Quote from: Adabelle on October 31, 2010, 12:41:21 PM
Hi all,
I'm 33 right now, and as I think about the possibility of transition I am looking for examples and stories of people who transitioned in their mid-30's. But it seems like it's hard to find examples and/or pictures of people who transitioned in their 30's. I'm seeing lots of examples of people who transitioned in their 20's, and then there's a number of people who talk about transitioning in their 40's and 50's. But for whatever reason not a lot on people in their 30's.
I just don't know what to expect. Part of my fear about transitioning is that it might be "too late" for me to transition, or that I might not pass or something. I suppose I just feel like there's not very many people in my age range that have talked about transitioning in their 30's. Oh how I wish I had addressed this all earlier in life, but as many of you have said you really can't address this stuff until you're ready to do it. Even now I'm not sure I'm ready, but I know that I am to the point in my mindset that the question must find some kind of resolution either way. Either I need to move forward, or accept my life as-is and find something to just "get by" for the rest of my years. I don't know how either of these are possible, but I hope to find the answers soon.
Anyway, I'm curious if anyone has any ideas about 30's transition in terms of how the body handles it, and whether or not they have friends who successfully transitioned around this age and turned out passable and happy. Am I right in thinking that I'm not seeing as many examples online of people who transitioned in their 30's? If so I wonder why that is.
You're in a very tough position, and I feel for you.

I remember (like many of us do) the point in my life where I was faced with whether or not it would be wise to transition, and I was only age 20. Even at the young age of 20, I feared of not becoming "passable", and looking back, my fear wasn't unfounded.
After having transitioned for three years, and being very successful at it, I can say that I've even met 20-year-old transitioners who don't get day-to-day passing privilege. In my observation, at least around here, you either wind up passing if you started at 18 or sooner, or if you were an overall noticeably feminine "guy".
I've met a good deal of trans women in person. The oldest transitioners I've met, who get to enjoy passing privilege---even to the point of being able to make friends with people without having to reveal their trans status---are age 25 and age 27. Both were noticeably feminine to begin with.
Everyone else seems to have some sort of feature about them that inadvertently outs them, be it frame, height, or voice. So, in my experience, hearing that someone wants to transition in their 30s would cause me to think that they'll need a couple procedures to appear as cisgender. Short of that, I'd fully believe that they could become androgynous---but there's only so much that hormones can do.
Also, I know (in person) an individual who lives and identifies as male, but who has questioned his gender for quite some time. He's 32 and quite feminine for a "guy". Even he maintains, though, that transitioning would probably ruin his career and future prospects because of his bone structure being more masculine. His outlet is drag and cross-dressing, which still leaves him feeling unculminated and empty at times---but he leads an overall happy life.
So, that's my honest opinion. None of it is a critique, as I haven't even looked at your avatar, so as to be as unbiased as possible for you. I wish you luck.
K.C.