Hi all!
This is a bit of a strange thread maybe, and I hope I posted it in the right place - the nature of my questions would place it here, I think. Like I've mentioned in my introduction thread (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,197744.0.html), I actually signed up here with the intent to post this specific thread. I hope there are at least some people who are patient to help me out! Some of the questions may have answers that some people would rather not talk about, I guess, so fair warning there.
Basically, I'm planning to write a bit of Harry Potter fanfiction. I'm not a professional writer (nor even a shining talent, really), but I like writing stories every now and then just for the fun of it, and I guess I'm OK as far as amateurs are concerned. The story would be quite a big project, and if it even gets completed, it's not for a while - and because it's a big project, it's all the more important that I get certain details right.
The gist is that the protagonist of the story would be a young Muggleborn trans girl navigating her way through Hogwards and wizarding society. She would actually only begin transitioning in the fourth year or so. The drama of the story would stem from the fact that the wizarding society does not actually know how to deal with trans people via magic (most people aren't even aware it's a thing), to the point where she actually has to go back to muggle healthcare to - and in the meantime, she'd have to put up with quite a lot of abuse, of varying severity, from other students and adults alike. In addition to that, of course, the story would tackle other aspects of post-Second Wizarding War magical society and how it's much more regressive in many ways compared to muggle society. The transgender aspect is just one of them.
However, I wish to write our young heroine's struggle as realistically as possible. Like I've mentioned, I've never actually gone through HRT or anything medical like that, something which I intend to have her go through. Which is why I wish to ask some people here about certain facets of the experience. I'm hoping that someone is willing to help me out here - I'm kinda anxious whether I'm doing anything tactless by "interviewing" y'all here just for a fanfiction, though I don't really think I'm hurting anyone here, so I'll go ahead. (Fair warning, though, that I probably won't take any advice along the lines of "you should probably write about something else", in case anyone had that idea - procrastination is a more likely reason for me not finishing the story than anything else, anyway. :D)
Basically, some of the questions I have - I'd appreciate if anyone could answer some or all of these:
- I hear there's a lot of emotional distress that apparently comes with doing HRT. Could anyone describe all the ways HRT could mess with your brain? Especially the ones that would shape her interactions with fellow students?
- Are there any exclusive experiences to people who transition and get their HRT and surgeries at such a young age? I've read about some young trans people like Jazz Jennings and apparently they tend to pass better than those who begin the transition well into their adulthood - though I've no idea if that's actually true. Are people who transition young generally better or worse off? Are there any surgeries that aren't done at that age?
- Preferably, I wouldn't have her modify her genitals - just facial/voice feminization, Adam's apple removal, breast enlargement and stuff like that. What effect would HRT have on the function of her penis, though? My guess would me "much harder to arouse", but again, I'd rather ask someone who knows better what they're talking about in this subject. I plan on having some romance - little to no actual smut, but I still think it might be relevant to the story.
- For anyone who doesn't know Harry Potter at all, students stay all year at Hogwarts, except for holiday breaks. The next question is a simple matter of logistics. How long would she need to stay away from school for any given part of her treatment? Is there anything that might need her to stay at home for an extended period of time? Anything that can be done within a day or two, with our heroine returning to school straight after? I really have no idea here.
- How quickly could she progress with the transition? For story purposes, I'd have her figure herself out and transition as quickly as plausibly possible, with relatively little self-doubt, but she would be involved in a couple of dangerous adventures in her final year(s), so to speak - which is the speed of her transition is relevant (I'd imagine it'd boost her confidence, and thus her performance, if she was mostly or fully transitioned by that point, but I've seen people here have signatures with 5-10-more year transitions...)
- Anything else that I should be aware of?
Thank you in advance for any replies.
I feel very... mixed about this.
1. Emotional distress? HRT was the most emotionally freeing event of my life. I became clear, motivated, driven, emotional, empathetic, and genuine. Nothing distressing about that.
2. Starting HRT before natural puberty hits would have your body go through the desired puberty of the hormones you take. Your growth plates typically fuse at around the age of 25, and thus if any bone structure is there, it's there for good at 25... If starting before that, things like hip widening and pelvis tilt can still take place. It CAN happen after, but it is rare. Genetics have everything to do with it.
3. Like #2, it depends on the person, their genes, their body chemistry. I for example, have had zero change as far as arousal or function other than I've been completely sterile. I'm personally more mentally stimulated and less visually stimulated than I was prior to hormones, but again, totally depends.
4. Maybe a week or 2? Vocal surgery requires no use of the voice for an extended length of time, but as far as I am aware, BA is typically in and out, FFS is a few days of rest, Body contouring would be an in and out.... SRS would be the lengthiest of the bunch.. Probably wait for someone who has gone through these to chime in, or read that sub section.
5. Depending on age, genetics, confidence, and endless resources? Maybe a year or 2? I'm personally 2 years in and nowhere near "finished" with my transition. But I don't have age, genetics, confidence, OR resources on my side :P
6. You would probably be best served reading personal accounts within this and other sub forums. We all have stories and they are almost all completely unique.
Cheers! You know, "read people's personal experiences" is, for some reason, not even something I've really thought about. I'm embarrassed... Your post helped put things into perspective quite a lot anyway.
Regarding #1, I dunno, I recall reading a story of it causing mood swings with someone, which is weird because in other circumstances HRT is used to treat exactly that, I believe. Maybe my memory fails me.
Question number one is the whole reason why we feel the need to tradition. You as a CIS are comfortable in your body and comfortable with the feeling that the sex hormones make you feel. For us the sex hormones make us feel very uncomfortable with our body or our life. It's hard to come up with one description that would explain what it feels like to you as you really have to live it to know it. i on the other hand can pretty much tell that another person is feeling those things with just a few lines of description in Introductions.
It's not so much the hormones but the blockers that are given today that take away the pain and depression. I went through my transition long before blockers were available so I didn't feel the full relief from T until after my surgery. Changing my life to the feminine role helped a good deal but both together were the ticket to leaving all of those uncomfortable feeling behind.
I was somewhat feminine as a young boy but without male hormones present, I could try to conform to what society expected of me. When puberty hit, there was no way I could continue living the life I had before and I had to face what I was and transition.