I hope this is in the right place, first post on here. I've used this site for a lot of my research on how people have coped and went through with their transitions.
I'm 19 years old and only recently came out to my mother about my emotional struggles. Ever since I was 11 I have wanted to be a girl, only now have I started realising there is a way. So, in 2 weeks I see a therapist to get my pre-transition therapy. Basically to get analysed to see if this is something I want to do. I feel inside I know 100% I want this. Anyway, the concerns are.... I've seen many MTFs, before and after and most turned out looking very passable. I have one big concern. I know my bone structure will not change on HRT and my body is basically unalterable while remaining safe. But I saw one MTF with a fairly large chest get it reduced to nothing, basically making her look almost identical to a genetic female.
I have my lower ribs protruding beyond my abdomen area- and my chest is fairly thick, about the size of my arm in width doubled. I'm about 6 feet tall and I weight 150lbs. I was curious if there was anyone with this same thick chest as me who experienced a decrease in thickness at all. It's really my main concern, I can't imagine I'd ever pass with a huge bump sticking out .
Hi Sierra Belle,
Welcome to the site.
Your body does change with HRT but as you said bone structure does not. Your weight you can modify with diet and exercise and in fact exercise can help sculpt your shape.
At 150Ibs I think that is about 70 kilos is a nice weight for a 6 foot woman. I'm 5' 9" and I weigh 60 kilos and I'm looked at as a tall thin woman, and I get a lot of jealous comments about my long legs from other woman and lots of lustful looks from guys (Heee Heee). At 19 HRT will have a dramatic effect and you can look forward to a wonderful life.
Woman come in all shapes and sizes so don't worry too much, clothing will adapt your shape to a nice look, we just need a bit of help getting a style to suit the body shape.
Hugs and welcome
Cindy
It's you! I recognise you from a lot of the posts I've read. :P
I figured I may just be over thinking things a bit, I've been waiting for this therapy appointment for a month and a half now, guess she's been pretty booked. :/
But lately the anxiety has been really getting to me, so I've been going psycho with research and over worrying. Just looking for answers.
Yes it's me, I'm a very normal woman living in Australia and very happy. I remember waiting for my first appointments and wishing it would happen and then starting the journey and loving every second of it!
Just try and relax and enjoy the trip!
Hugs
Cindy
You're so blessed to have figured this out at 19...your body is still ripe for changes on HRT and you will be amazed at what happens. The changes are subtle, but when you see them evolve over time - the result is phenomenal. Everyone is different of course, but personally, this has been the result for me. I am 24 years old, started hrt 8 months ago when I was 23. I was living full time as a woman already when I started, because I wanted to, and trust me I did not pass. No one saw me as a woman, just a drag queen. At 4 months I started to pass. It was as simple as that for me, I know a lot of other girls aren't so lucky, but my point is just that HRT changed me in significant ways in 4 months and since then I have passed consistently. This is of course coupled with the fact I have worked very hard on my voice, makeup, clothing, etc.
However, the other good news is that between 6-8 months my facial changes became so significant that I now don't have to wear makeup, and I still pass. In fact, for the first time in my life I look better without makeup. My skin was always a thick mess of cystic acne. When I started HRT my acne was HORRIBLE and painful and ugly and I was so oily. Now I have clear, soft, healthy skin. I still get little pimples now an then but nothing like before. This alone was the most amazing change.
My bone structure is slight, so that is a huge advantage...but of course my shoulders are broad, hands larger, head larger...Those things are a source of insecurity for me, but I need to get over them. When your body becomes a woman's body physically, those male characteristics need to be re-evaluated as accentuations of a female body and not remnants of a male one. That is of course idealistic thinking, and it all depends on the severity of your "male" features. Some of us need FFS to be the women we are, others do not. My face is very passable, but my profile is not so much (if you ask me). I have a brow ridge that is not HUGE but is relevant, and I desperately want it fixed. However, it has not kept me from passing as female. But I wear bangs, so it is often concealed. I will say, though, that whenever I talk about getting it fixed my friends think it is unnecessary. I don't know if I can trust them with that, because they love me so they don't see something like that as a big deal - it needs to be my decision.
My point in telling you my story like this is just to explain how in transition we have to work with the changes as well as the base structure those changes are on top/a part of. Sometimes you will be able to honestly see yourself as a woman with broad shoulders, and other times you will need to address a characteristic that is just undeniably making you look male. I think we need to be very patient, and to trust ourselves. I imagine my forehead might seem like less of a problem in a few years, when I have had srs and my breasts have come in fully...and I am more full bodied a woman. However, it could be jsut the opposite, and that part of me will be even more problematic. We'll see. I understand your concerns are about body parts that may not be able to be surgically altered. But your thick chest will likely change a lot on HRT - and it will also probably blend into the rest of your full bodied change as one of those slightly more masculine qualities of your womanhood, but it won't necessarily make you look male. Also, keep in mind that our dysphoria often clouds how we see ourselves. You are young and that is a huge bonus for HRT to get good results. If you want to post a picture I am sure people would be happy to tell you what they think about your potential results...Take care
Thank you so much for your story, this is really the honest only concern I have with this whole journey. It's also the only concern of mine that can't be altered in a safe way. I am hoping it will change over time with HRT, but I guess it wouldn't be so bad if it didn't. I've already got a base plan of how I'm going to go about my transition, I'm going to be going through HRT, then the primary transition surgery, and after all that and hopefully after successfully having a job and a solid pay check I'll start looking in to periodic FFS surgery visits. I have a terrible nose and my eyebrows have a slight protrude. I've been doing basically nothing but researching this. HRT, good and bad outcomes, the different people, before and afters, side effects and surgeons. So I feel like I'm pretty much settled with how this is going to work out. This unchangeable part of my body is scaring me a tad though. Hoping it's a needless fear. :P
from what i have noticed for those who are normally under 30 with all the changes that happen over like 5 years things change in the upper body. i know im only a solid year into hrt and post srs and things are still changing so much. and all the other trans people im in contact with in Florida say the same thing. so i would not worry about it to much. but remember it does take years.
