If you have autism spectrum disorder and are an MTF transgender or crossdresser who take hormones, what are the chances of still having a very masculine appearance after transitioning? Think of autistic Temple Grandin, who is a female but is very masculine looking.
I don't want to physically transition only to still look very masculine, or lack any femininity, after it's all completed. I say this as somebody who was diagnosed with ASD in 1995.
Personally for myself you realistically can't ignore the situation of how you are seen to others when you transition. You can overcome the fear as you overcome any other fear.Fear of swimming is overcome by learning how to swim. To me personally I look at my reason for transitioning. Why do I want or need to transition. My need just happens to be far greater than any fear.
thanks for mentioning Temple Grandin, I didn't know her. I'll be reading more on her as I'm myself discovering in recent years how autism can best explain my strange life.
But she's not trans, she is cis woman
I don't find she looks like a man, she's... a little weird looking maybe... so am I :D
does ASD affect the way I look?
how to control anyway how the others see you, categorize you?
I think it's more in attitude and gestures, today, I think with the help of this purple/pink shirt, I had good success I think in my feminine way of walking, so that almost no one gave me a weird look. Being feminine is not only in the looks, it's in the ways...
anyways I say this and I have no idea :D this is work in progress, research in action
There is no such thing as a crossdresser who takes hormones. You cannot get hormones without being diagnosed transgender according to the WPATH criteria -- unless you go informed consent, and most places the informed consent forms include an admission that you believe yourself to be transgender, and will not be using hormones for any other reason.
That said, if you go on a full transition dose of hormones for a long enough time, your body will look completely feminine. Forget about looking masculine. You will eventually lose all male muscle definition in your body. And you will grow breasts.
Your face is another matter. How feminine you will look will depend on the shapes of your brow bones, your mandible, and your nose. And without getting a good look at your face from several different angles, no one can tell how feminine it will look after transition.
Are you saying Temple Grandin looks masculine because she is autistic? I do not think of Temple Grandin as being particularly masculine looking in terms of her facial structure. I just think Temple Grandin dresses in gender neutral fashion and does not wear makeup. Actress Daryl Hannah has a masculine looking bone structure, and she is autistic, but she is a very feminine woman. See what she looked like when she was young in the link below:
https://www.yahoo.com/sy/ny/api/res/1.2/RbknIgFSDL6A7lr7QktzLA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAwO2lsPXBsYW5l/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/blogs/movie-news/f0e853a0-a593-11e3-882c-7334ce488b42_MCDSPLA_EC002_H.JPG.cf.jpg (https://www.yahoo.com/sy/ny/api/res/1.2/RbknIgFSDL6A7lr7QktzLA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAwO2lsPXBsYW5l/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/blogs/movie-news/f0e853a0-a593-11e3-882c-7334ce488b42_MCDSPLA_EC002_H.JPG.cf.jpg)
Really, none of us can tell you if you will look feminine or not, since we do not know what you look like. If you are seriously interested, you can post a photo here: https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,211680.0.html (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,211680.0.html) and have it critiqued.
I don't know much about autism and looking masculine and I've also had a look at the images on the internet of Temple Grandin who again I don't know much about but I think she looks masculine because of the clothes she wears and the lack of make up too. The question still remains the same if you are Autistic, overweight, underweight or anything else, can you live in your current gender identity or not, try not to worry about anything else, cross that bridge when you get to it (yes I know, easier said than done). Sorry sounds a little insulting but I am a very positive person and coming from Yorkshire I say it as it is, so please don't take offence.
The perception that autism is correlated with masculine features is just down to autistic people typically not caring to engage in stereotypically feminine gender roles. Although some do. My sister cakes on the make up. But if you mean a higher chance of inherent, unchangeabe masculine features because of autism, no I've never seen any reason to believe that.
I don't think being autistic is reflected in the physical features; I agree that it's probably more about some autistic women not seeing the point in performing femininity in traditional ways. (Which you could still choose to do - as some autistic cis women do.) As for how HRT will treat you, that's something no one knows until they try, unfortunately.
(Note that part of the reason Temple Grandin looks masculine now is likely due to age. Many cis women end up looking somewhat more masculine after menopause and the cessation of high levels of feminizing hormones, and that's going to be exaggerated in someone who wears her hair short and doesn't care about societal standards for women. http://www.egitimpedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/TempleGrandinFilm.jpg Imagine her with longer hair and makeup, and I suspect the young Temple Grandin would look quite girly. :) )