safe space

1. Progesterone: not for everyone, but for many people it may increase sex drive and WILL make your boobs bigger. Also effects mood in ways that many find positive (but some find negative). Most doctors won’t prescribe this to you unless you ask. Most trans girls I know swear by it.

2. Injectible estrogen: is more effective than pill or patch form. Get on it if you can bear needles bc you will see more effects more quickly.

3. Estradiol Cypionate: There is currently a shortage of injectible estradiol valerate. There is no shortage of estradiol cypionate. Functionally they do the same shit.

The concerns surrounding venous thromboembolic events as a side-effect of hormone replacement therapy can mostly be traced back to one particular study known as the Women’s Health Initiative. This study was an enormous undertaking which, unfortunately, demonstrated significant adverse effects of the hormone therapies studied. As a result of this the use of hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal cis women was dramatically reduced as the medical community began to question whether or not the therapy caused more harm than good.

Naturally, trans women have been suffering from this fall-out ever since.

What physicians seem to fail to recognize is that the study examined a very specific hormone regimen which was, arguably, outmoded at the time the study was conducted: It examined the use of conjugated equine estrogen (Premarin) with or without the use of medroxyprogesterone acetate. Neither of these drugs is regularly used for the treatment of transgender women.

The estrogen most commonly used to treat transgender women nowadays is 17β-estradiol either in pill form or in the form of a sticky patch that you apply to your skin. Esters of estrogen (e.g. estradiol valerate) are also sometimes used either in a pill form or as an intramuscular injection.

Transdermal estradiol patches are the gold standard when it comes to treating women who are at high risk of a venous thromboembolic event. It simply does not increase the risk of developing a venous thromboembolism. The only thing you should keep in mind is that patches are not always well tolerated because of the lifestyle changes required to keep them from falling off and the fact that they tend to irritate the skin.

Fortunately, oral 17β-estradiol appears to be safe, regardless of the increased risk. At least one large study has shown that the use of oral estradiol in trans women is not associated with venous thromboembolic events. An individual woman’s risk would need to be substantial in order to contraindicate the use of oral estradiol.

For those who have significant risk of venous thromboembolism because they have had a previous thromboembolic event, because they are paralyzed, or because of some other factor it is good to know the relative risk between oral and transdermal estrogen. The latest research indicates that the use of transdermal estrogen lowers your risk of a thromboembolism to 80% of what your risk would be using oral estrogens.

It’s difficult to find hard numbers regarding the relative risk of venous thromboembolic events with regards to hypertension. The best I could find after an hour or so of searching was this study regarding VTE in lung cancer patients. Hypertension increased the risk by a factor of 1.8.

However, to put that into perspective being of African descent increases your relative risk for deep vein thrombosis by a factor of 1.3 when compared to Europeans. Europeans are, themselves, at increased risk when compared to Asians and Pacific Islanders by a considerable margin: a four-fold increase.

I should point out that being ‘male’ is also a risk factor for developing a thromboembolism and hormones are likely to be a contributing factor. Also, menopause is another serious risk factor. Given this information it is likely that the use of transdermal estradiol will lower your risk of thromboembolic events significantly.

As far as the anti-androgen is concerned: The primary use for spironolactone for cisgender people is as an antihypertensive.

Even if the risk of thromboembolism was truly significant with modern hormone replacement therapy it wouldn’t justify what your doctor is doing to you. The fact is that mortality in the transgender community from suicide–caused in part due to the lack of access to hormone therapy–is substantial. The quality of life lost when a trans woman is denied hormone therapy is substantial. The fact that your doctor does not appear to be taking this into consideration when they weigh the risk of thromboembolism against not receiving necessary medical care is deeply concerning.

I strongly recommend that you seek a doctor who is more sensitive to your medical needs as a transgender woman.

BINDER GIVEAWAY!!

Hello! I recently bought this binder but it doesn’t fit me properly. It’s a swim binder (you can wear it normally though!) from underworks.

It’s a size medium but from my experience with it only if you’re in the lower-mid measurements of medium will it fit nicely. It’s only been worn once so I thought I could give it to someone in need of a binder! 

RULES: This is only for FTM trans people, Please be following me :) ,  Only re-blogs count - you can reblog if you don’t want it (to signal boost) but put that in the tags please!! If you’re not from the UK postage payment if you can afford it would be greatly appreciated (if you really can’t afford it that’s ok!), 

Gender euphoria is a concept that was made to be the opposite of gender dysphoria and describe the strong feeling of happiness that trans people experience when they’re being treated as their true gender. For some people, this feeling can be an indicator of being trans.

