cowboycrustation

I want to preface this by saying that we have a zero tolerance policy for transphobia. Your comment will be removed and you will be banned if you spout transphobia here. Our existence is not up for debate.

That said, how do you differentiate being transgender and being trans racial?

I'm curious how to answer this question in a good faith debate with someone. Emotionally I know that they're not the same and that one is wrong and the other is not wrong, but I'm unsure as to why that is and am curious if anyone else has given any thought about it.

My insurance denied covering my testosterone for the second time (UGH) and I can't afford the packets I usually take here ($120 even with goodrx) so I'm wondering if the gel pump would be cheaper. Anybody know?

I wanted to give an update on my progress:

My voice has gotten much better. There was a period of time where it was almost hard to speak and I could barely sing and thought my voice would sound like shit forever but I am happy to report that it has leveled out. It even sounds good and has a rich tone.

Losing my voice peremantly was my biggest fear with starting T. Took the risk and I am so glad that it didn't happen.

ahhhhhhhhhhhh

After moving states to a much more progressive one i feel like i get clocked all of the time here, whereas back home that rarely ever happened. When i pass by male strangers they dont do the nod thing to me. its very disconcerting. I get they'd by people who don't know me. I wish I could know what it was that makes people clock me like that. It feels like I'm not man enough here. Not being stealth feels like being naked. I don't like it.

Part of me wants to talk about my experiences as a trans man because it is a unique expierence that needs to be known, but at the same time I feel like as soon as I tell people I'm trans I automatically become Man Lite™ and a bunch of assumptions are made about me. And then I'm not man enough and am not treated as any other man would be treated. I wish T would do its magic already. I'm constantly feeling dysphoric these days.

i have a decent amount of acne after starting T. I wash my face every night with a cleanser scrub thing but still get lots of blackheads and pimples. Any tips at how to minimize this?

ive been ten months on T, got plenty of new hair everywhere except my face. havent even gotten one new hair there. all the men in my family have no trouble growing facial hair. why tf am i not getting a single one

Update: still procrastinating

I've been having new permanent freckles appearing on my body since starting T. Is this a thing anybody else has expierenced

We need more transmasculine people (and people in general) on here. If you know a transmasculine person please get them to check this place out. Spread the word!

Annoyed with tgsupply for very long order wait times and being out of stock of almost everything I was gonna get but this article is helpful nonetheless.

It's been about six and a half months that I've been on T and I have seen great progress.

I have been on 25mg of 1% gel this entire time, but my T levels (last time they were checked, which has been a while) have shown up in normal cis male levels, so it seems that my body is processing it as it would a normal dose (50mg of 1%).

My voice has changed some and singing got a lot harder. It's gotten better since but is still not where I would like it to be. I hear it'll get better with time. I think I will likely end up a baritone (pre-t was a tenor on the high end)

Been getting hairier, but not much substantial growth on my face. Mainly on my stomach. Arm and leg hair has gotten thicker but since it's blond it's not very noticeable.

Shoulders look somewhat broader. My chest has gotten substantially smaller and looks more like moobs than boobs now. Other than that body fat redistribution has been slow and is not happening as quickly as I would like.

Self image has improved a lot. I can stand to look at myself in the mirror without immediately recoiling now. I can actually bear to look at photographs of myself now, even when I'm not binding and am in PJs. I see me in those photos, a guy, not some external otherworldly being who I don't immediately recognize. That has made me have to face some of my flaws that I previously ignored and discounted because I was so separated from my sense of self. It's painful, but the good kind that helps you to grow.

Bottom growth has definitely happened, and my junk is definitely bigger. Acts more like a penis now with erections and the likes. Gets a prickly feeling from time to time which is uncomfortable. I'm assuming that means growth.

Face looks more masc, acne is different. I get neck acne now and it tends to be flatter than it was before.

Definitely have boy stank now. I smell pretty bad after less time sweating. More "sour" body odor.

My hairline is slowly receding. It looks good for now but it will likely progress till I'm bald. Oh well.

All and all, I feel like it takes a lot less effort to pass now. That frees up a lot of physical and emotional effort that I previously devoted to passing and I can now live more freely. I've still got a long ways to go but progress is slow and steady.