Hi guys, im 21 and a couple weeks away from my 2 years on T mark. I am also about two years post op. I had a question, what do you guys think people think our top scars are from and how do you deal with it??

I have had one person be able to tell what they were and it outed me - the person was gay and knows trans/genderqueer people so maybe they were more knowing because of their exposure to the queer community. I've had a few cases though where I'm asked "that's a crazy scar man, what happened?" or people obviously staring with wide eyes but not saying anything.
I'm planning to have my scars covered with a chest tattoo within the next year by my current tat artist, he gave me my half sleeve and thus has seen my scars, being polite he didn't say anything but after he saw them for the first time he was giving me a pitying expression, and as I return to that parlor I see the other artists giving me very concerned and sad looks as if they thought I had big medical problem.

How do you guys deal with people seeing your scars? Are you worried it will out you? My scars give me much anxiety and make me feel pretty insecure because I worry about it outing me. Thoughts?

Depends on how progressive the area you live in imo.  I've seen more stories of guys going shirtless post op and being read as trans men.  I feel like in a less progressive area with a smaller population, it might be less likely to be read as trans due to scars. 

This is one unfortunate aspect of trans issues being more publicized. For those of us who don't want to disclose, it's a problem that more people are learning what those scars are from.

I've heard of some people thinking they're scars from lung surgery. If you google it, most lung scars are on the back, or a line down the center of the chest. Both look nothing like top surgery scars. But there's at least one photo of someone who received a double lung transplant and it looks very much like some top surgery scars.

Occasionally some cis men need to get DI mastectomies too. For cancer, or, for basically the same reason we do - to remove excess breast tissue.

Ultimately this boils down to one more thing that some people will pat themselves on the back for "spotting" but, in reality, one cannot be 100% sure it signals "trans".

I guess it really depends.  I say some people just take a wild guess.  Here is a link to a similar question posted here years ago of what some guys say to people who question the top surgery scars.

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,110655.0.html

I'm worried that my top surgery scars will out me, but then again, I don't plan on going shirtless too many times.  I'm a tubby guy so hopefully most people can think I had some type of weight loss surgery or something.

If I ever do get top surgery although highly unlikely, I don't plan on going shirtless in public anywhere but one thing that would concern me is that if I have to be checked out by doctors...
The tattoo idea seems clever by the way. Are there any examples of post-op transmen with tattoos on their chest?

I spent the entire summer (in public too) in a tank shirt with armholes that left the most obvious part of my scars, the big drain knots, out in the open.  Also, people who come to my house, deliverymen, people doing work, people lost, other random folks, are likely to see my chest because I don't tend to close my shirt or put one on if somebody rolls up unexpectedly.  Sometimes I reckon I'd say I was mauled by a bear or something, but I have never once been asked.  I have gotten sad looks, though.  A fencing contractor last month looked very sorry about it. 

Where I live, if anybody recognized the scars, I'd just about fall over with surprise.  But it's a small place and having grown up here, I have no hope of real stealth anyway, so it wouldn't be a crisis to be outed.

I'd probably tell people that I had surgery for gynecomastia, since the scars can look similar to those from top surgery.

There's a condition called pectus excavatum which leads to the chest having a sunken-in look. Some people get surgery to correct it which leads to scarring on the chest. They don't look exactly like top surgery scars, but it might be a good cover story if someone asked you since most people have probably never heard of the condition and don't know what that kind of surgery is like.

Another option is to just say you had lung surgery when you were a kid. If you just leave it at that, most people will probably sense that you don't want to talk about it and that whatever condition isn't relevant anymore more anyway.  That's probably what I'll do if ever asked in the future. If pressed for more info, I'd probably just say I had a congenital condition that had to be fixed.

The scars you get when doctors fix a collapsed lung looks almost identical to top surgery scars so you could say you were in a freak car accident, especially if you got other scars to match the "car accident" trauma facade. Which I do so I always think it's a good story personally.

Many people have seen my scars, none of them rude enough to ask/react. If I become self-conscious about my scars in the future, I will just get a massive tattoo to cover up.

Thank you so much for the replies guys, it helps to know I'm not the only one struggling with this issue. I looked up images of lung transplant and the pectus excavatam post op scars and they both look similar enough to use as a cover story if ever needed. Not that I wan't to tell people I had a medical issue that I didn't, but seems we're often pushed to difficult situations socially considering the scars.
I guess it also depends on how well you pass etc, someone who's been on T long enough to be perceived as 100% male will probably not be labeled as trans even if someone sees the scars than somebody who has more trouble passing.

The one time I was asked recently I just told them "I had surgery". My scars are still fresh, only had surgery at the end of July. But they didnt question it. I got a sympathetic look that was sort of like they assumed I had a serious medical problem. I didnt think much. I think people with visible (or any that are seen that look serious) scars get that a lot.

Quote from: Lucaas on October 15, 2014, 02:40:40 PM
I'd probably tell people that I had surgery for gynecomastia, since the scars can look similar to those from top surgery.

This is what I intend to use.  Just make it into a quip about "man boobs".  That's just me, though.