Taking Hormones

[Sometimes Steffi]

There was a thread in the Loved Ones section about being a crossdresser and taking hormones. I won't provide the details here, because it was presented in a private section.

But it brings up a relevant question. If you believe that you are a crossdresser, but start taking hormones, should you be considered transsexual?

It would seem that the changes that take place as a result of taking hormones go beyond presentation or expression and enter into te realm of gender identity.

I apologize or the use of labels, but it seemed like the most concise way to frame my question.

[Angela Campbell]

Taking hormones, or any action, will not make you a transsexual. It doesn't mean you are one.

You are either born this way or not.

[I Am Paula]

You're right about labels, but I think anyone who has made it thru the gatekeeper system, and is using hormones is probably more advanced than 'Just a cross dresser'. At the same time, what does it matter?

[Annaliese]

The question it did they go through the Gate keeper.

[sandra-leigh]

Someone who is sufficiently transgender might consider hormones. For example hormones would help soften a male body to be more androgynous.

[I Am Paula]

I agree Sandra-liegh, but no reputable therapist, or endo is going to prescribe just to build a better CD. One cannot just 'go on hormones', unless they are self medicating. This is the purpose of gatekeepers.

[Katey888]

I'm no expert on this Steffi - but I would venture that one's gender identity (rather than physical gender) is unaffected by taking hormones later in life... it's rather more under the skin than that...

And your question was whether after taking hormones (presumably feminising ones...? ;)) you should be considered transsexual...?

No - not if there is no complete conflict between gender identity and physical gender, you are not transsexual. (I say no complete conflict because we CD/TG folk do seem to float airily around in the middle somewhere...)

And if there is - then you are transsexual, and in effect (as others have said here before me - so yes, I'm plagiarising...) one is then not really crossdressing... Ta Da! :)

There was a thread a while back about cosmetic surgery and gender reassignment becoming more commonplace... while that's still some time away, I can see more CDers opting for illicit hormone treatment and feminising cosmetic surgery... I'm sure the cosmetic surgery industry will see this as a new viable revenue stream sometime soon... :eek:

Katey x

[stefan37]

Hormones are powerful chemicals that interact in the cellular level. There will be changes and many are irreversible. There is no way to predict which changes nor to what degree. Realize that hormone therapy will render you sterile and impotent. Breast growth is a crap shoot. Fat redistribution takes years if at all. They are for life. Without T blockers the results may not materialize. Using hormones illicitely is a dangerous undertaking without competent medical supervision.

[natalie edwards]

I would say no it won't make someone ts. They use some of these hormones to treat certain cancers such as prostate cancer. Some side effects besides impotence are breast development and weight redistribution. It doesn't make those men ts or cd.

[Jenniferathome]

If one is taking hormones, they have left the world of "cross dresser" way behind.

[Shelly Preston]

Hormones should only ever be taken under Medical supervision

[Tina_gm]

If someone is to strongly wish to or does start HRT, it is a likelihood that they are TS. But I would not say it is an absolute indicator. I do not believe in this absolute line in the sand about where CDing ends and TS begins. There are those who are obviously one or the other, but I do think there is a gray area as well.

[Eryn]

We live on a gender spectrum, not a gender binary, and our actions determine where we are on the spectrum. Permanent changes such as hair removal move us toward the TS end and HRT would move us further still.

Is there any real point in trying to label it? We're all trying to find our comfortable place on the spectrum.

[Cheryl Ann Owens]

I can totally relate on the past two posts. First I believe that self-medicating is and can be dangerous. I think that herbals are more dangerous than the real hormones. And I also believe too that gender is not 100% binary. There are some of (actually many) who live in the gray areas. I used female hormones for a few years and my wife liked me better because I wasn't so male driven and often irritable. We enjoyed a great sex life too though I wasn't so much the agressor.

I did gain a lot of breast development and skin softening which I still have. I'm not advising anyone to use hormones but I do want to say that everyone is different. There are many shades of gray in this area.

Cheryl

[Michelle789]

Taking hormones is a serious step that results in permanent changes, and should not be done without the supervision of a doctor.

Taking hormones doesn't make one a TS, nor does not taking hormones make one a CD. Many TSes fight this tooth and nail for years or decades. I was born TS, fought it for 34 years and started hormones one month ago. I was still TS before August 1, 2014, and I have always been a TS. I was in denial and thought I was a crossdresser.

If anyone who thinks they are a crossdresser is thinking of taking hormones, I would seriously discuss your gender issues with a qualified gender specialist first, and start exploring your gender more. If you are in fact TS and need to transition, then you should take hormones under the care of a qualified doctor. Hormones cause permanent changes and carry the risk of side-effects like any other medication. Hormones are prescription medication, and should be treated the same way you would painkillers, antidepressants, or diabetes medication.

[celeste26]

The problem is that there are some who never make a 'transition' but remain happily in between. Some TS never get surgery so does that mean they are not TS????

