Skip to content

Gender transition: men / transmasculine

Here is what to plan during a gender change. I have a separate section for any young person planning to start transition before adulthood.

Most of transition is social. Some people also make legal changes, and some make medical changes.

Social transition

Connecting to community resources

Self-acceptance, therapy, faith

  • Self-acceptance is the hardest part of transition. It is the first thing you must work on.
  • Many people find therapy can help them with their hopes and fears. It can help you see how important this is to you.
  • Many people have wrong ideas about transition at first.
  • Therapy can help you with the good and bad parts of a gender change.
  • You are going to feel hurt sometimes as you transition. You must have a way to deal with this.
  • You may also need to work out how your faith fits with your feelings.

Coming out

  • Coming out to family and friends is different for each of us.
  • You must think very hard about when and how to tell people about how you feel.
  • For young people who live at home or who get money help from their families, coming out is the biggest step in your transition. You must plan very well.
  • For older people, it is also important. If you are married or in a serious relationship, especially one with children, you owe it to your partner to let them know how you feel, since it can change their lives almost as much as yours.
  • Talk with your therapist about your family issues.

Employment and money

  • Employment is very important.
  • You must choose if you will transition where you work now or not.
  • I feel the best thing to do is to transition at a job or in school, then go somewhere else.
  • If you want to “start over,” get all your legal and financial records changed first.
  • Starting a new job and transitioning at the same time can be much harder.
  • I recommend not coming out at work until you have to.
  • Money is also very important. You must have a realistic money plan in place.
  • Transition can cost nothing, or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
  • For this reason, your timetable must be made after carefully laying out your goals and spending plan. 
  • Insurance can save a lot of money, but there may be limits to what is covered by your policy.

Appearance and gender expression

  • Choosing a name may sound like a pretty easy thing, but you should think hard about it before making a legal change.
  • Your choice can affect how you are accepted and can even make it easier to be outed in the future.
  • Voice is one of the hardest parts for some transfemiinine people who wish to change theirs, but it can be quite cheap.
  • Voice practice takes time and practice, often over 6 months.
  • You may need to work with a professional voice therapist for the results you want.
  • Some people choose voice surgery if the other options fail.

Going full-time will go well if you plan well. It makes it easier for others to accept you if you have planned well.

Legal transition

  • Among legal issues, the most important step is to get your identity documents in order.
  • Trans and gender diverse people need to take more steps than others to ensure our documents are correct.
  • You will need to deal with these sooner if you are married or own a business. You may be facing a divorce and custody case.
  • If you work for a company, consider talking to a lawyer before you come out at work.
  • You may want to get a legal name change as well as state and federal identity documents switched right before you come out. This will allow your school or employer to process your name change quickly after you come out. Often they will not begin until they have certain types of legal documentation.

Paramedical options

  • You should think hard about your reproductive options before hormones or bottom surgery.
  • Hormones or bottom surgery may change your body so you can’t make children.
  • Hair removal, and most of all facial hair removal, can often take the most time and money for transfeminine people who went through puberty.
  • You should begin as soon as you can if you don’t want facial hair.
  • Get permanent hair removal. You should have as much permanent facial hair removal as you can before you go full-time.
  • Hair loss is something you also may need to think about. If you do not have hair loss, you should begin growing it now, since it takes a long time. If you have some hair loss, you may want to consider correcting it surgically. If your hair loss is moderate to severe, you must determine how to deal with that through wigs or hair systems. If you choose this, spend the extra money for the best kind.

Hormones

  • Hormones can change a lot of things: skin, where you have body fat, your face, scalp hair, body hair, and even how you feel.
  • Most of these take time. Hormones are not a magic pill or injection that will change you overnight.
  • For transfeminine people who have gone through puberty, they will not change your voice or get rid of existing facial hair.
  • People who plan to take hormones must think about reproductive options before they start. 
  • Hormones may change your body so you can not make children. 
  • It is important to know the other possible risks and side effects before starting.
  • It is safer to take hormones under your doctor’s care. 
  • I hope you will get a prescription by visiting your health provider in person.
  • Americans can also go to a local health service like Planned Parenthood in your US state.
  • There are informed consent clinics around the world.
  • There are also online clinics that prescribe hormones legally in some parts of the world.
  • Some people choose to self-medicate and order hormones from online pharmacies.
  • Importing prescription drugs without a prescription is less safe and may be against the law where you live.
  • You can start and stop hormones if you want to try them for a while.
  • Some people try them for a few weeks or a few months to see how they feel.
  • You can stop and restart anytime, but it is a good idea to do it under a doctor’s care.

Surgery

Resources

Here are some resources specifically for transmasculine audiences that might be of additional help:

Commercial sites