I see a lot of you guys, even pre-T, celebrating your hairiness, and I just can't relate. My leg hair doesn't bother me that much (what little there is of it) but my other pubertal hair growth areas are just...yuck.
I've been shaving pretty much everywhere since I started growing visible hair. It was the first sign of puberty that I experienced, and...well, puberty as a whole was pretty traumatic for me, and so I associate the hair with the rest of the changes. Looking down and seeing hair, I don't see a more male or masculine body, I see a body that's more...womanly.
I'd been not shaving for several months, trying to see if having body hair would make me feel better, and it didn't it just made me feel worse. I broke down and shaved yesterday, all but my legs. And now I'm not really comfortable with that either - I mean, guys don't shave, right? Not for appearance reasons? I guess some do...I don't know. Can anyone relate?
(I'm especially looking for male-identified FTM responses here, although of course androgynes and the ladies are welcome to share. But I'm very much male-identified, albeit stuck at a prepubescent boy's mental body map.)
I can totally relate!!!! Body hair grosses me out. My transitioning son is hairy ... and he loves it ... I think it looks gross.
I don't shave my legs ... I am old so it has pretty much stopped growing so it's really not a big deal. However, I do shave the hair on my lip & chin plus I shave my pits.
I don't know what I am going to do if T makes me grow more hair on my legs.
Yeah. I think I could be happy with more leg hair, and I might be cool with having chest hair although I'd likely shave it. It's mainly the hair in the genital region that I can't tolerate. That and pits.
I can't stand body hair.
Even when I'm post-op one day, I'll still shave my entire body (apart from my head of course) and that includes leg hair.
And here I was thinking I was weird for feeling that way. Even once I'm on T I plan to shave everywhere 'cept legs and maybe a soul patch or goatee. There are some bio guys who prefer to be hairless as well though so I guess it isn't uncommon. I mean I shave my head even now as short as I can.
I dislike body hair and facial hair, it's just not me. I shave everything except for my legs right now and will continue even after T. Hell, I'll probably wax after starting T since there will be more hair.
My bio male roommate occasionally shaves his legs/arms/armpits too. And I shave his back for him -.-
many guys celebrate their hairiness because its a sign of masculinity. Some people want it solely to pass better. Some just like it how it feels/looks.
I shave my underarms, but that's about it. I don't like to shave my legs because that's too time consuming and there's only light fuzz on my face. I'll probably shave that once I start T, though. And if I get chest hair I'll shave that, too, because it grosses me out to no end.
both me and my mate (hes biomale) shave most everything. i was sort of thinking the same thing, that shaving is a woman thing, or that i shouldnt shave cause guys dont. but really, lots of guys do. maybe not everything, but they do. its just a personal preference thing, not a male or female thing.
You guys may not like hearing this but growing up all the guys I knew couldn't wait to see body hair appear. It usually started on the legs. I remember sitting on the beach in 8th grade as my friends compared sprouting hair growth and spoke with pride about their progress.
As we got older body hair was just a given. No one complained, except maybe about shaving the face. But it was the shaving part the guys hated the most, not the growth.
I find this interesting because there are parts of my male self I prefer to keep even though they are typically male. Maybe it's conditioning, maybe it's genetics, whatever it is, it is definitely interesting. Will this be the next area to be scoured over in hopes of finding the "answer" to what makes one TG?
I like my leg hair. When I shaved it to avoid harassment in school it just felt weird and wrong. But hair in other places? I'm not a fan. I'd be just as happy if my arm pit hair stopped growing and I never got facial hair at all, since shaving daily would probably get old really fast. I also don't want hair on my chest. I'm already pretty hairy as is so I think I might end up waxing if I go on T...
I used to trim mine with clippers, which is an excellent compromise as hair does grow quicker with T coursing through your veins and take it from me, constant shaving sores are a complete and utter pain in the bum.
Quote from: kyril on September 21, 2010, 03:35:28 PM
It's mainly the hair in the genital region that I can't tolerate. That and pits.
Yeah, this.
I couldn't tolerate pit hair either, esp at first letting them grow in. But no it doesn't really phase me.
