transformerdreamer wrote:1) Go to Youtube and search for something like "M2F transition photos", you will see people that have done it in a matter of a year or more.
Just don't get your hopes up from those videos. Many of the girls that got really good results and post those videos started while under 25. After 25 you don't get as good results. Plus, this is very YMMV.
transformerdreamer wrote:2) Find Online communities/forums/websites and read and participate
I just have to say the following two have been a huge help for me:
http://reddit.com/r/transgender
http://reddit.com/r/asktransgender
transformerdreamer wrote:3) You need from my understanding Estrogen and another pill that suppresses Hormones,
Bioidentical estradiol and antiandrogens, most often spironolactone (which makes you pee a lot). The estradiol can also be supplied through injections, gel, or patches.
transformerdreamer wrote:They are not that bad I think but you will need to take them all your life until science progresses and yes, they are working on it.
This has been one of the reasons I've always tried to convince myself that wasn't trans. At this point, though, screw it. I'd rather take pills the rest of my life than live it as male.
transformerdreamer wrote:(YOU NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR BEFORE YOU TAKE THESE)
Also, unless you have an Informed Consent clinic near you, you'll also need to get a letter from a therapist before going to an endocrinologist.
transformerdreamer wrote:4) The pills make you a women almost completely Skin, hair, voice, breasts, appearance. HOWEVER some males need hair removal and you WILL need to go under the knife for a vagina.
The pills will soften your skin and make it less oily, it will redistribute fat to your breasts and hips, and also smooth out the face a bit, but it's still really lacking unless you're very lucky.
Voice is not affected for M2F transsexuals, you'll have to spend time training your voice. HRT will slow the growth of facial hair (and body hair), but if you have it, you'll almost certainly need laser/electrolysis.
transformerdreamer wrote:7) Be prepared for some discrimination, if you already are in your career and say have a diploma that has your old name, it may look odd to a future employer, so you may want to consider this. Look into getting you name changed legally then updating your diploma. You may be able to do this with all of your legal documents, this will take a little money and patience.
Expect transphobia, especially if you don't pass well. Our society rather despises transwomen, unfortunately. I would *highly* recommend reading "Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity" by Julia Serano. Two good quotes:
Perhaps no sexual minority is more maligned or misunderstood than trans women. As a group, we have been systematically pathologized by the medical and psychological establishment, sensationalized and ridiculed by the media, marginalized by mainstream lesbian and gay organizations, dismissed by certain segments of the feminist community, and, in too many instances, been made the victims of violence at the hands of men who feel that we somehow threaten their masculinity and heterosexuality. Rather than being given the opportunity to speak for ourselves on the very issues that affect our own lives, trans women are instead treated more like research subjects: Others place us under their microscopes, dissect our lives, and assign motivations and desires to us that validate their own theories and agendas regarding gender and sexuality.
Trans women are so ridiculed and despised because we are uniquely positioned at the intersection of multiple binary gender-based forms of prejudice: transphobia, cissexism, and misogyny.
Also:
In a male-centered gender hierarchy, where it is assumed that men are better than women and that masculinity is superior to femininity, there is no greater perceived threat than the existence of trans women, who despite being born male and inheriting male privilege “choose” to be female instead. By embracing our own femaleness and femininity, we, in a sense, cast a shadow of doubt over the supposed supremacy of maleness and masculinity. In order to lessen the threat we pose to the male-centered gender hierarchy, our culture (primarily via the media) uses every tactic in its arsenal of traditional sexism to dismiss us.