Quote from: MbutF on April 25, 2014, 08:23:10 AM
Are there any androgynes who are on HRT or anything else to look/feel more like the opposite gender, but yet, don't identify as the opposite gender? This could mean that they are happy identifying with their birth gender, or at least don't mind it, but have a hard time accepting their bodies/looks and want to change it so they can find it easier to accept themselves.
I'm a newbie, and since there are so many people out there, I was wondering what an androgyne can do to or do if they're not happy with how their bodies. (Btw, I don't really identify as one, just curious because I have an androgyne friend and he says his body just doesn't match his 'soul', he says he can't pull off the androgynous look..... but is androgynous inside...)
The line in bold catches my eye.
It's quite common to assume that some non-binary people are seeking to look
and feel like the opposite of their birth assigned gender.
Non-binaries in general aren't looking to transition from male to female or female to male, not in the sense of identity.
They are trying to adjust within their non-binary gender.
This is an important consideration that goes a long ways for binaries to accept and helps people like your friend more than most things will.
We are not in transition in the binary sense of it. We make adjustments that stay within our own gender.
Separate from the binary genders.
You could say it's a transition, or you could look at it as modifying within a gender.
Modifying within the gender you are isn't that hard of a concept.
In the binary world, there are fashion adjustments to make you feel better.
There are magazines and articles galore about make up and how to achieve that look of gender you wish to be.
There are lots of binaries that are doing full transitions to completely change from their assigned gender to align themselves, body and mind.
There are some who only wish to attain a certain amount of change, non-op being a good example.
This often is confusing unless you consider that non-binaries, in general, are just making those adjustments within their gender.
Which is not binary in nature. Not that hard of a concept once you look at it from a non-binaries point of view.
Fully understanding that concept can be hard, but accepting that is does exist, goes a long ways.
This is something that helps all trans people, to know there are options out there.
And I think our ability to move from one to another if we wish to is extraordinary in itself.
I've read about it many times here and elsewhere. Trans people are pretty flexible and today's thinking reflects that.
But to answer your question, indeed there are HRT doses that are designed to decrease the effects of dysphoria.
There has also been more and more acceptance of slightly more to even full dose transition levels for non-binaries.
Full dose for a non-binary isn't the same to them as it is to, say MTF or even FTM.
It does stay within their thinking or rights as much as anyone to change their appearance to better suit their gender.
In these cases, they remain a non-binary entity as they simply have chosen to change completely their appearance.
Here's that blurred line between transsexual and non-binary, right there.
Where you are depends on how you identify.How you want to identify, not how anyone else wants to decide how you are identifying.
Your body, your rules. It applies to everyone.
If my rules tell me to completely change my appearance, that has nothing to do with my gender of non-binary.
It has everything to do with expression, the same as any gender does.
Expression can imply a certain amount of gender, but it is far from what defines it.Just as sexuality doesn't define a gender and vice versa.
So yes there are indeed and has been for quite some, various levels of low dose HRT.
Designed to decrease the physical changes, yet help with the mental potion of dysphoria.
The higher the levels, the higher the physical changes you can expect.
If I want to change some attributes, I can and then back down to a maintenance level.
The lowest levels have a purpose behind them.
Often it allows a non-binary to quiet the 'rage', the 'noise' down to a point where they can then go on to decide what expression is best for them.
In thinking or even in helping a friend who is non-binary, it's important to understand it is not an in between kind of gender.
It is and is recognized as a gender spectrum aside from the binary spectrum that transsexuals use to define their transitions.
Yet there are those who can and do move from one to the other.
We're people, and people can and do change their minds as they move through life.
To redefine one's own gender is common. Could happen for any number of reasons.
The difference of how non-binary gender is viewed and the HRT treatments among other things is vastly different than five years ago.
Ten years ago, even a year ago. Acceptance that your friend knows best what their gender is, is up to them.
Just as yours is to you and this holds true for anyone.
Gender dysphoria just plain sucks to live with. Mentally and physically.
This is true for any Trans person.
Just what is available and just how you go about it can be confusing.
But once you figure it out for yourself, you're on a journey to transform yourself into who you think you should be.
Who you really are. This is true for any Trans person.
Acceptance goes a long ways in quieting dysphoria, as it is generally rooted in how others perceive you and accordingly treat you.
For non-binary people, acceptance that they are not some version of an in between and that they are their own gender goes a long ways.
My doctor, who I get my HRT prescriptions from, is one of the many leaders in this way of treating non-binary people.
If I request a higher dose, her concerns are for my physical self, and asks me about how my mental health is doing as an indicator of that.
I can at anytime, switch it up to full dose if I care to.
She understands that I would be simply changing my expression to better suite my gender, non-binary.
Not all doctors are up to speed on this, as well as many in the trans community aren't aware of changes in acceptance.
Things are changing, and it is hard to keep up with, but such is the nature of change sometimes.
Your body, your mind, your rules. It applies to everyone. acceptance is very key to this.
Understanding it is even better. It makes everyone a better person, regardless.
Acceptance shows that you can be a better person, because of it.
Acceptance of others and their approach to life is something we can all be better at.
Learning to understand things that are different from our own world view is a joyful thing to behold.
This is true, regardless of who you are, regardless of who anyone is.
Trans people are coming into their own with regards to society and even politically.
It's hard at the same time, to endure those who refuse to accept this.
Within the trans community, it's even tougher at times.
I can see the trend of acceptance growing from within and from without.
I also see how important it is that acceptance from within is important to gain acceptance from outside the community.
Understanding that everyone has far more in common than we do have differences is important.
When you look at what we all have in common, the differences become much smaller and more acceptable.
A whisper of myself,
Ativan