I too dislike body hair, I hate it, its gross and I have tons. But I figured I could embrace what I do have, and plus I have shaving/having to maintain it. I was the kind of person to always shave legs and pits caus I liked being smooth and hairless. But yeah, I guess once on T I might just wax everything.
im pretty hairless at the moment, i'd like more on my legs and arms and a happy trail would be pretty cool but the pubic region and pits absolutely have to be hairless, annoys the hell out of me otherwise. If I end up with chest or back hair I might even consider electrolosis
I can't stand bodily hair on me it grosses me out. I shave my pits, legs, arms, and my downstairs. But I do admit that there are days when I get lazy about it either because I'm just too tired to really give a darn or have to take a quick shower to where I have to jump in and jump out. I know shaving ones arms sounds weird, but idk shaving everywhere but my head just makes me feel cleaner. If I ever get to start T chances are I would still shave everywhere heh.
I love body hair! :P Can't wait till T gives me some more!
The only place I don't like hair is on the back, I would probably get that waxed if I grew back hair.
I like my body hair too. I trim the downstairs once every month or two, and shave my face about once a month only because my facial hair is uneven. Not sure what I'll do if I get a hairy back, depends on how bad it gets I guess.
Love body hair on men and me as male. Disliked body hair on myself as F. Now bemoaning my lack of chest hair and patchy beard. :(
Jay
Quote from: Nathan. on September 21, 2010, 06:09:19 PM
I love body hair! :P Can't wait till T gives me some more!
The only place I don't like hair is on the back, I would probably get that waxed if I grew back hair.
I'm with Nathan! I have trouble understanding those who are just repulsed by all body hair in general, but especially pubic hair. /-: The thought of shaving down there gives me the willies. I have downstairs-dysphoria though, so leaving it alone just seems way better than the "hands on" approach for that reason, neglecting aesthetics. Guys who can shave there despite dysphoria have major balls of steel in my book.
Quote from: Ilan Reshon on September 21, 2010, 08:18:45 PM
I'm with Nathan! I have trouble understanding those who are just repulsed by all body hair in general, but especially pubic hair. /-: The thought of shaving down there gives me the willies. I have downstairs-dysphoria though, so leaving it alone just seems way better than the "hands on" approach for that reason, neglecting aesthetics. Guys who can shave there despite dysphoria have major balls of steel in my book.
I third this. But somdays i do find leg hair kinda repulsive...but i'm not brave enough to SHAVE it. It would just feel like I'm taking away from some of my...manliness? Lol. Can't think of any other way to put it.
Quote from: Nathan. on September 21, 2010, 06:09:19 PM
I love body hair! :P Can't wait till T gives me some more!
The only place I don't like hair is on the back, I would probably get that waxed if I grew back hair.
This.
I've always had extreme beard envy - the more the merrier there. Body-wise, I would like to have more hair on my arms and legs and a few other places, but I would prefer not to have major man fur.
It's not the hair growth that scares me, though, it's the possible hair loss. I'm really hoping that gene skipped me.
To you, Kyril:
I know a 100% extremely masculine bio-male who shaves everything.
He is a buff, weightlifting, butch guy - nothing at all feminine about him. However, he despises body hair - he thinks it's gross and unnecessary. He gets rid of everything but his eyebrows and lashes, and still looks completely MAN.
So really, no worries about living as a hair-free guy. If you're more comfortable hairless, go for it. It doesn't make you any less man.
I'm not sure if people think I'm weird as a female for not doing anything about my arm hair. I think I shaved that once but it was really really strange and it's not like leg hair that's darker on skin that gets less light, which looks strange when I grow a fair amount of it in the winter. I shave legs and pits so as not to freak other people out that are expecting normal woman, not because I have an issue with hair there on myself or on guys. Not into bears, though...back hair and lots of upper arm hair is icky, and I don't like lots of chest hair on guys, either - I would want very little, if any, myself. Therein lies the problem with top surgery unless the boob fairy can make them small enough to do it with a different procedure first - wouldn't want people to see the scars running around topless, or always have to hide under a shirt, either.