Throughout my life, I never had any noticeable dysphoria. I didn’t feel I was stuck in the wrong body and I wasn’t terribly self conscious about my chest. It wasn’t until I was in a group webcam chat that I even began to consider I might be trans. 

Someone “mistook” me for a boy…and they were fairly confident about it too. Others in the chat corrected them, but it wasn’t until I told them myself, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m a girl.’ that they accepted it. But the thing that clicked in that moment was this alien feeling of absolute JOY being recognized as a boy. It honestly took me off guard. The further I went along in life, the more I yearned for and sought out retail workers that would call me sir and comments from my brother saying I look like a guy in photos. One time I was sick and someone said my voice was deep enough to be a guy’s, and suddenly, I could not stop talking. Those little things just made me so happy. 

But for the longest time I doubted myself, and one of the reasons was because of the term ‘gender dysphoria’. From everything I was reading online, it seemed to me that gender dysphoria was the ONLY way you could be trans. And that screwed me over for a long time. I doubted myself a lot and even started to hate myself a little bit because I could’t let the idea of myself being trans go. (it also didn’t help that I was genderfluid, with an occasional lean towards being female, but that’s a whole ‘nother confusing addition to the pile of self doubt.) I eventually said screw it, I’ve had these feelings for long enough and strong enough, but it wasn’t a fun process getting to this point.

So I came up with this great idea for a fake beard using fiber mascara and I realized there were no tutorials out there for this already. So I made one myself. It works really well and is very realistic!!

here are some links to some fiber mascaras as well as the type I used (I’m sure you guys can find one at a cheaper price though)

here is the absolute best crossplay makeup tutorial I highly recommend it

If you’ve been looking to bind, whether you’re transgender, non-binary, or a cosplayer, you’ve probably come across binders like these on Ebay, Amazon, or AliExpress. Usually they’re called E.V.A, SHO, Whatwears, or Ancient Fish King brands, all of which are apparently, interchangeable with each other. Ross is here to tell you that these chest binders are not much of a step up from ace bandages, which in case you hadn’t known already, are the worst thing you can do to bind your chest. So here’s the run down, from least bad to worst.

First off, the sellers are usually misinformed about why someone would use a chest binder is needed just from how they title them. Why would Lesbians want a chest binder (outside of cosplay?)? I don’t know, but most of these listings have lesbian in the name, suggesting that chest binders are for girls, not men or nonbinary. This right there should be a warning sign of a company that doesn’t know what they are doing.

The strapless binders’ model is wearing the wrong size for their chest. Their breast is popping out over the top of the binder, and I can personally say that with that binder, it is very, very, painful if you have a larger chest. After about 20 minutes, bruising and chaffing will occur, esspecially to those with larger chests or are heavier. In the worst case scenario, the breast will rip or pop as if it were cut with a knife.

Look at the materials used. These chest binders do not have any or enough stretchy material in them. Elastic or spandex is the best. On the ones that do have spandex, they don’t mention how much there is in the binder. This is an enormous, bright, flashing sign that the binder is NOT safe. Just how bad is it? Ace bandages likely have more elastic than these binders do, and the ace bandages can still kill you if they don’t maim you. A binder is supposed to stretch, be easily manipulated, and you must be able to take a full breath in them. I’ve bought and used two different types binders from Ebay not knowing any better, and I could barely take a breath at all. I did get larger and larger sizes, and with the same result. Putting it simply, their binders could be falling off of you because they are too big and still would not be safe. 

Now I can’t show you in a picture about the next part, but what’s probably the worst about these binders is that their ‘binding’ material goes all the way around the binder. Your binder should NOT have this unless it is made to correct back posture. Sports bras can, but that is better for again, correcitng back posture. So not only will you be binding your chest, but you’ll be binding your ribs, back, and shoulders as well. This can warp them and damage the tissue. 

So what does a good binder look like? I’m going to use the binder I’ve had the best experiance with as an example. The Ultimate Chest Binder Tank by underworks. I’ve bought two of these as I’ve needed them, I wore out my old one after a year and a half of use daily including at work.

So, straight off from the site, we know this seller is knowlageable about their target audiance. Chest binders are under the men’s section and you never see the word lesbian on any of them. The only thing marked for women under the chest binder section is a sports bra, put there because transgender men often use them for working out.

The infomation section on the binder isn’t just two or three lines, it’s a whole paragraph. What is this binder made of? Medical grade 70% nylon and 30% spandex knit. It says it right there and is readily available information, you don’t have to dig through the seller’s ads for cheap wholesale jewlery in the description to find it. The listing also tells us how much of each material is used, information you must have when buying a chest binder. My personal rule of thumb? If it’s under 20% spandex or elastic, it’s trash. Our listing also tells us how to put the binder on, rather than making you struggle to figure it out on your own. Size chart and customer reviews are readily availible on the listing and not buried under ads for other unrelated merchandise. 

