some reason - not shaved by trimmed for fun lol, I know I've done it in my life, just not sure when.
I started binding at 17, 2 months before I turned 18. Some people noticed, others didn't. I can still remember my face the first time I put it on... :D
Also I've always been way too lazy to shave. So I'd honestly just wear pants so much when I was in my early teens to avoid it. I only had issues with my leg hair because my dad teased me about it since I was a kid because it was always manly and I was taught that was a bad thing. So I shaved my legs when I was 5, and cut them up and left hair in patches lol. I even shaved my arms when I was 12 cause I was told it was 'in' to do it, then I did it and people thought I was crazy. But that's cause my arm hair was always more like a guys. I'm not super hairy or anything, it just always grew in, in a way that was masculine I guess...
My Mom and Dad are both pretty hairless, so I never needed to shave my legs. I wish I could grow more hair ._.
And as for my pits, I wear men's shirts that are large, when I'm like a small or extra small, so no one really ever sees my pits. I went swimming this year (in trunks and a shirt) and no one saw them either. When I'm in the dreaded girls locker room, I just tend to wear my gym clothes under my uniform. So not shaving really hasn't been an issue for me.
Although I do shave my face sometimes, just for fun. ;D
Quote from: Bradd on February 10, 2012, 05:00:16 AM
Although I do shave my face sometimes, just for fun. ;D
LOL I was gonna do that yesterday...I think I shall do that today! >:-) SHAVING CREAM EVERYWHERE!!!...even though I probably just need a pea sized amount lol
A quick tip, its always a good idea to shave away your peach fuzz on your face if you're going to be up really close to people especially. Peach fuzz is usually only found on women and prepubescent boys. (For those of you who are pre t I mean)