Most pics, it usually takes at least a year for the person to look female.
Ive been on hormones for a few months and while def dont look female I look more and more androgynous
One of the things Ive found odd is how feminine my arms are.
My mom has bigger arms, forearms, and even hands than me despite myself being much more athletic and also roughly half a foot taller than her. Oh, and the part where I was born with a male body.
Hey Sierra,
I just want to say don't let the anxiety get to you too much. I was once going to transition at 19 and and let my fears get the best of me. Now, I am in my early twenties trying to start everything and I'm kicking myself for not getting started earlier. It's easy to let fear and anxiety get to us, but if you know you want this and this is your path in life, than it's best to just move forward. So, don't sweat the small stuff. Things will improve in due time once you begin hrt.
Also, it sounds like you have a good plan and are thinking it all through. That's great! God knows my original plan at 19 was terrible. Perhaps, that's why it didn't work,lol.
Yeah, I'm trying to keep a strong head about it. I haven't once thought of not trying, as I'd rather be a deformed woman than not at all. I'm sure it'll be fine even if it turns out I have a very masculine chest. This is something I am 100% certain I want. The depression I had before I came out to my family was just too much. It was getting desperate. Simply coming out and knowing that I am on my way has helped me TONS. I've been eating healthier, not that it was entirely unhealthy before, I've been more motivated to exercise as I got little to none prior, and I've just generally felt much happier about myself knowing that this is the road ahead of me. c:
And thank you ALL for your help, it's helped me tremendously to look at this process much brighter.
A little advice to help you in your start
Download yoga journals yoga practice for flexibility from YouTube
As you demuscularize ir will help with the toning into a more
Female like structure..
Plus when practiced daily for a long time you devveope some
Really good traits..posture...agility...grace..calmness.. internal peace.
I will look into it, thanks!
Quote from: Sierra Belle on April 21, 2013, 03:05:45 AM
I hope this is in the right place, first post on here. I've used this site for a lot of my research on how people have coped and went through with their transitions.
I'm 19 years old and only recently came out to my mother about my emotional struggles. Ever since I was 11 I have wanted to be a girl, only now have I started realising there is a way. So, in 2 weeks I see a therapist to get my pre-transition therapy. Basically to get analysed to see if this is something I want to do. I feel inside I know 100% I want this. Anyway, the concerns are.... I've seen many MTFs, before and after and most turned out looking very passable. I have one big concern. I know my bone structure will not change on HRT and my body is basically unalterable while remaining safe. But I saw one MTF with a fairly large chest get it reduced to nothing, basically making her look almost identical to a genetic female.
I have my lower ribs protruding beyond my abdomen area- and my chest is fairly thick, about the size of my arm in width doubled. I'm about 6 feet tall and I weight 150lbs. I was curious if there was anyone with this same thick chest as me who experienced a decrease in thickness at all. It's really my main concern, I can't imagine I'd ever pass with a huge bump sticking out .
One thing to note, Sierra, is that your lower ribs are "floating."
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdraftingmanuals.tpub.com%2F14262%2Fimg%2F14262_144_1.jpg&hash=2730d396118859f7cb05b9c176c46861916fef4b)
That means they can be manipulated through corsetting, and forced somewhat inward.
Quote from: Jamie D on May 22, 2013, 05:00:48 PM
One thing to note, Sierra, is that your lower ribs are "floating."
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdraftingmanuals.tpub.com%2F14262%2Fimg%2F14262_144_1.jpg&hash=2730d396118859f7cb05b9c176c46861916fef4b)
That means they can be manipulated through corsetting, and forced somewhat inward.
I've been doing some upper abdominal curls which seem to have pushed them back a little, very slightly. But I have actually looked into maybe trying corseting. Those ribs are so annoying, and only they stick out. The rest seem perfectly flat and rounded!
Hi Sierra :) im 29 years old and ive been on hrt for 3months and a half (just today yay :D !) my endo took measures of my body before starting and after 2 months i lost 1.5cm (not much i know but still something) in my upper rib cage measure compared to what i had at start and also lost a bit of mass muscle and my shoulders were also a bit reduced from the initial measures about 1cm, of course i guess it was because of the weight i lost and the diet my endo gave me (im 5'9 and 149 lb right now) but as for the bone structure itself so far ive read it has no changes unless you start hrt at a young age, but i see myself a little bit less 'wide' on that area tbh :laugh:
Eh, I haven't measured much but I have a VERY slender body. In fact, my psychiatrist commented about how I have a perfectly passable body type already and I haven't even started hormones. At this point it's more of a self comfort thing to get rid of these annoying ribs! xD
I don't have much muscle, nor fat really. I'm 5 11 or 6 ft and I weight about 145. Preeeeetty thin.