The TRUTH about Testosterone effects and Transmen (ftM)

Seeing how I get a frequent amount of traffic here from trans(men) and women questioning whether they should transition, I thought it my civic duty to create a post about the honest effects "T" testosterone has on the female brain and body.

I'll begin by listing changes as outlined by both the medical community and trans(men) themselves and elaborate when needed. Let me add first, there are no long term definitive studies on the effects of "T" on the female brain and body, second the guidelines the medical community is currently using with regards to females and "T" dosage is based on the MALE body, NOT the female body.

I'll begin with the more clinical changes that testosterone can effect:

• Testosterone increases red blood cell counts which can raise blood pressure levels due to higher red blood cell counts causing the blood to thicken. This can result in blood clots that can cause stroke or heart attack, hemorrhage, and/or heart failure.
• Testosterone can cause changes in liver functioning resulting in possible Jaundice, which is a yellowing of the skin and other tissues. Abnormal new tissue growths on the liver which may be benign or cancerous. Hepatic adenoma (HA) a rare benign tumor of the liver and malignant (cancerous) tumors of the liver.
• Testosterone may suppress the clotting factor in the blood, those with bleeding disorders should take extra precautions.
• Testosterone is known to cause water and electrolyte retention resulting in abnormal buildup of fluid in the ankles, feet, and legs.
• Acne
• Testosterone usage may cause Seborrhea, a skin condition characterized by loose, greasy or dry, white to yellowish scales on the skin which may be temporary or continue long term with testosterone use.
• Testosterone may cause periodic yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis.
• Testosterone is believed to cause or worsen polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Which has been linked to an increased risk of endometrial cancer, as well as ovarian cancer.

The mental and physiological effects of testosterone on the female brain/body are as follows:

• Lowers or changes your voice. (the truth-you will likely sound like a little person (midget) of either sex) There are a multitude of Youtubes out there to back this claim up.
• Causes excessive body hair, often times greater than the average bio-male.
• Causes head hair loss.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  (the truth-it often takes a bio-male decades to complete male pattern baldness or total baldness, for women on "T" this will begin within the first 3-6 months on "T" and finish within 1-2 years on "T")

• Your facial image will begin changing within the first 3-6 months. (in truth-within another estimated 6 months you will no longer see yourself in the mirror. Your image will become a stranger to you, your friends and your family-see screen cap below)
• Your female shape (child bearing hips) will not change regardless of how long you remain on "T". (see below)

• Your clitoris will become slightly larger, depending on its size to begin with (the truth-your clitoris will not become a penis or become more than a few centimeters longer than it already is. Due to the coursing of the skin from "T" effects the clitoris may lose some sensitivity) 
• Testosterone may increase your sex drive and alter sexual behavior (more on this later on)
• Testosterone will alter your body smell (in truth-your body smell will be strong and pungent, similarly to male body odor) and your vagina will no longer smell or taste the same
• Testosterone will change the smell of your urine (in truth-this too will become very pungent smelling/stinking similar to male repugnant urine odors just walk into a male public toilet to experience it for yourself)
• Testosterone can/will alter your emotions/moods (the truth-directly after a "T" injection you may feel everything from a testosterone high to fits of anger/frustration. If you have a history of violent behavior testosterone may increase that violent behavior, sometimes resulting in partner abuse and sometimes murder. You will likely feel depressed towards the end of your "T" cycle, particularly if you have had a hysterectomy and rely primarily on your "T" injection for hormone replacement).
• If you are a lesbian prior to taking "T" after "T" you will become 'invisible' to the women you once desired (see You Tube confessional) because your appearance will no longer be desirable or familiar to them. Because of your new trans(male) appearance, they may even treat you with the same caution as any bio male in their presence or space. 
• You may NEVER in your wildest dreams imagined yourself capable of rape, in fact you may have been raped yourself, but some trans(men) in fact do rape women once they have testosterone coursing through their female systems. Sadly these rapes go more unreported than bio male to female rapes due to the embarrassment of the victim and the complicatedness of explaining having been raped by a trans(man). These rapes also go unreported because when they have been reported the victims get further victimized (not believed/slandered/stalked-hounded) by the queer/trans community who put the rapist first simply because they are trans. I will add here trans(men) are not above murdering a woman, these crimes often get buried by the trans community as well, some of which have blamed the murdered woman rather than the trans(male) murderer.
• You may never have desired having a bio male penis in your mouth, your vagina or anus prior to taking "T", but after taking "T" the likelihood of desiring/and doing it is extremely high. For decades FTMs were and continue to be on the "down-low" (despite Butch/Femme Community denial) soliciting sex with gay men on various internet dating sites i.e., within the 'Bear' community, BDSM/Leather, Craig's List etc. The "outing" of FTMs on these lists by bio gay men has highlighted the fixation those taking "T" have with gay sex. Sadly, many see successfully soliciting gay bio male sex as a confirmation of their manhood or success in passing and this therefore increases the risk-taking behaviours (such as unprotected sex with gay men) of those desperate to 'pass'. (in truth-a gay male will have sex with a male or female if sex is what he is after, ask your local 'faghags' how frequently they have regular sex with gay men-I as a Butch lesbian have been solicited more times than I care to think about for sex with gay men, even with knowing I am a woman-this does not indicate any 'maleness' in my character-merely indicates they found me attractive and "swing" for me)
•  Along with risky unprotected sex with gay men, comes the problem with HIV and other STD's.















