When I started binding I used a backwards bra, though it’s not the most comfortable or aesthetic option. There are binders that can pass as sports bras, if you want something you can sneak under the radar.

Being a transmasc who is into computers, that causes its own kind of isolation because a lot of the trans-in-tech spaces, well… a carelessly-phrased egg joke in a transfem-heavy space hits as pressure to detransition if you happen to be a transmasc, and so the whole “teehee become a girl to be a True Programmer” meme culture feels hostile.

I found it vaguely irritating that none of them listened to the expert on how the motion sensor actually worked.

I see that case as an anomalous one because the tension I personally have there is: a person may be a god, but that doesn’t make that person my god, and I shouldn’t be required to behave worshipfully towards a god I don’t follow. I may choose to follow other religions’ conventions around how they refer to their gods and/or prophets in some contexts, but the idea of not having a choice in matters of religion makes me deeply uncomfortable. Respect between equals, which is what using a person’s pronouns generally is, should be automatic, but deference to authority should be earned in my book.

Call me Fénix. I’m a nonbinary trans man, in my mid-30s, started T some ten years ago and been on it most of the intervening time. Based in Portland, OR.

Have had hysterectomy and bottom surgery but got a full torso tattoo instead of top surgery, heh. I get euphoria from a lot of kind of old-fashioned or formal trappings of masculinity, like neckties and the like, though because I work in a less formal setting my standard uniform is a Hawaiian shirt.

I’m here because being a transmasculine person on the internet can be pretty lonesome. There’s lots of spaces full of transfems, or cis queer people, but places I can hang with other trans guys are pretty limited, especially for the kind of geek who doesn’t go on Facebook or similar. This is a place I feel community.

It’s not just the TSA; I had an unpleasant experience some years ago flying through Frankfurt, Germany. I wasn’t packing, but scanners flagged me because of my chest (no top surgery, I bind for travel but I guess it wasn’t flat enough that time) and the agents asked me if I’d prefer English or German. I said English, because my German’s not equal to that situation, and they assumed this meant I understood no German. So the one guy who spoke English asked me if I were a man or a woman and I explained that I’m trans. He translated to his associate as “both” to which she laughed scornfully and said “there’s no such thing!” I pretended not to understand so I could just get through the indignity as quickly as possible, but it cemented my hatred for airport security theater.

Looks like goodrx actually has a relatively easy way to compare, if you go to https://www.goodrx.com/testosterone and use the drop-down menu.

I will say, in my experience, the cheapest option is always injected (cypionate) vs. any kind of topical form. Kind of a bummer if you’re scared of needles or just prefer the gel, but it’s been pretty consistently true where I’ve looked.

I grew up in a family where everyone sat by default, so to me peeing while standing up is less gendered than it is for most people, I think. I’d still choose the ability to do everything your average cis guy can do if I could, of course. I don’t yet know if I’ll be able to sexually penetrate my partner, but I expect to not be able to and that is a thing I will feel a little sad about. Ejaculating and standing to pee are more “nice to haves” but that doesn’t mean I won’t occasionally wish I could do them.

My experience of just this last few days, though… looking in the mirror and seeing a tiny but definite penis for the first time was a huge euphoric moment. I’ve tried prosthetics and they sometimes make the dysphoria worse, making me more aware of what I don’t have basically. This is like the opposite, where sure, I don’t have all those abilities, but I have a penis! It’s familiar and a real organic part of me!

So far it’s not too bad. It was an outpatient procedure; I could dress myself pretty much when I woke up and walk pretty comfortably later that day. I’m a little stiff and sore, and the bleeding took a while to slow down — there’s still spotting, which is apparently very normal — but unless I get an infection I think I’ll be pretty much functioning normally soon.

Insurance covered 90% of the total, so I paid about $4000 US for the surgeon and facility fees. The clinic the surgeon works at has good insurance wranglers who made sure my two therapist letters said exactly the right thing to satisfy the insurance company.

For me, the dysphoria was around not having a penis, rather than having a vagina, so I didn’t feel the need for vaginectomy. I’m nonbinary transmasc anyway, and my kind of ideal was to go for “best of both worlds” rather than cis-equivalent. (Also, I knew meta probably wouldn’t give me enough size for penetrative sex, and I didn’t want to make that otherwise more difficult.)

So far recovery is going well! I’m not in much pain and have been able to waddle around like a penguin from basically when I woke up after the surgery.

Bruce Springsteen.