[Kate Simmons]

Not necessarily. They could be used to just enhance appearance especially in a weak form. I must stress, however, that any such administration of any hormones should be under supervision of a medical professional.:)

[Candice Mae]

As others have said taking hormones will not make you a TS, you will be just a guy with feminine characteristics that CDs. Everyone always looks at the young TS and think that they will look like them. But in reality if you don't start HRT before 25 the effects are diminished as Mother Nature has already played its course.

Do not self medicate it is a dangerous slope, and often leads to medical problems and regret when they notice your still the same person and the grass isn't greener on the other side of he fence.

And transitioning is not something I wish upon anyone, it is a very awkward time where you and everyone around you us adjusting to the changes. And it does not happen over night, so be ready for some long days a head.

[Eryn]

Some TS never get surgery so does that mean they are not TS????

Only to certain backwards states who require surgery for gender changes and to a few hard-core TS people who want everyone to have to go through what they did.

I think that taking hormones simply for appearance's sake is very dangerous. It's not just a breast maker, it's a major rewiring of your mind as well.

[KellyJameson]

Being a transsexual starts before you use the label transsexual. It starts with gender identity as identifying with a gender opposite your body.

Most transsexuals that I have associated with struggled with gender identity issues since early childhood and living in this state of psychological crisis results in behavior that can be very erratic, often destructive but at the very least you do not live a productive and happy life.

Sex hormones are not only about sex but cognitive performance, how a person responds to pain and manages stress and a host of other influences that affect the body and mental/ emotional states

Sexual differentiation of the brain is caused by sex hormones acting in fetal and early postnatal life and recent evidence suggests genes on either the X or Y chromosome may also contribute to this process.

My own opinion is that in transsexuals the Y chromosome is somehow muted and the x is dominant, affecting brain structure and cell response to hormones.

There are many risks to taking HRT such as blood clots, black outs from low blood pressure from those using certain types of T blockers, possible increase of certain cancers and stress placed on the liver, ect..

You sign many forms absolving the medical establishment of any liability for a reason.

For a crossdresser to experiment with HRT, assuming they could, would be to invite psychological pain and potential harm to their health for the purpose and pursuit of body modification.

A self destructive act is an expression of insanity and sickness because it runs contrary to the design of life which is the pursuit of health.

A transitioning transsexual is risking their health and life to pursue their health and life. They come from a place of crisis, they do not create the crisis.

A person who does not completely identify with the opposite gender and shows no signs of the trauma this causes would be acting insanely to change their body and this is because they are insane (mentally ill/delusional) or driven by a compulsion to reject themselves which is another form of mental illness.

An example would be repressed homophobia so the person transitions as a work around to this phobia so they transition because of sex and not identity. This creates a homosexual man in a body used to have sex as a woman but they are nothing like any woman I have ever met.

Another example is internalized misandry usually by the mother experienced as self hate. The mother clearly wanted and favors girls and actively resents men so the boy internalizes this and seeks escape from the self hate absorbed from the mother.

Self hate is not identity so once again a person transitions that is not a woman "as identity"

Someone who takes HRT without doing the therapy work is in my opinion a fool and clearly does not have a grasp on how dangerous their own mind can be to them.

Men are at particular risk because men innately have identity issues from finding their identity outside of themselves so for men their identity is always dependant on an audience.

Men perform for their identity and crossdressing certainly is a performance, making them vulnerable to inviting confusion into their lives.

[Alexis Jade (AJ)]

I for one wouldn't mind taking them for appearance reasons, but at the same time the mental and psychological stuff is what is making me hesitant.

[Krisi]

If you start taking (female) hormones to try to change your body, you are past being a crossdresser. You are a transexual or wannabe transexual. A crossdresser wears women's clothing and might shave or wax body hair to complete the illusion.

[Aly Cat]

I can only speak of personal experience since that is the only gauge I have.

I was a very sheltered individual growing up and didn't know anything about transitioning or the world of a transsexual. I only knew I didn't feel quite right. I crossdressed for my entire life thinking that that would make me feel right. It did and it doesn't. It made me feel feminine, but it didn't feel like it was enough. I struggled with that for 26 years. I felt like a girl and loved girly things, but my parents made such a big deal about me being the only boy and how special I was that I felt like I had to measure up to their expectations. I tried to be manly and masculine for them and kept my true self hidden. I was miserable but got good at showing a happy face.

Finally I got bold and decided in my adult years that I was done hiding. I started dressing openly and coming out to select individuals. I joined this community and talking with both CDs and TSs, I realized that I identified with the TS more than I did the CDs. I began exploring what made me... Well, me. And it didn't have anything to do with the clothing I wore. I legitimately felt like I was supposed to be a girl. I started taking the steps to become who i was supposed to be.

I went through the "gatekeepers" and got in touch with a professional endocrinologist. I have been on HRT for almost 5 months. I am 100% out to everyone... Friends, family, extended family, and the general public. I am much happier with my life as a whole. I am excited about what my future holds for the first time in my life. That is not to say that I haven't had my share of ups and downs. I can be emotionally unstable, have ridiculous food cravings, am hyper aware of looks from others, etc. I don't really care what others think about me, but I do still notice the stares. I just continue to be me. It is as others have said, a long process that doesn't happen overnight.

