MyTransitionPartner v 2.0beta

appearance tips for those assigned male at birth

Because of the expense of medically transition, appearance is often the first and most important element of socially transition. Some parts of changing your appearance are relatively cheap and easy to do, such as buying gender affirming clothing. Others, such as hair removal, are more expensive to do.This guide is designed for those assigned male at birth (AMAB) who want to enhance femininity or androgyny. 
  • Clothing
  • Breasts/Genitalia/Hips
  • Permanent Hair Removal
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If you want to dress more androgynously, then picking clothes is simply a matter of picking what you like and don't like. Thus, if you pick more "metro" men's clothes, then you will already be used to the sizing.

Sizing
If you are looking to enhance femininity or if you want to incorporate items of women's clothing, clothing is tricky because clothes women's clothes do not have standard sizing. Additionally, if you have broader shoulders, then it will also be harder to find shirts that will fit your shoulders without leaving a bulky amount of fabric in the bust. This is because women with broader shoulders tend to have a larger bust. Your best bet is to ask a friend of the same gender for help in deciding what fits you and what doesn’t. Then, once you have a size range, it’s all about trial and error. Trying things on and seeing how they work for you.

Bras
If you are comfortable, go to a store that specializes in lingerie and ask for a fitting. This will work best if you have breast forms, otherwise your cup size will be hit or miss.

Underwear
The brand has a size guide which will tell you what size panties you need for the size pants you wear.

Shoes
Go to a shoe store and ask for a measurement. Be sure they give you the size for the correct gender. For women with larger feet, you will have a hard time finding sizes larger than 9. Don’t be afraid to ask the sales person if there is a store in your area which specializes in larger sizes.
Breast Forms
Silicon breast forms give the appearance and feel of real breasts. They come in many shapes, sizes, and colors to affirm every body type and skin tone. They are a more costly option, but you can buy some for under $300 that are good quality. Until you can afford breast forms, you can make your own using a the foot of a pair of tights and rice.

Genitalia
You have several options to manage your genitalia, and you’ll need to try them all to see which is best for you in terms of support, comfort, and camouflage. The easiest, and most comfortable, is to find underwear that is tight, but not too tight. Women’s compression shorts work well, too, though aren’t sexy. The next easiest, but more painful, is to purchase or make a gaff and tuck. A gaff is an article of underwear which flattens the genitals to make a flat line at the crotch. There are plenty of videos and articles online that will help you make your own. Or you can buy one from a store specializing in clothes for transgender people. Duct tape is an option many people use, but this is painful to remove, could be harmful to your skin or body parts, and is not recommended.

Hips
Silicon hip and butt enhancers can be purchased online to widen hips and make the butt rounder. They can also double as a gaff, though they can be hot and uncomfortable.

Next steps:
Permanent Hair Removal is a major step in changing your appearance. Hair can be removed from any part of the body, and removal of hair in the genital area is required for many gender affirming surgeries. Most permanent hair removal options are incredibly expensive. Permanent hair removal options can be found in most major communities at medical spas and salons. Many will have experience working with transgender clients. Unless you are having hair removed in private places, it is generally not necessary to disclose your gender identity in order to get hair removal services.

Electrolysis
Electrolysis is the only FDA approved form of permanent hair removal. Electrolysis is painful and slow and costs more in the long-term.

Laser Hair Removal
An alternative for people with dark hair is Laser Hair Removal. Laser is expensive, short-term, but removes hair quicker and less painfully. It is not permanent, but does result in long-term hair removal.

Waxing
Waxing is another form of hair removal that results in short-term hair removal (less than a month).

Next steps:
External links are provided to assist users in their transition by connecting them to more specialized resources. Darcy Jeda Corbitt Foundation and MyTransitionPartner do not vet the resources we provide on this website. We cannot guarantee the helpfulness or quality of the external resources we provide. Content on the links provided are reflective of the opinions and experience of the content's author. Linked external pages do no imply endorsement.