Hips

[Guest Anhelanti]

So, we can binds the chest lumps and eventually get them cut off, we can take the T to increase muscle and reposition fat, and we can even get surgery to have (admittedly disappointing) penises. But what, oh what, do you do if your hips - and I'm talking pelvis and femurs here, not fat - are wider than your ribcage?

I just had my measurements taken for a costume in a play, and was pretty much horrified to hear how Gosh darned wide my hips are. They're just barely narrower than my shoulders, and it's really bothering me, because it doesn't seem like there's anything I can do to change that.

Is it possible that T can change the shape/width of hips at all? Or is the fat redistribution enough to make a relatively masculine figure? And, lastly, if none of that is good enough, is there any kind of surgery to alter the hips without crippling a person?

Also, on a related note, has anyone noticed if chest binding can actually permanently make your ribcage narrower (thus resulting, in opposition to the desired effect, in an exaggeration of the hips and overall more feminine figure)? Of course, after reading Evan's post, it seems there are worse things to worry about than that from binding, but I still hate to think I could actually be making my chest narrower.

Sorry for any incoherence here; I'm writing this after 4am, so my thoughts may be a little spastic. I need to get some sleep D:

Nate

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

Not to be a bummer, but if you have already finished growing, there's probably not much that T can do in that department. I've got a similar problem, but I think the fat that is packed on in that region is adding substantially. A few transguys have posted their measurements online. Waist/hip ratio doesn't always change a lot. The transguys you see with narrow hips likely had them to begin with.

Take heart though! There is considerable variance in hip width for genetic males. Like I've seen pics of the dude from American Pie...the one who plays Stifler, and he has pretty wide hips for a dude. He isn't straight all the way down like a lot of guys. The trick is to work out so your upper body is kinda big. It takes attention away from the hips.

Surgery would be pretty tough. I wouldn't want to do anything that could weaken my hips, and filing away bone would definitely do that. I think you'll find that bulking up in the shoulders plus fat redistribution from T makes a huge difference.

[Guest Evan_J]

They're just barely narrower than my shoulders

See, for me, that right there is all I would focus on. No matter how small that difference is, they ARE still smaller. To my knowledge (and someone might chime in with a surgery for it, who knows.....) theres not a surgery for those bones. You just do what genetic dudes who don't have such dramatic differentiation (and there are quite a few) do, compensate by broadening your chest and building shoulder muscle. And yes, I wondered that same thing about binding, ( anybody with absolutely any exposure to the word "corseting" would ) which (depending upon your conclusions and opinions) would be a reason to not do it so much.

.....and they try to say top surgery falls outside medical necessity.not

[Guest Michelles_husband]

Good luck with the hips thing. I have barely enough to keep my pants up, so I don't know your pain dude.

But I agree with the bulking up your upper body. It would definately keep the attention away from your lower body in general.

Jess

[Guest Evan_J]

Good luck with the hips thing. I have barely enough to keep my pants up, so I don't know your pain dude.

But I agree with the bulking up your upper body. It would definately keep the attention away from your lower body in general.

Jess

I dunno if Jess' experience was like mine (maybe he was just slim there before T, me I'm far from slim) but the "redistribution " thing was no joke. I lost almost 30lbs total and the majority was from the lower half. I had to buy new pants. Now even the new ones are "fallin off the hip". So you might find that you have less down there when its all over.

[Guest Anhelanti]

Thank you both for your responses, they are really helpful.

I figured there wasn't much T could do, but I still kinda hoped. At least I'm starting T now (at 17), so there's a still a chance that at least it may stop them from getting any wider? (I've heard that pelvic growth doesn't finish until about 21, although that's probably more to do with the fusion of bones than the size/breadth of them) Even after a while on T, does a lot of body fat still stick around the hip and thigh region?

It's encouraging to hear that cis-guys can have pretty wide hips too. I just went and looked up cis-guys with wide hips on google, and found a couple forum posts that really helped put things in perspective for me. I definitely need to get back into a good workout routine. I've gotten out of my usual routine since starting college, but it's about time I got back to work. I guess I'm off to check out the exercise forum here

Yeah, makes sense there wouldn't really be a surgery for it. I'm really not even sure how you'd go about it. Just me coming up with crazy ideas I guess.

I seriously didn't realize just how much of a risk binding with a proper binder was (only knew the risks of ACE bandages and the like), but after reading your sticky post, I've definitely cut back on binding. Anytime I'm not in public now, I'll take it off. I'm really, really hoping I can get surgery next summer. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna end up with back problems if I don't get it soon.