Right now, I am quite literally in between genders. I am very androgynous and aside from my voice, can pass as full female when I put the effort in. Most of the time though, I just shoot for basic androgyny. I am excited about female attributes becoming evident in my body, not because of presentation, but because it feels right. Anyone can have breast forms or hip shapers, but to know that I have my own breasts, and feminine body, it feels completely natural and comfortable. (I will say that the fat redistribution that is going to my inner thighs is giving me mixed feelings Lol.)

Truthfully, would I have it any other way? Yes, I would be a GG. Otherwise, no. I still have bouts of dysphoria pretty frequently, but they are not near as crippling as they used to be. They are manageable. I don't take antidepressants or anything since I don't feel they are that severe.

So where do I fit in? I would say I was a transsexual from birth, but I didn't realize it until I was an adult. I didn't have anything to gauge it by until my adult life. I was a transsexual who became a crossdresser and then reverted back to being a full transsexual. I have gone full circle on the spectrum. Funny the journey life takes us on...

[Lorileah]

:putting on choir robe: Don't use hormones without the supervision of a medical professional. (saying that with full disclosure I did it for years and ...well since I was doing it wrong, nothing happened).

We get into petty nitpicky discussions over what makes this or that. I will base my answer on what is between your ears. If you are in the wrong shell and living a life that makes you unhappy as the sex you are, then you are a TS. Doesn't matter what you "do" about it. I knew from a young age. It wasn't something I decided later in life. The decision was to act on it in a logical and safe manner. That makes you a TS

Taking hormones as a CD makes you a CD on hormones. If you take hormones without medical background and supervision, it makes you someone who is living on a tightrope. The likelihood of bad is far more common than the good you desire.

[kimdl93]

I would venture to guess that a certain percentage of CDrs have desires for feminization that they hope might be achieved through HRT. I would, however, judge this to be a misuse of prescription drugs and wholly inadvisable.

[sometimes_miss]

I think that far too many people feel the need to draw lines in the sand, depicting what you are, and at what point you become something else entirely. The gender spectrum is wide and varied, and you will find all sorts of people pushing the boundaries of each defined role type. I'm a crossdresser; but I'm also a little bit TG, a little bit TS as well. Too often someone wants to put me into one box or another, and ignore the feelings and behavior that makes me part all those things. The yearning I feel to be female makes me want to transition, to take hormones, to be a real girl. And yet, that is an impossibility, I can never be that, no matter what I do. And in so many ways, I am not a girl at all. But that doesn't make the feelings go away.

[Barbara Dugan]

One time I got diagnosed with Low Testosterone , my levels were very low and my Endo that I see for my thyroid issues prescribed me Testosterone. It felt great just for a couple of weeks then I started to feel the same way before the testosterone therapy but I still continued the testosterone for a few more months. I started noticing that my body was changing and rounding on places that never did, I even got little stretch marks on my buttock area, my testicles started to shrink and erections were very difficult to obtain, there was a feeling of emptiness down there that is difficult to describe but honestly it felt great also I got very weepy and emotional.

The odd thing is that my testosterone levels never improved actually decreased even more, not even doubling the dose of testosterone, it got to a point that my T levels got too low that my endo had to redo the lab work because he couldn't believe it were so low just above zero. I had to stop the T therapy because it was affecting my Prostate too, my urologist later explain to me that he believes the Testosterone for some reason was aromatizing into estradiol... The thing is that during that time I looked the best ever and crossdressing was really easy that always think to myself...What if but then again I know for experience Hormones are really powerful stuff

[Badwolf]

I'd say while it goes beyond presentation, I don't think it goes beyond simple versions of expression. Even transsexuals are considered as expressing their true selves as the opposite genders. I'd also say there are extreme expressions that are more acceptable that this type of body modification (including other pretty extreme body modifications).

In terms of being considered a transsexual, the real question using more common concepts is whether or not the person wants/needs to live full time as the opposite gender.

Any other version kind of gets muddled into the grey spaces in-between the terms we label this stuff with. Normally all the warning labels associated with hormone use means that the risk is not recommended, or generally acceptable without a much more NEED oriented focus. In general it means that unless transitioning is the only way to ensure an individuals mental health, hormones should not be administered. This is very different than saying that by starting to take hormones you are automatically transsexual, but on the other hand that if you AREN'T transsexual and taking hormones, you fall outside of what is currently acceptable, even within the LGBT community. In many cases you may be doing something you would regret as well.

Hormones do have large effects on A LOT of the body, and adding from external sources can stress certain organs. Also especially for people who still identify with their birth gender, and may not have access to the right information to avoid the many side effects that can be irreversible using current technology (sterility being one). Another obstacle is without the imminent need to do so, an individual may not invest the money to avoid some of the negative effects (sperm/egg banking to keep the theme of my examples). All of this really leads to the generally accepted idea that only transsexual people take hormones, while it isn't exactly true using the strictest terms.