I just read the thread called "Transition because you have to" and it was talking about advice given to younger people. Another question I have is what is considered to be a younger transitioner versus an older transitioner?
A younger transitioner is defined as someone who transitions early enough to
- get minimal effects of testosterone poisoning
- get the best effects of HRT and likely to look more like a cisgender woman
- have lived the minimal amount of time as a man
- have lived most or the majority of her life as a woman
- more tomorrows as a woman than yesterdays as a man.
- have dealt with minimal male socialization - learns female socialization easy as a result
- typically never married and has no children
- never had the experience of being a father - could be mother through adoption
- little invested in their career as a man
- fewer connections to their past as a man
- going stealth is a viable option because they will likely pass as women and have few connections to their male past
An older transitioner is defined as someone who transitions late enough in life to
- get higher testosterone poisoning effects so that it can be difficult or impossible to reverse
- gets less benefit of HRT and likely to retain male features
- lived a lot of her life as a man
- enjoy fewer days of her life as a woman
- more yesterdays as a man than tomorrows as a woman
- has much male socialization to unlearn, and can be really difficult to unlearn it
- often married and has children - children will likely still view you as their father
- invested way to much in their career as a man
- has many connections to their past as a man
- has the experience of being a father
- going stealth is generally not in the cards because either you are unable to pass as a woman or you have too many ghosts of your male past
So my question is, what age is considered the cutoff between old and young transitioners? Perhaps there should be a third category of "mid" transitioner. Here are some traits of these "mid" transitioners.
- gets enough testosterone poisoning, yet young enough to potentially get good HRT results
- HRT results are really a crapshoot - the luck of the genetic lottery determines your chance to pass as a cisgender woman
- has a decent amount of male past, but still has plenty of days as a woman ahead.
- more tomorrows as a woman than yesterdays as a man
- has a lot of male socialization to unlearn, but still has a chance to unlearn it
- may or may not be married or have children
- may or may not have experience as a father
- likely has started a career, but may be early enough to either find a new career or to advance in existing career as a woman
- has significant connenctions to male past
- going stealth is questionable since passing is questionable and leaving your male past is not completely possible
So, everyone, what age ranges would you define for each group? Do you agree with my assessment of the circumstances surrounding your transition? Perhaps it's not truly black and white, but rather a spectrum that varies with age.
I believe it's a spectrum, with the odds of passing and going stealth decreasing as you get older. However, as I have seen from real life experience, I personally know of three later transitioners who pass really well. They started their transitions at 46, 50, and 58 respectively. Each of them has a significant male past, and two of them fathered children. All three have had other people suggest to them that they go stealth, although none of them have gone stealth yet.
I would say as for age ranges.
Young transitioner: Start transition by 25
Mid transitioner: Start transition between 25 and 45
Late transitioner: Start transition after 45
I might also add that genetics and personality effect your chance of passing and going stealth. The three late transitioners who pass and have a possibility of goings stealth happen to be genetically blessed and scored as "NF" on the MBTI.
