R L T "awkward Phase"?

[Guest N. Jane]

My "awkward phase" was my teens for sure. In boy mode I never really passed as a boy - more "in between". On weekends, when I could run off to the city and spend the weekend with friends, I seemed to be accepted as a girl but it was always so hard coming come By 18 I had started HRT (legally) and wasn't passing as boy at all at college - for some reason most kids thought I was a girl playing boy. After age 24 and SRS, it was just a whole lot easier being a girl 24/7.

I can't imagine how many people I confused when I was growing up or what they may have thought. By the time SRS became possible (1974) more people had heard about transsexualism and (from what my sister told me) the response to the news of my surgery in my home town was "Now THAT make sense!" and "Well it is about time she figured it out!" SIGH!

I have never tried to pass as my birth sex on purpose but there have been situations when I should have been gendered male .... but it doesn't happen. I have no idea why.

[Guest ShortyT]

I started shifting my hair and clothing style towards andro a while before coming out, and took the plunge to go full-time at the same time as it was confirmed I would be getting hormones. I came out at work and officially changed name at the same time. There was no passing for me at that point. If I came into a store and introduced myself as [guyname] I might get the odd raised brow for a second, but other than that people went with it and adjusted pronouns accordingly. If people met me and didn't know my name, I'd get female pronouns every time. I just went about my business and ignored the stuff I didn't want to hear, and appreciated the people who'd gender me correctly as soon as they knew my name.

I have been on T for 10 months now. During this time I have gradually gone from not passing to the point where people avoid pronouns because they aren't sure which to use, and now, 10 months in, I am beginning to be gendered male by strangers.

Thankfully, I have never had to slip back into "female mode" for any reason.