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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   2363 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 17, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Red hot CW, but it's a limited-scope question (I hope).

How can I find out the profile(s) for marginal MtF transitioners?

A few definitions:

  • MtF transitioner: a male who does at least one of the following:
    • Goes on HRT (cross-sex hormones) for long enough to begin to develop female sex characteristics like breast growth
    • Gets surgery related to transition (including facial feminization, vocal, genital, but not including non-invasive procedures like hair removal)
    • Changes name and presents full time as a woman
  • In particular, I'm not counting cross-dressing, deliberate androgyny, a "second identity" as a woman, etc. unless accompanied by one or more of the above, even if the person considers himself "trans".
  • Marginal meaning the usual thing, which could cash out in something like one of the following:
    • Is "on the bubble" about transitioning in the above ways, narrowly doing so (or narrowly not, but that's harder to measure)
    • Wouldn't have transitioned in similar circumstances, in the cultural climate of, say, 20+ years ago, (i.e. comparing to counterfactual of born 20 years earlier, making decision 20 years ago, not comparing to past self) but did transition in recent years (or is about to start transition now)
  • Profile meaning:
    • Demographics pre-transition, especially including age both at beginning to transition and age when first considering transition (if those are different)
    • Motivation: why, in terms of consciously experienced motivation (no psychoanalysis or "no you really did it for X reason", but also not "what theory of themselves do they subscribe to"), did they choose to transition
    • Religious and/or ideological background in early life (not immediately prior to transition, as I expect possible ideological shifts to bring beliefs in line with actions)
    • Personality / interests
    • Psychological comorbidities

I'm not asking for your personal theories (unless you uniquely have an insider or reliable source of knowledge about it); I have my own and most people's ideas about this are half-baked at best and ludicrously ideologically motivated at worst. What I want to know is where I can find one of:

  • Many such people (unguardedly) talking about themselves, in places accessible on the public internet.
  • High quality data gathered on this topic by people who are not just trying to grind their ideological axes / prove their pet theories.

So far I've read through a bunch of stuff on the sorts of subreddits where I'd expect to find such people, such as /r/mtf, /r/trans, /r/egg_irl. But I suspect that may not be a representative slice of the population I'm interested in.

It just occurred to me that there's a good chance @gattsuru might know some relevant information. Hopefully this tagging will summon him.

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