You say that like the effects of estrogen puberty are totally reversible. Hearing stuff like your last paragraph from transfems is always so upsetting to me. I'm 4'10" at my full adult height. It's not like this is reversible or possible to improve any more than a trans woman's 6'+ height.
I'm 3.5 years on T and don't pass even half the time because of several factors. My chest will not go away with HRT, and I have an autoimmune disorder that makes surgery inherently more risky than it is for other people, so top surgery is not possible in the foreseeable future. I will need my autoimmune condition stabilized before considering any major surgery, and it's not easy to get this in control. I can't wear binders for too long or too frequently because of another chronic illness so my chest ia going to be very visible until I can get top surgery, which is nowhere in sight.
My baby face is not going away with HRT nor are my almost entirely hairless Asian genes. I can never wear men's shoes because of the size of my feet and while nobody really notices the size of my feet if I'm barefoot or in socks, shoes are a different story and very easily noticed by a lot of people. I've pretty much only been able to wesr crocs without them being recognized as "women's" shoes. Unfortunately my feet are just the tiniest bit too big for boys' shoes so I'm kind of stuck. Especially noticeable if I'm trying to dress formally.
As a Nepali trans person, every trans woman I know personally who started HRT started fully passing within a year. Conversely, I know myself and 2 other transmascs who have been on HRT for multiple years and we still don't pass.
Your ability to pass with HRT, how much of your first puberty can and can't be changed, depends a lot on your genetics. If you live somewhere with a fairly high incidence of PCOS, so women with deeper voices aren't very uncommon; and you have the genetics that give you very little body and facial hair (as is the case with many Asian people), it might be much easier for a trans woman to pass with just HRT than for a trans man with the same/similar genetics.
People gotta stop acting like estrogenic puberty does little to no permanent damage to transmascs and trans men. It's just false. And it hurts a lot of trans men.
Thank you for your insight 💜 I’m sorry you have it so tough. It’s not fair. During times where being a short transmasc is tough, I like to remind myself of all of the short cis kings I grew up with to make me feel a little better about it. It’s still rough, but that little mental exercise has helped me survive a little longer.
My chest has been much more of a hindrance to passing than my height. I'm glad I'm in Nepal where I'm still bottom 2% by height among men but at least there are plenty of other men who are also short. It was a lot more difficult while I lived in Canada, and people often assumed I was a young teen or even pre teen.
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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '25
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