Curiouser And Curiouser

[Guest Brendon]

I'll assume you're talking about Dirtywhiteboi67's blog. You should probably just disregard most of what she says.

If I remember correctly, her blog says that trans men who take testosterone may have such horrible fits of anger that they hurt and/or murder people. She also says that taking testosterone might makes ftms rape people.

I don't know if any of you use susans.org (another trans forum), but this woman routinely takes profile pictures out of the ftm forums (she might be doing this here as well) and she posts them on her site where she refers to them as "confused girls" who are "mutilating" their bodies.

In other words, she's completely ignorant.

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

I don't know if any of you use susans.org (another trans forum), but this woman routinely takes profile pictures out of the ftm forums (she might be doing this here as well) and she posts them on her site where she refers to them as "confused girls" who are "mutilating" their bodies.

Yeah, she's definitely doing that. She grabs them off YouTube too.

I guess she didn't grab a picture of me because I don't look like a middle aged man, nor am I bald.

This is one of those times where I am less happy about free speech on the internet. I'm going to copyright all my avatar images, then she'll have to pay for using them.

[Guest Cowboy]

That idiot er, uh... person....

no...

i meant idiot.

I'd elaborate. But there isn't much more to say. so... yeah...

[Guest OneSmallStep]

I haven't read all the way through this, yet, but a few things that have caught my eye.

First and foremost, I've been on t for over 2 years now. Here's my answers.

- The FTM community is riddled with Fibromyalgia and cancer

As far as I know I have neither. I do believe that the risk of cervical cancer may be higher, only because of the buildup that can occur inside of us if we don't have hysto's (or a release of the lining.) And any other cancer is probably more attributed to my 10+years of smoking (which I quit back in June - 2 weeks before top surgery.)

- There is a high probability of FTMs turning gay after starting T.

I'm not gay, but I think if this does occur it's not so much that the FTM is "turning gay" but rather they are coming to terms with their own desires, desires which they could not feel comfy with because at the time they would have been a "female" with a guy and that didn't work for them since they are well not "female" ... but now they are seen as the men they are, so they feel okay being with a guy in a gay relationship(hope that makes sense) ..

- Your voice will sound like a "midget".

I actually sound *exactly* like my younger brother, who is not a trans guy. Briefly I squeaked (what guy hitting puberty doesn't!) .. but ya that's about it that could even be considered like a "midget."

- Excessive body hair, often times greater than the average male

My family is filled with guys who are not very hairy, my dad and brother both look like they shave their legs (they do not) ... their arms have some hair, their chests have the bulk of it. My body is the same way. Of course not everyone will follow as closely to their other male relatives as I have been. But you will be pretty close. I have a transguy friend who is of Hispanic descent has a father who looks like he is wearing a sweater when he goes to the beach without a shirt. Within the first month or two he started having a great happy trail, and now he's about 3 or 4 months in and he can grow a great beard... it really can differ from guy to guy, just like it differs for any other guys.

- That after 1-2 years on T, FTMs will most likely be bald, overweight and look old. Unlike with bio-males, FTMs only have a 1-2 year timeline where they look good.

I'm 28, and since my teens I have looked about 5-10 years younger then I am. Only now have I started passing for my early 20s. Mainly because of facial hair, so yes in that aspect I have aged. Otherwise, nothing out of the ordinary.

I'm not balding, because my genetics do not lead me that way. Can you become balding on t? Of course, just like any other guy who has the genetics for balding you will bald... but not any more because of being a transguy on testosterone.

I am overweight, but I was before hand also. The fat redistributed, but ya it's still there. Again, not t-related. In fact, if anything my losing weight is t-related.

Hope that helps to dispel some myths...

[Guest harvester52]

My video response to this blog:

Enjoy,

-BC

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

- The FTM community is riddled with Fibromyalgia and cancer

This part of the blog post is particularly annoying because there is no way she can know this. DOCTORS don't even know this. Why? Because FTM's, for good reason, often go stealth. Imagine that you are a dentist. People don't go to dentists because they think it's a fun time. Many people ONLY go to dentists if they have a problem. Therefore, if you are a dentist, you are likely to think tooth decay is more common than it is. In this same way, doctors (and anyone else), at best, are going to have an inaccurate count on the prevalence of fibromyalgia and cancer in the FTM community. Many FTM's ONLY seek out gynecological care when they have an issue.

You cannot know the "rate" at which an event occurs without first knowing the size of the population you are referring to.

Compare these three statements:

1. 10 FTM's have had cervical cancer this year.

2. 10 FTM's have had cervical cancer. There are a total of 200,000 FTM's in the world.

3. 10 FTM's have had cervical cancer. There are a total of 25,000 FTM's in the world.

Do you see how these three statements differ? In #1, you don't know anything about the prevalence of cancer. This is similar to saying "I know 5 people who got cancer, so cancer is VERY common." This inference would make no sense.

