Anna, I'm not going to say anything negative toward you (and I haven't read what you posted on the other thread, I assume it's about me) because I think you truly misunderstood what I read, or even worse, I may have typed something in a very confusing way!
What I meant was that in 25% of MTF cases (I've studied these cases for many years, both MTF cases and plastic surgery cases in general) and I will tell you outright that 50%+ of the men and boys out there do not need FFS, and when it comes to the face, that same percentage usually doesn't even need hormones. Look at Justin Bieber, plenty of pictures have been edited of him where people have put a wig on him, and without changing a single feature, he passes as a girl (and a very hot girl) entirely, without question. These same "good genetics" are given to the majority of young boys out there, I've studied adolescent faces very passionately, and adult faces as an extent of that. Many young boys are twins of Justin Bieber quite normally, and in later years, most men look just slightly more masculine than that. It's not a new thing, craniofacial studies of skeletal remains over thousands of years prove this same time of common unisex look.
However, the next percentage is that 25% of men beyond that have minor traits that cause them to look more toward truly male (believe it or not, computer analysis studies has proven that the most "common face" for men and women is actually a naturally unisex face, and that less people than not look like "truly boys or girls.") and by "more toward either sex", I mean that they do have subtle male traits caused by slight imbalances in hormonal growth process (yes, the more masculine a man looks, the more his hormones "flared up out of control" in his teenage years, and this is proven unhealthy, both mentally and interally). These traits consist of slightly harsh noses, a bit of a brow prominence, chin or jaw clefts or misalignments, slightly shiny or unhealthy skin, noticeable stuble, ect ect - sometimes hormones do wonders on these features, and surgery is usually not needed for these rather minor imperfections. (Or just needed in ever so slight amounts.) Many girls apply to these features as well, I'm not saying that there aren't strong-featured girls in the world, and many of them are indeed beautiful! Look at your avatar, you seem to have a round-shaped face and features that reflect that (a slightly common look among husky men) but all of your features - skin, nose, forehead, chin - seem to show of every identity of being a girl, the softness, the accessibility, the harmony, the health, the beauty. I would never guess your a boy unless your voice or something else gave it away!
However, the next percentage is the 25% of men who indeed have extremely male features, often caused by very extreme or damaging imbalances of hormones and chemicals. Diseases like Acromegaly can often be the cause of this appearance, it's a very, very underdiagnosed disease because of current discrimination against men. I do fall into this percentage myself, it's possibly why I've bothered to study faces in depth in the first place. Let's face it; we've all seen the "Andre The Giants" of the trans world and without extensive surgery, these girls will not be able to pass or lead a lifestyle outside the "drag queen" world without escaping negative comments - while it's not always the most comfortable option, some of these trans do have to settle with more of a "drag queen" identity; the only reason I say this is because medical science, with many types of surgery, is not always up to stuff. Not everything is possible, though many things are, and all I meant by "everyone should have it if they want it" is that "the government should pay for this." Same about hormones. It's a choice that some people do require for their confidence or to pass as the softer, accessible female they want to be - even father than that, I believe it should be cheap. The end idea in my mind is that I am a realist and I've studied psychology as extensively as I can to at least form my own beliefs, and I believe that an extremely masculine man cannot pass in the eyes of the public without Hormones and/or Surgery and/or Being Reliant On A Daily Therapist To Hug And Wash Every Insult Away. (Which is just as expensive as getting Hormones or Surgery in the first place.)
I'm simply explaining this because I believe a goal of almost everyone here is to pass without having daily hateful comments. I could go out and dress like a girl right now, but I've tried it before, and, because I look so extremely masculine, I'll have teenagers and even young adults shout everywhere I go "Look at that ogre dressing like a woman!". It's easy to say that we are all beautiful because we're brave enough to be ourselves and face the world, but that's not going to stop everyone else from saying things if we do attract attention in our workplace or public life. Quite frankly an astounding number of young boys and even older men pass perfectly or almost perfectly without having been on hormones or having got FFS at all. That's the reality that, believe me, I am so extremely jealous of - I do also hate when people (professional doctors, other trans) downplay the severity my features because to me, that says I must have BDD.
Another concept is that of confidence - many of us here, including myself, only want to have the features that give us confidence. I'm the type of person where if I'm at least comfortable and confident with my features, I would not care if they were a "little masculine". But again, I am in the most masculine of the masculine category, I just cannot pass or even start my Real Life. I feel like it's impossible for me, I feel like I look like a circus freak or some sort of bad comedy sketch. This is what I feel like:
Only, to be honest, I look 10x more "masculine" than that actor. To be honest, in terms of what's relative and an acceptable appearance to many trans, this actor passes somewhat well. I'd be lying if I said most of the middle aged gals around me in the real world don't have imperfections like weight around the neck and chin, slightly large foreheads, bald hairlines ect ect. I certainly wish I looked at least even more in the direction of this sketch actor, and trust me, this sketch enrages me! It hurt my feelings so much!
