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• 1 2022-08-09T13:54:41-07:00 Transition for people Assigned Female at Birth 6 plain 2022-08-15T12:41:10-07:00 For people Assigned Female at birth (AFAB) transition, depending on whether a person is non-binary or a man, can involve any combination of things to masculinize or de-feminize their bodies. For the sake of brevity this page will focus predominantly on transition for trans men, generally non-binary people will use a lot of the same processes but with a little more flexibility on what elements of performative gender are important to them and which aren't. Given the current patriarchal system of masculinity in our society, masculinity tends to be seen as the default. Pants are normal, skirts are gendered, wallets are normal, purses are gendered, flat chests are normal breasts are gendered as such presenting as masculine can be both significantly easier and harder than presenting as feminine. As such transition for afab people tends to be more about shedding feminine signifiers than adding male signifiers.
  For most people Transition starts with experimenting with new names and pronouns to find out what works for them. From there, many will experiment with cutting their hair, trying on masculine coded clothes--especially baggy form concealing clothes--and developing a sense of style. 
  The process of transition is a process of self discovery and as such takes a lot of slow periods of experimentation and reflection, while most trans people know they're trans, it still takes a lot of time to figure out not only what gender means to them, but to what degree they want to express it and share it to the world.
  From there, depending on their age, many trans men who've already gone through puberty, begin to experiment with making their bodies appear more masculine. Specifically excess breast tissue tends to be a common contributor to dysphoria not only in trans men but many queer afab people. This can be addressed by binding, which is the process of compressing the breasts to simulate the appearance of a flat chest. Binders are an undergarment specifically designed for this purpose and while they are becoming more common and accessible, many trans teens who don't have the financial resources or safety to access them turn to other methods of binding.One particularly common method is binding using ace bandages. Do not ever bind with ace bandages! Due to its prevalence in media whenever an afab person is shown to need to conceal their breasts, many people subconsciously assume it's a reliable method of binding. THIS IS NOT TRUE!!! Binding with ace bandages is very dangerous and can cause permanent harm including warping ribs, and skin infections. Do not ever bind with ace bandages! Binders are the only consistently safe way of compressing breast tissue safely and should be default for binding and even then care should be exercised with how and for how long binders are worn as they can still negatively effect your health.
  On a lighter note, Trans masc people also sometimes engage in packing, which is the process of simulating a penis by putting a packer in the front of ones pants, this can be done with bundled up socks or using more elaborate silicone prosthetics. Some packers even include equipment to allow their wearer to simulate the functionality of a penis and stand to pee.
  Alternatively Trans people who have recognized they're trans and have access to gender affirming care before puberty can take puberty blockers to give them more time to explore their options without having to go through the traumatic process of the wrong gender's puberty. Some processes of puberty such as breast growth are irreversible so, as a result Puberty Blockers are much sought after by trans people even thought they are rarely prescribed.
  
  
  After puberty, sometimes as early as 16, trans men are allowed to start hormone replacement therapy (hrt) which involves taking supplemental  testosterone to allow for the body to experience a male puberty. Hormones increase body hair growth including facial hair, change the vocal cords to deepen the voice, slow or stop periods, and increase muscle mass.  Hormones, just like more traditional puberty, take several years to take complete effect.
  After hormonal treatment has been explored, some trans adults receive gender affirming surgeries to fix parts of their bodies that cannot be corrected medicinally.
  This can include breast removal or reduction (top surgery,) body or facial masculinization surgeries, and/or bottom surgeries which can turn the vagina into a penis. Surgeries are generally only legally allowed for people over the age of 18. Not every trans person chooses to undergo gender affirming surgeries and not everyone has to have every surgery, it is rude to ask people what surgeries they've undergone.
  
  Ultimately transition is just the process of aligning a body to more closely match a persons gender and so a person can mix and match any of these techniques to match how they feel their gender, a person might change their name and dress and feel perfectly comfortable without ever having to go on hormones, just as a person might get bottom surgery and decide to still present masculinely, ultimately transition is about aligning yourself with your gender and not the other way around.
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