Statement #2 and #3 express very different cancer rates. According to Wikipedia, 16 out of every 100,000 female-bodied people are "affected" by cervical cancer. Statement #2 is expressing a very low rate of cervical cancer, while #3 suggests the rate is very high.

There is no "official" count of transgender individuals. No one knows. Based on other things people know, it is possible that FTM's have a higher rate of certain medical conditions. However, this is far from being established. In addition, because many FTM's opt for hysterectomies fairly early on in transition, this makes it even more difficult to estimate the true cancer risk.

This being said, you should always listen to what your doctor says and get preventative care. However, be very critical of information other people may give you, particularly if it is based ONLY on their "experience". Personal experience is NOT scientific data.

[Flint]

Can I just ask why it's so bad that people go bald? lol something is really grating on my nerves. Yea okay hair looks better but why are even we making it such a negative deal?

Some of us will probably go bald because it's in our family, does that mean we're going to be ugly? no not necessarily.

Just needed to get that out

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

Can I just ask why it's so bad that people go bald? lol something is really grating on my nerves. Yea okay hair looks better but why are even we making it such a negative deal?

Some of us will probably go bald because it's in our family, does that mean we're going to be ugly? no not necessarily.

Just needed to get that out

It isn't that bad. The only reason people harp on it is because of some shallow cultural ideas about physical attractiveness.

Very few men would complain about being THIS bald man:

[Guest ShortyT]

Picard! I don't care if he's old, he's still dreamy.

..but to stay on topic: I'm prepared to go bald, although I hope not to.. yet.

[Guest CalvinFTM]

- There is a high probability of FTMs turning gay after starting T.

I'm not gay, but I think if this does occur it's not so much that the FTM is "turning gay" but rather they are coming to terms with their own desires, desires which they could not feel comfy with because at the time they would have been a "female" with a guy and that didn't work for them since they are well not "female" ... but now they are seen as the men they are, so they feel okay being with a guy in a gay relationship(hope that makes sense) ..

I think this is exactly right. Especially if you started out your sexual life identifying as a lesbian. I encountered a lot of negative, anti-male bias during my early years identifying as a lesbian. I remember once being at a rugby after-game party, and someone said that Brad Pitt was hot, and the whole room chilled - like that person had just insulted the mother of everyone present. There is a HUGE pressure not to acknowledge any attraction you might have to men in the lesbian community (although I think this is becoming less so).

[Guest Kagen]

My video response to this blog:

Enjoy,

-BC

Good response. I liked listening to you sing. Haha.

Some of the response videos I've seen are depressing. I understand that people are upset by the blog, but what does projecting so much hate accomplish? For people to call another human being such disgusting names and wishing horrible things unto them is sickening.

If someone went to the blog with absolutely no opinion on the subject, after reading the comments left on it and/or watching some of the response videos, they probably would think the FTM community is just a group of brash, violent, misogynist pigs.

[Guest Masculinity]

So...who else had a good laugh at that article?

[Guest insanitylives]

It's a butch lesbian that has created this blog.

She says transmen are just the result of misogyny and the medical industries greed. Trans is a new "fad".

Oh, Dirt.

Don't listen to anything from her blog.

[Guest lvmyftm]

Sounds like a load of crap to me. My boyfriend has been on T for 5 years.... he isn't full of fur and he is WAY hotter than his brother who was born male.

It does seem like there is a greater than avg gynological problems with FTM's....but I think that is because those parts know they aren't supposed to be there in the first place

[Guest CalvinFTM]

I posted some calm, thoughtful, non-combative comments on Unwashed Caucasian's blog... of course, she didn't publish them. Speaks volumes.

[Guest Crossroads]

Just wanted to mention:

There were 2 Discovery Specials, one about MTFs and one about FTMs (that half was about an MTF). Of the two FTMs featured, one had been on Testosterone less than a year and was just getting top surgery and the other (who I believe is actually on the page linked to earlier, Loren Cameron) DID have a squeaky voice! also, in a society that already finds us odd, I felt he presented himself in a oddball way.

I was angry when I saw that because I felt that it wasn't nearly as well done as the MTF one was. Either way, the stigma can't be replaced until some better widespread media show it in a better light...most importantly as a well-researched documentary.

I've been on Testosterone 1 year and 7 months. I look a few years younger than I am, but I'm only 25. I think how your body reacts to Testosterone is dependent on age. The earlier the better. Same thing is true for MTFs. Puberty doesn't fully end until the mid 20s. If you catch that window, it acts differently than if you are up to 30, and again differently between 30 and 40, etc. And then genetics does it's own work.

As far as sexuality, I have heard many stories about people's orientations changing. Some don't change at all. Without a full-fledged study, we have no way of knowing why.