It is utterly ridiculous that they consider trans surgeries cosmetic. Bloody insurance companies. I have one of (I think) the worst - Blue Cross Blue Shield. My family is pretty concerned that if they find out I'm trans, they'll stop covering all my medical expenses.

[Guest Anhelanti]

Posted without seeing the two latest posts >_<

Jess, you are incredibly lucky. Thank you for the advice!

Evan, dude, it is awesome to hear about the redistribution. I seriously hope that happens to me.

[Guest Michelles_husband]

I dunno if Jess' experience was like mine (maybe he was just slim there before T, me I'm far from slim) but the "redistribution " thing was no joke. I lost almost 30lbs total and the majority was from the lower half. I had to buy new pants. Now even the new ones are "fallin off the hip". So you might find that you have less down there when its all over.

Hahaha slim... me and slim never really got along. I'm shaped like a square, just add a head and short little legs haha. But I've seen the fat redistribution bit do wonders for making big hips seem less big.

Jess

[Guest CharlieRose]

I dunno if Jess' experience was like mine (maybe he was just slim there before T, me I'm far from slim) but the "redistribution " thing was no joke. I lost almost 30lbs total and the majority was from the lower half. I had to buy new pants. Now even the new ones are "fallin off the hip". So you might find that you have less down there when its all over.

Yeah, I'm on my... eh... seventh week of T, and I've gone from 34" on the biggest part of my hips/butt and 23" around my waist to 33" hips and 24" waist. So.. from an 11 inch difference to a nine inch difference, 18% reduction. Score! (I don't know if this is normal, though. I've started college a couple weeks ago and so have been walking around a lot, a lot more than I did before, so that might have something to do with it, too.)

And if you don't redistribute that much, some guys get liposuction on their thighs to cut down the fat in that area.

[Guest Martin]

Not everyone who has bottom surgery thinks their penis is disappointing. In fact, a lot of people don't.

[Guest Jean Davis]

I'm not sure if the Docs can do this with the shoulders but there is a procedure called Bone Elongation.

This is a site for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_plate.

If you click on Distraction osteogenesis in the second paragraph it will give you a better explaination.

Hope this helps

Jean

[Guest Anhelanti]

Not everyone who has bottom surgery thinks their penis is disappointing. In fact, a lot of people don't.

That's really awesome to hear. I just always got the impression, from what people have said and from pictures, that the results of surgery were less-than-fantastic. Especially in terms of functionality.

[Guest Martin]

Trans penises are different from cis penises, but that doesn't mean that trans penises can't bring pleasure and body-mind congruity. And depending on what one wants to use them for, yes, they can function just fine.

[Guest Anhelanti]

Update:

For anyone interested, I've been on T for 8 weeks now, and my hips have gotten 2" narrower, and my shoulders are 3" wider (the increased shoulder width may have more to do with lifting and moving tables every night for the past few weeks than with the T). My figure seems a little less curvy now, too.

[Guest Pól]

Update:

For anyone interested, I've been on T for 8 weeks now, and my hips have gotten 2" narrower, and my shoulders are 3" wider (the increased shoulder width may have more to do with lifting and moving tables every night for the past few weeks than with the T). My figure seems a little less curvy now, too.

Good to know, thanks for the update. I was actually wondering about this the other day.

[Guest Crossroads]

If it makes you feel a little better, there is a thick layer of feminine fat around your hips pre-t. This layer does pretty quickly come off, making your hips a little smaller. Within the first month, this measurement dropped over an inch, and started going back up later because of muscle development. In addition, if you work out, your waist measurement will go up because of muscle development. So that really closes the gap as far as ratios are concerned. Same thing is true with the shoulders. My shoulders got wider, again, muscle development. Keep in mind it isn't just the hips, every part of you works together to create a "male" or "female" silhouette.

My measurements

Hips at the widest point/Waist at smallest point/Shoulders Pre-T: 38.25 inches/27.5 inches/41 inches

Hips/Waist/Shoulders 3 months on T: 37.5 inches/ 30.5 inches/43.25 inches

[Guest Anhelanti]

That does make me feel better. It's also a great motivation to start working out more seriously. And stop eating so many fast food meals late at night.

Thank you for posting your measurements - it's really inspiring to know how much the ratio can change.

Thank you!