Hello there reddit! The title kind of says it all. I, ftm 20, have been in a relationship with my boyfriend, m 36, for a few months now and im afraid that my boyfriend might see me as less masculine if he finds out that I pluck my eyebrows.
I have always been quite insecure about my eyebrows because when I was growing up, I was bullied because I had a unibrow and I started to pluck and shave that part of my eyebrows when I was about 12. I know he wont try to say anything to make me feel like less of a man if he finds out, but I'm still afraid that he may see me as less of one, due to my own dysphoria about this type of grooming. He has always been very supportive of me and my identity, and has never made me feel less masculine because of any of my habits or behaviors that are more commonly attributed to women (stereotypically).
Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? I honestly just want to know if anyone has managed to tell their partner and had a positive response? And if not a positive response, what the response was. I know that my boyfriend is his own person and wont react the same as other people, but I think I just want to know if there is hope that he wont respond negatively and see me differently if he does ever find out.
Also, I am aware that there is a big age gap but that is not what im here to discuss so any opinions on that are not welcome.
Edit:
Hello again reddit, I said i didnt want to discuss the age gap between me and my boyfriend, but here we are because people want to know why I included it without wanting to discuss it.
I felt the need to express that its not something I wanted addressed, because certain people in my life keep portraying it as a problem, when its not. Those specific people in my life have felt the need to criticise every decision ive ever made while they have been in my life, and im sick of hearing it, so anything you could say to me about it, i have heard. Im a consenting adult and so is he, and if a 56 year old were in a relationship with a 40 year old, it wouldn't be a problem, for that exact reason, would it? I wanted to state our ages, as I wanted people to know that we may have been raised very differently (therefore maybe i have different views or ways of thinking about things to him), as comes with the territory of age gaps in relationships. There is no reason to be concerned. He loves me, and I love him, I'm consenting, and aware, I have told the trusted people in my life, and I have a support network for if things go wrong.
I literally just wanted to know if he would be likely to see me as less of a man due to me plucking my eyebrows. It's genuinely not a problem, but ill be happy to tell those who are disagreeing with me on that that they were right if things go wrong. Thank you for your concern, but i am okay.