Body hair is totally one of those personal preference things huh (as lovingly illustrated so far in this post! lol)?
I actually wish more females would just fess up about their body hair too. I honestly think that a lot of them only shave/trim/wax whatever FOR men, not for themselves. Because they're all uptight about what their boyfriends/husbands might think. I know that's a bit of a tangent but it was like the first thing that popped into my head!
Now, as for my own personal preference, I probably would be moderately hairy all over if I had stayed on T. That would have bummed me out. I'd hate having a hairy chest. Since I'm in my 30s I have noticed how the hair on my legs has changed over time. Less of it mostly. I shave it sometimes. Hate shaving anything in the downstairs region or my inner thighs (which seems to be my hairiest parts). Hate shaving my face, although I barely have to do it. Only have real whiskers on my chin and under my chin, everything else is more fuzz. So I guess in short, I'm glad I'm not hairy.
On another note, I saw a commercial the other week for some men's razor and it showed a guy in a shower shaving his face, then he went right on to shaving his chest. I was like, huh, that's an odd thing to show in a commercial. But I guess because of the whole "metro" thing many guys shave parts other than their faces now. Then I was at Target looking at electric razors and I saw one with a pic of a dude using it to shave his back - cause it had some special extender on it. So having hair or shaving it off I think is equally accepted at this point (unless of course you're female then it still seems like some taboo thing if you don't shave ::) )
I, like you, detested all hair at the beginning of puberty. Although I never did shave my legs. They were never hairy and somehow not shaving them made me feel more dude-ly while shaving any other hair didn't seem to me at all feminine. I was that way almost up until starting T. Now I don't mind it all that much. Its certainly not something I'm proud of or excited about it. I will say my packer is more comfortable sans hair, and that I will occasionally still shave my under arms. It does make me feel a bit odd.
I will say that I have a friend whose completely dudely boyfriend shaves his armpits just because of personal preference.
In my experience, guys who swim, cycle, bodybuild or lift weights will shave.. But most straight guys just let it grow with maybe a downstairs trim. With gay guys, it depends on the individual - I never bothered, my cousin keeps his chest/belly hair free and trims downstairs..
I like a guy to have body hair, not bear fur, but hairy..
guys have to be hairy. women love the contrast between say the smoothness of shoulders and the hairyness of chest...plus dark hair adds visual bulk and blurs definition which is why bodybuilders shave.
topjobbed lesbians and promiscuous gay guys shave too as both seem to prefer the flattest smoothest chest possible.
Quote from: RaeLikesTea on September 21, 2010, 08:26:05 PM
It's not the hair growth that scares me, though, it's the possible hair loss. I'm really hoping that gene skipped me.
the possibility of going bald scares the hell out of me. I never knew my dad so I have absolutely no point of reference from that side of my gene pool.
Going bald scares me but not being on T scares me more.
Quote from: Nathan. on September 22, 2010, 08:21:42 AM
Going bald scares me but not being on T scares me more.
aye, hats are cool anyway ;D
Going bald is def a fear i had when starting T because i love my hair, but even if you start balding, you can always think of it as being a male trait to help you pass.
I've always had high testosterone levels, so I have hair just about everywhere. It only bothers me when I have to dress girly for something. Then it feels like I can't play the part right. However, I don't really care one way or the other in day-to-day life other than facial hair. I am having trouble with the thought of breaking my current image with my friends/family, but I could probably manage to grow a full beard. I would absolutely love to do this or have a goatee, but it would not go over well with the people around me.
I personally had a huge problem with all my body hair ever since it begun appearing I got funny comments from my friends "Why do you shave your arms?" and so on well it's obvious with me
but a few of my male friends too also have a problem with there body hair one androgynous one in particular who's 23 yet has the pubertal status of a 15 year old and I point out how he's gradually becoming more hairy and it mortifies him so yeah your not alone ;)
And the male pattern baldness don't worry guys don't make fun of my fat celulite ass and I won't make fun of your hairline ;)
I know a couple dudes (FTM dudes) that shave, but honestly, I say just embrace it. Men are hairy. At the very least, hairier than women. I already had a happy trail before T. Now I'm just.... Well, a beast. It happens.