Also from looking at the binder’s pictures, the front and back of the binder is made differently; the front is thicker and non transparent while the back can bee seen through a bit and is thin in comparison. This is because the front of the binder is made to compress and bind the chest and the back of the binder is not. All the binding is in the front, support in the back. 

Here is a post that AMAB trans folks might find useful. It is about how to do your makeup, feminize your voice, where to buy wigs etc. 

Note 1: I have not used the shops listed myself, so I cannot give a review on them. Use the websites at your own risk and I cannot be held responsible for anything.  

Note 2: Some of these resources are aimed at crossdressers, or crossdressers along with trans people. I am not lumping AMAB trans folks with cross dressers but I do feel that the resources could be helpful, thus they are included.

Note 3: This post contains information on how to “pass.”  (I’m not a fan of the concept of passing) This post is not trying to make you into the cis world’s idea of a “perfect woman” but instead to give those who want resources for things that will make them feel more comfortable what they want. Remember, if you do all of these, some of these, or none of these it does not make you any more or less of your gender.

Wigs and hair

http://www.wig-supplier.com/ 

http://www.thebreastformstore.co.uk/ 

http://www.annabelleswigs.co.uk/ 

http://www.josephs-wigs.com/ 

http://www.hothair.co.uk/ 

http://www.ewigs.co.uk/ 

http://www.jonrenau.com/ 

How to make short hair look feminine

Hairstyle mistakes to avoid 

Hairstyles that take less than 10 minutes

How to do a french side plait

Makeup 

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/ 

http://www.superdrug.com/ 

http://www.illamasqua.com/

Make up tips for AMAB folks

Make up mistakes to avoid 

Make up tips

How to choose the right foundation

How to feminize your face

Covering facial hair

1950’s makeup tutorial

Voice

Voice feminization video

Voice feminization mistakes to avoid

Feminization voice lesson  1 (Her other lessons can be found on her channel) 

Feminization voice tips

Girl talk. The transgender guide for voice and feminization (also talks about behaviors)

Chest 

Breast Forms

Tape for creating cleavage 

Breast forms

Breast enhancers

Breast forms

Breast forms

Making your silicone bead forms

Finding your bra size

Bras for under $10

Rice bra (A clever and cheap idea!)

Accessories

Jewellery for £5 and under

Hair clips, accessories and brushes for £5 and under

Not badly priced bags

Alternative accessories

Affordable accessories

More affordable accessories

Clothing

http://www.longtallsally.com/

http://www.tallgirls.co.uk/ (does footwear in bigger sizes too)

Dressing Emo/Scene for Trans girls

Trans clothing swap

Doreen (They are an actual physical shop that you can visit too!)

What to wear if you’re broad shouldered

Plus size clothing

http://www.katesclothing.co.uk/ (gothic)

http://www.tkmaxx.com/page/home

Underwear/tucking

Gaffs in sizes up to XXXL

Padded panties

Padded panties

Padded panties

Padded panties

Gaff

Gaff

Tucking

3 different ways to tuck

Movment

Walking like a woman

Walking like a woman in flats and heels

Feminine body language part 1

Feminine body language part 2

Feminine movement mistakes to avoid

Shoes

Best shoes for AMAB folks

Heels in bigger sizes

Isy B- Search tool for feminine shoes in bigger sizes

Payless-Does women’s shoes up to size 13 at affordable prices

Have you ever wanted to attend a convention or a conference were people like yourself are in the majority?  Have you longed for a space where your pronouns are respected and nothing is assumed?

Well +Con is the place for you.

Hello!  I’m a graduate student in a teacher education program and currently taking a class on race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability in U.S. schools.  My final project for this course will be a professional development module for future and current teachers to educate them about young people who don’t fit into the gender binary, the challenges these kids face in school settings, and things teachers can do to make things easier—everything from changing the way we speak to refer to “all genders” instead of “both genders” to taking a strong stand against bullying.

As a cisgender female, I would like to get input and suggestions on this project from people who don’t identify as male or female. If you fall into this category and have thoughts about challenging the gender binary in schools, I would love to hear your perspective and experiences.  Of course, responses will be anonymous and chiefly for my own guidance as I put together these resources for future and current teachers; unless you give me express permission, I will not even quote you anonymously in the final project.

You can find my survey here.

I have more specific questions in my survey, but basically at the heart of the project is this: What do teachers need to know about gender-nonconforming youth in order to make school a more welcoming place for them?