• Testosterone may cause weight gain (the truth-weight gain gets redistributed to the belly and backsides similarly to where most bio-males carry weight. Testosterone is not a diet pill, you will not lose weight, you will simply change where you carry that weight. If you already have a weight issue, testosterone will increase your risk of heart disease/heart attack because the redistribution of fat to the belly is nearer the heart).
• Testosterone will increase your muscularity (the truth-if you do not workout you will not be increasing muscle in any meaningful way. Your basic female shape will masculinize, but that doesn't mean muscularize).
• You may think/hope by taking "T" that you will look this:

But in all likelihood you will appear more like the generic trans(man) such as this:

(the truth-like genetic disorders such as progeria or down's syndrome which have a generic sibling appearance, many trans(men) develop a specific trans(male) sibling appearance as well).

• Once you take "T" those side effects will be with you for the rest of your life. If you change your mind you cannot change your voice, your clitoris, your hairline back, and removal of excess body and facial hair is a costly and painful process. The soft andro look you may have perfected prior to taking "T" will be replaced by the image of an uncle on your mother's side of the family. 
• Testosterone is not a cure all for all your troubles.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  If you have problems going into transition, "T" will not fix those problems. The initial changes from "T" may temporarily relieve you of some of your body dysphoria, they may heighten your confidence but this is merely temporary. The reality is it will not cure depression, anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) i.e., from assault/ abuse sexual or physical, or other past traumas.
  
  I leave you with this quote from an ex-trans(man): It is important to listen to any personal doubts, however small, and not get locked into the FTM machine.

 See references for more info...

 Life after testosterone

Transgender Men and HIV

Health Maintenance for Transgender Men

Endocrine Therapy for Transgender Adults

Dirt's Feminst and Radical Feminist Reading List

Betty Friedan was an American feminist writer who most notably was responsible for the must read Feminine Mystique(1963)

The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night--she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question--"Is this all?"


It is no longer possible today to blame the problem on loss of femininity: to say that education and independence and equality with men have made American women unfeminine. I have heard so many women try to deny this dissatisfied voice within themselves because it does not fit the pretty picture of femininity the experts have given them. I think, in fact, that this is the first clue to the mystery; the problem cannot be understood in the generally accepted terms by which scientists have studied women, doctors have treated them, counselors have advised them, and writers have written about them. Women who suffer this problem, in whom this voice is stirring, have lived their whole lives in the pursuit of feminine fulfillment. 

I think the experts in a great many fields have been holding pieces of that truth under their microscopes for a long time without realizing it. I found pieces of it in certain new research and theoretical developments in psychological, social and biological science whose implications for women seem never to have been examined. I found many clues by talking to suburban doctors, gynecologists, obstetricians, child-guidance clinicians, pediatricians, high-school guidance counselors, college professors, marriage counselors, psychiatrists and ministers-questioning them not on their theories, but on their actual experience in treating American women. I became aware of a growing body of evidence, much of which has not been reported publicly because it does not fit current modes of thought about women--evidence which throws into question the standards of feminine normality, feminine adjustment, feminine fulfillment, and feminine maturity by which most women are still trying to live.

dirt