I come from a background of mixed Slavic blood, so I knew it was going to happen. For me though, it's important for fitting in with the rest of my family, matching my brothers and my father. With my beard growing in quickly, I look more like them everyday.
I think OC may have a problem with it for being fair haired? Your body hair would have been almost imperceptible before hand, correct? So I'm guessing it's a bit weird for you now that it's become thicker and easier to see.
I'm hoping for a little body hair, like at least on my legs and arms. It's not that I necessarily want to be hairy all over, I just want SOME. There is nothing visible on my arms, but I'm finally getting some hair on my legs; but it's dopey looking, it's only thinly growing around my calf and below my knee, and a little bit on my upper thighs. I noticed today that I'm getting some very thin/light peachfuzz on my tummy. I suspect T is going to give me the amount of body hair that a normal FEMALE would have. I don't know why I was so bare, prior to it (I did have pit and pube hair but it was really minimal and light, wtf).
I guess you would say that I'm a "pretty boy." I dont like the idea of being really hairy. I grow my facial hair out, but I keep it cleanly shaved. I have a chin strap, but i dont like it getting shaggy. My leg hair and armpit hair don't bother me. I have a few random hairs on my chest that I don't like but luckily I dont think I'll get much more becasue the guys in my family arent hairy. I don't want to be a hairy beast lol
I've been on T for awhile now and i have gotten pretty hairy and i love it. My endocrinologist was absolutely shocked about how much body hair i had gotten for just being on T for 4 months. I have always wanted lots of body hair and it doesn't bother me at all. The only place that hasn't gotten really any hair is my arms which is a bummer because i have always wanted the manly hairy arms.
Actually, I thought I might've been weird at first... I don't like body hair on anyone. I always shave my pubes and usually my pits. (--hope that's not TMI!! :P) The only reason why I tend to leave my legs hairy is because I take less pride in my body since I'm not very passable and sort of like to rebell because my family see me as a girl. If I felt I was better looking as a bloke, I'd certainly want to keep everything smooth.
Quote from: kyril on September 21, 2010, 03:26:06 PM
I see a lot of you guys, even pre-T, celebrating your hairiness, and I just can't relate. My leg hair doesn't bother me that much (what little there is of it) but my other pubertal hair growth areas are just...yuck.
I've been shaving pretty much everywhere since I started growing visible hair. It was the first sign of puberty that I experienced, and...well, puberty as a whole was pretty traumatic for me, and so I associate the hair with the rest of the changes. Looking down and seeing hair, I don't see a more male or masculine body, I see a body that's more...womanly.
I'd been not shaving for several months, trying to see if having body hair would make me feel better, and it didn't it just made me feel worse. I broke down and shaved yesterday, all but my legs. And now I'm not really comfortable with that either - I mean, guys don't shave, right? Not for appearance reasons? I guess some do...I don't know. Can anyone relate?
i dislike pubic hair. very much actually. so i routinely shave that area.
i also trim my pit hair. to help avoid smelling really really gross. ha.
everywhere else i love it. i was naturally hairy on my legs, but the t has made it spread to my upper thighs and tummy, which is wonderful in my eyes.
i also get a slight mustashe and a few chin hairs if i don't shave for long enough. :D.
and you're actually wrong about guys not shaving. i know and have read about plenty of biomen that shave their legs, arms, balls, back, butt you name it! it's really all a matter of preference.
I'll be honest: I have no desire to become a bear. But I will welcome more body hair; if I become really furry over the next several years, sobeit.
I like having more pubic hair, I like my belly hair, I wouldn't mind more underarm hair, and I'm impatiently waiting for my arm hair to get thicker.
I have a few chest hairs and want more. I guess that will take time.
My legs are odd. I have fuzz on my thighs, and I would like more (maybe in time). I have hair on my lower legs...but mostly on one side. I hate that. I want my legs to be uniformly furry.
In partners, I liked fuzzy legs, didn't care for chest hair, and hated back hair. I still hate back hair, but I'm not turned off by chest hair anymore.
