I think part of my hopelessness is that I am realizing hrt has not done anything to my face, I figured this out since I am still pretty recognizable. the only thing hrt has done for me is give me boobs, which usually results in hey dead name, you should loose some weight when i am recognized in public. I just feel hopeless and I want this nightmare to end.
I think you need to come out to those people. It’s scary, and in the immediate-term very bad, but after that… you get recognition. Not being recognized as yourself suuuuucks.
This helped my friend so much. She finally told me and a few other people what was going on, and we all kind of went “oh, (dead name), wait. No. What’s your new/real/we don’t know what to say name?”, and we had a conversation about it all.
facial feminization surgery can be very effective but it costs money (like many quality of life things)
I have some experience in this area. Here is my advice. Get laser for any facial hair. Learn how to do makeup(esp if you are worried about jawline, etc) and dress for your body. Practice yoga and mindfulness. Find a supportive female/trans friend to help you grow and give you criticism on your look.
It fucking blows but, honestly, I just never take off my KN95 mask in public… It seems to mostly keeps me from being misgendered (on top of also just being a good idea, of course). I’m never gonna afford FFS, and because of electrolysis I’m not even allowed to shave for like half of every week, so masks being socially acceptable has been a lifesaver for me in more ways than one. Would that help for you too?
From what I remember about your face, you look androgynous at worst, with makeup and styling easily taking you the rest of the way.
Transitioning makes it possible to love yourself, but you still need to dispel the self hatred like everyone else. It’s a struggle for cis people, so of course transition isn’t going to automatically fix that problem. You still need to recognize that your life is worth fighting for. You deserve to be loved, especially by yourself.
We can’t just take a medication to escape our shame. The right hormones will only open the gate, but you must surrender the comforting assumption that you’re inherently a piece of shit. Your appearance is hopeless in your mind, and will remain that way as long as you believe it. Self judgments are not more accurate by virtue of being negative.
I’m not invalidating your fears, but I am invalidating your hate. You don’t deserve it and it does not help you. Critiques made out of love can drive improvement, but not mental self harm.
