little worried

[Guest yuki]

I just have one fear with HRT it's that people that know my face before HRT will know me after HRT, honestly I would like to tell them that it's me cause I want to sort of withdraw from my old life and I would like to not look like my old self. Is my fear realistic or am I just worrying for no reason. (by the way I'm 21 probably won't be able to start HRT till I'm almost 22 so it kinda worries me)

Thanks in advance,

Yuki

[JJ]

Yuki,

I'm not sure there is one answer to your questions because it can vary enormously. Many people talk about meeting someone they knew when presenting as their old gender and not being recognized while others mention running into someone who recognizes them. My guess is that you will get a mix. If the change is dramatic then most people won't recognize you. Some will. Artists and people who watch faces closely as well as those who were close to you will probably recognize you.

Some people chose to go stealth and move to a different place with new friends while others simply let everyone know and keep on with the lives they had before transition.

That is an individual choice you will need to make at some point.

Johnny

[Carolyn Marie]

Yuki, no one can predict how much your appearance will change or whether people will recognize you. Like Johnny said, it will probably be a mixed bag.

Let me relate a couple of my own experiences. After transitioning at work, I've come across a number of people, some of whom work in the same office and who saw me around for years, who

passed me by without seeming to recognize me at all. One person rode up with me in the elevator and seemed oblivious - I was to her just a random stranger. When I got to my cubicle, I got a

call from her, apologizing for not recognizing me. It took her several moments after we parted, for her to realize why the person on the elevator seemed familiar.

All of that has greatly surprised me and encouraged me. I take every such incident as a great compliment. I hope it is the same for you.

HUGS

Carolyn

[Guest Julie T]

Yuki

Like everyone says, it will vary. People who know you but don't see you that often, will likely walk right past you in a store or on the street. After I transitioned, several times people I had worked with a year before or so, looked right at me and didn't recognize me. But close friends and relatives who know you transitioned, will see the old you to a degree, and you really need that continuity, anyway, I think?

Julie.

[Guest yuki]

Thanks all for the advice I know my parents/siblings will reconize me and thats fine,

The good news is Im going 2 new college so noone will know me lolz

[Guest Isabella_Anne]

.

I figure going from 240 lbs to 155 lbs will make a bigger effect than other thing at least in the begaining.

Isabella

Well....uh, yeah......

dj

[JJ]

It's funny Isabella the one place I have gone since starting to present completely as male that people knew me well before I was really nervous. I mean I had gone from hair down to mid back and long nails makeup etc to all male presentation including a binder though my face and figure were androgynous with a female vibe. Nobody got the gender thing at all and I had myself all psyched for nothing that way (So psyched I disclosed to a couple of people anyway because I had planned to have to do so )

What they noticed was the weight loss. 80+ lbs. Weight definitely trumped gender that day. Of course if you present in a dress, or had I chosen a suit and tie (As if I even own any-not my style) it may be a different story

Johnny