u/isoftcore — reddlx

Image 1 — Working on it, any other tips?

Image 2 — Working on it, any other tips?

Image 3 — Working on it, any other tips?

Working on it, any other tips?

18, 5'8, 110lbs, 5 months on T 200mg/ml 0.25, preop, planning on going stealth by September when I move to a different state alone.

(Please ignore the outfit in pics 4 and 5, this was for a concert where I chose the outfit months beforehand before I was ready to begin starting my stealth journey. I am **not** looking for advice regarding that and I understand it comes off as clocky... it was for a of Montreal concert 🫩)

Hey there, posted about a week ago asking for haircut recommendations and asking about passing with mobility aids. I ended up deleting that post due to some weird DMs I was getting but I'm back with a new haircut! It's a bit shorter than what I'd like on top but we had to because of my last botched cut. I ended up going out and buy actual mens jeans (one pair seen in pics 4 and 5) and I bought about 6 different solid color shirts of different materials / cut to see which ones I like the most. I've been wearing a hat recently but I don't hate my hair as long as I put texturizing powder in... pic 3 I was caught in the rain.

I'm no longer buying most of my clothing from my workplace and I just bought some Minoxidil (liquid 5%) to hopefully help the state of my eyebrows and to maybe coax some facial hair I can shave down into an even stubble although I do think it's a tad early for that even if I have babyhairs and some dark stragglers that have been sprouting like crazy. I also FINALLY bought a packer and some new boxers. I'm still not approved to do high intensity exercising by my physical therapist and I'll likely be getting a wheelchair by the time I move anyways as long as my specialist signs off on it. I'm also hoping to start the process of booking a top surgery consultation but I just don't yet know how bad waitlists are for the surgeon I'm interested in. I haven't been misgendered once at work since my haircut and I haven't been getting they/them'd either. (no hate to people who like those pronouns, I just get extremely dysphoric over being called them) I've been working on social aspects like sitting correctly, hand gestures, "correcting" my voice to not be so clocky (its gotten much deeper with testosterone but I still have some voice inflections that come off as at the very least queer and at worst clocky)

My last questions are if anyone has any other tips for me as of right now other than letting T do its thing. Do I pass right now? Will I pass once I move to Chicago? When it comes to dating, is it disingenuous if I don't put transmasc in my bio on apps and stuff? I had a pretty bad experience with a chaser my first year of university and I just don't know when it's time to reveal to someone I'm speaking to that I'm trans. Thanks for the advice so far! It means a lot. :)

u/isoftcore — 11 hours ago

▲ 30 r/HotTopic_

HT customers and ableism

This is going to come off as more of a rant post than anything but I want to share it because I think it's important.

I started working at Hot Topic as a seasonal worker last year at a pretty big Hot Topic. This was at a time where my health was worsening as I was discovering that I had a bone degeneration disorder, a few genetic issues, and joint pain associated with Ehlers Danlos syndrome. Within a few months of working there I got forearm crutches from my specialist to use full time and immediately my treatment from both customers and other staff shifted completely.

Due to the nature of my disability, I'm unable to use a ladder, lift heavy boxes, and sweep. I'm able to do *everything* else just fine! Yet, I received abuse from the management towards me and attitudes towards me changed immediately and suddenly I was a burden to work with. I felt horrible in this position and it didn't help that customers would point out my crutches often and ask for detailed answers on why I had them as if I had to validate my existence. It got to the point I wouldn't even use my forearm crutches at work because it was a conversation topic and I ended up hurting myself more by doing so.

I kept working though despite the abuse and eventually transferred to a different Hot Topic for a management opportunity. Here, the customers are even worse about my forearm crutches! (They are now more noticeable and louder after an upgrade to some of the best ones on the market) Just the other day I had a woman force me to PRAY with her so I'd get better and she continued this for about 15 minutes. I've gotten younger teens asking me where I got my crutches and if they can get some too (??) because of undiagnosed medical conditions they 'think' they have. The WORST just happened yesterday where I had a teenage girl say within earshot to me "I can steal all I want here because that guy can't run after me," and I've been called a cripple on at least three different occasions.

For a store that focuses mostly on alternative fashion, you'd think the customers would be a bit more aware of how ableism affects people but I guess not! It sucks so much because at my secondary job I've gotten absolutely zero comments about my forearm crutches and that's in a historically conservative area so it's not a politics thing. My guess is that because a lot of the customers we get are more of the "awkward" type they for some reason don't understand what they're saying is insensitive. I'm very tired working this job and getting daily questions about a disorder that has already ruined my life and taken away a lot of the things I love to do like draw.

I'm transitioning into using a wheelchair full time soon enough and I'm wondering if it's even worth it to keep working at a Hot Topic or if I'd just suffer more abuse. Does anyone else have any other stories about working with physical disabilities, positive or negative? I'd love if I wasn't the only one dealing with stuff like this.

reddit.com

u/isoftcore — 17 hours ago

▲ 71 r/transmanlifehacks

Help! Trying to pass early on T and with mobility aids.

Hi there, I'm about 4 months on T and I'm starting the process of trying to go stealth since I'm completely moving away from my former life. I'm a 5'8, 105lb 18 year old trans dude. I don't often get told I'm clockable from my face, even with the snakebites (the earrings that are in right now are temporary) but I'm told I get clocked from my forearm crutches I need due to my bone degeneration.

Following doctors orders, I cannot exercise unless approved beforehand and they're low-risk and low-level due to my conditions. My forearm crutches are Ergobaums so they're higher tech than the ones you can just buy at Walmart and they're all approved by my specialists and whatnot (last picture shows them, I cropped it as it's before I got my current haircut) They're just white and black without any stickers on it. I have been told without my crutches, I pass better since apparently now they're a stereotype? My first day at my job I got asked by a coworker who's transmasc how long I've been on T, before they even asked like how am I and my name 🙃 and I've been feeling off since. I'll dress slightly more fem for work (I'm a manager at Hot Topic) but outside of my current work life I want to be masculine. Is there anything I can do besides take out my piercings? Thanks in advance.

u/isoftcore — 12 days ago