Quote from: DaddySplicer on October 07, 2010, 09:34:25 AM
I think OC may have a problem with it for being fair haired? Your body hair would have been almost imperceptible before hand, correct? So I'm guessing it's a bit weird for you now that it's become thicker and easier to see.
In some places, I have this weird mix of the preexisting darker body hair--that is, from before transition--and the woolly blond adolescent stuff that's coming in from the T. So in my case (don't know about Kyril), it took a long time for me to really see the new growth on some parts of my body.
My father is hairy, but his head hair is black. Could be the Irish in him. My ancestors were mostly Teutons, so I expect to get rather furry. But the blond thing, dammit...grr.
I have to say that I wasn't too keen on getting body hair until I was a few months on T and started being honest with myself. At first, I didn't want any characteristics that might turn off my then-partner, including body hair and facial hair. I was thrilled by the little bit of hair growth I was getting at that point, but I felt guilty about liking it, and I was worried about getting much hairier because HE wouldn't like it. Then, in an unguarded moment, I was hanging out with my three best trans guy friends, and I blurted out, "I want facial hair."
Well. It was all downhill from there.
I already have really hairy legs and the hair in my moustache and sideburns area is really dark, which is cool. I hope I get a hairy chest when I start T - I really want to be a bear!
If I actually decide to go through with transition, I'd love to go on T for the body hair alone! ;D Seriously, it's always been a dream for some facial hair. That's one of the reasons I quit shaving my legs.
Quote from: Fumbling Toward Ecstasy on October 10, 2010, 07:26:02 PM
If I actually decide to go through with transition, I'd love to go on T for the body hair alone! ;D Seriously, it's always been a dream for some facial hair. That's one of the reasons I quit shaving my legs.
Yeah, I don't think facial hair will bother me - I'll shave, but I'll be glad to have something
to shave. I mainly have issues with pubic and armpit hair. I think it's because I associate them so strongly with my female puberty.
I'm must confess to being a little confused by you guys who seem to shave everything.. If I see a younger guy with no hair, my brain instantly says boy, not man, which seems to me it would be something you'd want to avoid.. Men have hair.. I'll admit that hairy backs don't do anything for me, but I'd rather a man had hair in the usual places..
Quote from: kelly_aus on October 10, 2010, 08:54:12 PM
I'm must confess to being a little confused by you guys who seem to shave everything.. If I see a younger guy with no hair, my brain instantly says boy, not man, which seems to me it would be something you'd want to avoid.. Men have hair.. I'll admit that hairy backs don't do anything for me, but I'd rather a man had hair in the usual places..
Well, I don't particularly have a problem with giving off the "boy" vibe, given that I am in essence a prepubescent boy. I'd definitely take "boy" over "hairy lesbian."
But, like my transition, my distaste for (certain) body hair is more about being
me than about what other people think.
I think it will help if you keep reminding yourself that boys get those types of hair, only MORE. You already know this intellectually, but give yourself time to make the emotional adjustment. Try to practice awareness. Every time you find yourself slipping into the undesired thinking or behavior, give yourself a mental yank and get back on track. It takes time, but it works for a lot of things.
I think, for me, I don't like pubic hair (I don't shave, but I trim a lot), back hair, or lots of chest hair. Of course, I'm pre-everything, so I haven't really experienced having chest/back hair firsthand, but I don't think I'd like it. I'd probably shave it. I'm okay with some leg and arm hair (I don't want it super thick, but I'd like to have some) and I'm kinda indifferent towards armpit hair.
I guess in this case, it's all a matter of which body type you like, and personal preference. Think about swimmers; they shave everything so they can move fast in the water.
Quote from: RaeLikesTea on September 21, 2010, 08:26:05 PM
It's not the hair growth that scares me, though, it's the possible hair loss. I'm really hoping that gene skipped me.
Yeah, knowing my luck and genes I'd have to deal with the hair loss thing :(
OP I'd say do as you please because it's your hair and you have to live with it.
I don't think more hair = more man, that's just a man with more hair than another. I shaved my pits once and the scratchy itchy regrowth was the pits :) so for me it's definitely whatever makes me feel good.