Based comment

I am not a trans woman but I was hoping I could chip in with a bit about Finasteride as I used to be on it.

Finasteride is not a general anti androgen, but it does block DHT, which is what some T gets converted to and is the most potent/effective form of T. I'm a guy and I was briefly on it for hair loss but I stopped because it made me depressed (dysphoria) and I also felt a little weaker. So at least from my experience, I would call it an anti-androgen, even if it works specifically against DHT.

One side effect of finasteride reported by some men taking it is breast development, so I would be very surprised if it has anything to do with what you are noticing with your chest.

Have you had a blood test recently? If that's all good, breast growth can take a long time (several years), and ofc the full extent of it varies from person to person.

I've been getting freckles on my body in similar places that aren't exposed to the sun. I always thought it was related to age rather than testosterone, but who knows! I don't mind them personally.

Just thought I'd put it out there because I feel like it would be neglectful of me not to: minoxidil fucked my skin and aged me by a good 5-10 years. And I was only using it topically on my scalp for balding! The effects on my face would have been from the residue on my pillow as I roll around in my sleep. I can't imagine what would have happened to me if I put it on my face. Look up "minoxidil collagen breakdown" for more details; I'll spare you them here, but taking minoxidil for 1.5 years is one of my biggest regrets.

There is very little data on the likelihood that this impacts someone taking it, mostly bc the hair restoration industry is extremely quick to silence anyone who complains of any kind of side effect. I was even told by the Dr who prescribed it to me that I was "imagining things."

Whether you heed this caution or not, I wish you the best in your journey to glorious beardom.

Thanks. Yeah, I don't think their comment is entirely accurate.

If anything, at least in my case, being a "tech nerd" almost acted to validate my gender when I was a kid, and vice versa. I would have had a harder time had I been into something more traditionally feminine, because my family/other transphobes would point at it as evidence that I'm not "really" a guy.

The original comment is probably well-intentioned, but it honestly doesn't feel very far removed from just using "AFABs" to refer to a social group, which makes my skin crawl. I and many other trans guys' upbringings are quite different from cis women's.

How are trans men excluded from tech?

(Not trolling, genuinely asking. N.B. I am a stealth trans man in tech.)

Is the "wrongness" that you feel with presenting as male purely an expression/conformity thing? If you could dress and express yourself as feminine as you feel on the inside, would that be enough? If so, then you might be a non-conforming guy. GNC people, whilst not trans, do have a fair bit in common with trans people in terms of existing in a society that has a largely close-minded understanding of gender.

Otherwise, does it bother you to be referred to using masc terms (like "son", "brother", "father" etc.)? Are there parts of your body that cause you distress, because they don't line with what you expect or think feels right? If yes, then you may benefit from experimenting with labels under the trans umbrella. Only you will be able to determine if it feels right, but without trying you may never know.

Someone… likes the Reddit app?

I was going to comment this exact thing lmao

I've come back to this after sleeping to check; has anyone figured out what the hell this means?

Is this article a joke or dead serious?

This is some real "the right can't meme" type shit... why is it getting upvotes on blahaj.zone?

My brain sharted trying to trace this through

Fwiw I'm a trans man and I also work in tech lol. I didn't see the survey. I'm stealth irl and don't spend much time on trans communities/subs online either. I think this might be fairly common

What does this even mean

I don't think it would change my day-to-day life now as a transitioned, largely stealth, reasonably happy person. However, I'd still say yes for 2 reasons:

1. First puberty was jarring and made irreversible changes to my body that I don't like. The experience was traumatic and it's something I really wish I could live without
2. My gonads making testosterone would be much more convenient than relying on my memory/discipline lol

I may have said no if I got puberty blockers in my early teens, but I was nowhere near that privileged.

I had so much trouble understanding pubescent girls in the media, how they were so excited to have their first period or wear their first bra. I thought everyone experienced the absolute dread that came with puberty and they were all just pretending. I was fully expecting to get a huge growth spurt one day and grow to be 6ft tall and look like Jim Morrison. It felt like someone had made a mistake and it would correct itself naturally.

God this is relatable AF. First puberty was honestly traumatic for me.

I hope you feel better on T now :)

I grew up in a country where gay and trans rights do not exist and where people in those communities are heavily ostracised and treated like they're crazy. No legal recognition, no means of transitioning, no posting about it on social media, nothing

I moved to the UK nearly 8 years ago to start living my life, and the UK is... well. I'll start off by saying that it's infinitely better about trans people than where I come from. But I don't think it's good about trans people on the whole.

'Legal' transition only matters for the terms you are referred to in legal documentation around marriage/parenthood, and whether or not you need to tell the tax body your AGAB. A name change (which includes your title) is trivial. To fix the other stuff, you have to get letters from doctors and fill out a form and pay a fee and wait a while for some mysterious council to decide if you're trans enough. I think most people don't bother.

Medical transition is very inaccessible, and I suspect I'm privileged in that I got through the waitlist back when it was a few years for an appointment, and not basically indefinite. Doctors agreeing to actually prescribe your HRT after that entire dance is hit or miss, although the majority would continue to prescribe patient who has already been on it for a while, in my experience anyway.

The UK is also a bit insane on anti-trans media. That's the only thing I didn't have to deal with back home, lol (because trans people are not recognised or talked about) I can't see a reason for being under the media's crosshairs than being an easy scapegoat for the ruling political party to distract voters from real systemic issues that actually need fixing.

How long have you been on T?

In my first year or so I was generally pretty hangry, but especially for steak and beef lol. Way more common thank you think

I don't think my appetite has necessarily changed since, but over time my lifestyle has adapted and I definitely don't get bouts of hanger like that anymore

Because the USA loves inventing problems to “”solve”” (see: literally the entire military industrial complex)