Hello, my name is Melody.
Here's my problem. I don't think my parents would respond well to me being transgender, and they definitely wouldn't let me get blockers. I'm feeling really dysphoric about my male body, and I was wondering if there was anything small I could do to relieve some of my dysphoria without anyone finding out.
Thanks for helping me out.
Hi Melody, welcome to Susan's. For some of us keeping busy and distracting ourselves helped. Are there little small things that you can do that can take you closer but not be an issue at this point. I look forward to seeing you around the site. Good luck and Hugs
Mariah
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Perhaps deodorant for women, some perfume instead of cologne, shower gel for men. Just tell your parents that you think it works better or smells better if they ask. Depending on how snoopy your parents are and how independent you are, you may even be able to wear underwear when not heading for a gym class.
I don't know how old you are but when I was a teen I began using little things to keep me sane. This method helped a bit but it does not work forever. I often wore appropriate undergarments under my male clothes. Or, I would mix in elements of female clothing that could be mistaken for male stuff. Jeans, cargo pants, thermals, hats, socks and gloves. I always wore them in the muted color pallet of my male wardrobe so no pinks, purples or bright colors.
This would help me here and there but if I let too much in it sometimes made the dysphoria worse as it made the male stuff that much more difficult to bear. And as I said it does not work forever, nothing does.
I guess it depends on how observant your family is.
As early as junior high I remember doing little things to combat my dysphoria that mostly went unnoticed by my parents. Stuff like shaving my legs and even my arms. I couldn't paint my nails, but I would polish them, so that they at least looked nice and had a shine (I would also paint my toenails in the winter time when it wasn't suspicious for me to be wearing socks around the house). While my family never knew it (I'm pretty sure they would have had a fit), I used to wear makeup while at school during my high school years. I quickly learned which teachers would/wouldn't have a problem with it and wore it accordingly.
The little things helped and still do help to alleviate my dysphoria. Just know the limits of what might get you noticed. There was one time that I shaped my eyebrows a little too noticeably, and let's just say that ended in a tremendous fight between my parents and I.