Looking for Safety/Passing Advice for regional Victoria
Hey all,
First time poster, pretty well what the title says.
I've literally just started feminising HRT (I'm on day 3 yay) and I'm looking for a bit of advice on maintaining safety and/or passing sooner.
I know passing isn't the be all and end all, and like many baby trans I'm probably over stressing about it. But I do feel that it comes from a very real place. I currently still present androgynous male to the large majority of people. I haven't broadly come out socially yet, just to some trusted friends.
I'm far too scared to start presenting fem in public. I live in Ballarat, which for a regional town is definitely more progressive than most (which is unfortunate) but it certainly isn't anywhere close to good. I find I feel significantly more comfortable dressing up and expressing myself when I get around Melbourne, and I'm planning to move there once my finances let me.
But right now they don't, and my job requires me to travel to other parts of regional Victoria (particularly Ararat and Stawell) on a frequent basis. These places are not particularly safe for trans or queer people, I find even presenting androgynous enby gets me weird looks or whack comments from time to time.
I understand I can "just boymode it" which sure is helpful, especially in very unsafe areas. But as time goes on I don't want to continue to present that way. I want to be able to live as my authentic self. It's frustrating how difficult that is. Has anyone got any passing tips to make it safer to exist in regional Victoria as my transition progresses?
Nice to meet you all :)