#trans passing tips

[shamebats]

I usually don't share passing advice but I'll make an exception for this because it covers pretty much all the good advice that you can get and debunks the bad stuff too.

[thestyleofblackneutrality]

beautiful rectangle silouhette with a cropped boxy shirt or baggy shirt and some jorts paired with loafers or a similar shaped shoe is such a versatile black gender neutral combo.

[iivingdead]

i think it might be a canon event to be a young transmasc looking up "ftm passing tips" on google and seeing shit like "shave your peach fuzz" when you have like boobs on you still

[likealambtoslaughter]

do you have any tips for seeming more masculine ( physically ) pre-t? i'm in a transphobic household, and while i do have elevated t naturally, i also can't bind due to medical reasons. just body language things, mannerisms, and whatnot if plausible. thank you if you take the time of day to answer this

-🦷

This is gonna be a long post, so I'm gonna add an Under The Cut thing. And I know you specified physical, but I'm gonna cover all my passing tips in this. Hope it helps brother!

Don't forget, no matter what, you're still a man. No matter how you look, you will always be a man. I don't give a fuck if you think you "don't pass" or "look like a girl", just because a man looks like a girl don't mean he is one, you can't change the fact you're a man. This shit is just to help you look more like one to cis people.

Confidence

Confidence is key. Cis men tend to not even notice the world around them, they're just going through life thinking they're king shit. You gotta act like you belong anywhere you go, walk in like you own the place.

Posture

Good posture, not just your shoulders, but also your pelvic tilt.

Good posture makes you appear taller, squares your shoulders, makes your back larger, and gives an air of confidence. And not to mention it's good for you, helps relieve back pain.

This also goes for the way you sit, don't cross your legs or try to look small. Man spread, or put your foot over your other knee. I was sitting like that while writing this so I just figured it'd be easiest to take a photo of myself for the reference lmfao.

(It's also super comfortable if you have bad hip pain. Highly suggest this version of crossing your legs.)

Working out

I cannot stress this enough, WORKOUT. Do not be afraid of getting big. Put on weight, put on muscle, take up space. I know that's what everyone says, but everyone says it for a reason. Find a structure that works for you, find a routine, and stick to it. And you gotta eat right, eat like a man not like a little girl.

The way you dress matters

Dress right. Wearing just mens clothes ain't gonna cut it if you don't fully pass. You gotta dress to make your body look more masculine. Don't wear baggy shirts, everyone's go to is always baggy shirts to hide your body. But baggy clothes just make you look small. You need to wear correctly fitting clothing. And find a style you like, don't just wear generic t shirts and sweats, you don't wanna look like some tomboy who's throwing on her dad's clothes. You gotta find your style. I personally went for a 60s-70s cowboy thing, it helped me pass even before testosterone. Not because of the specific style, but because I felt confident in it, and confidence helps greatly.

Haircuts

So many people will tell you, "Get a haircut that's common with men your age." I don't agree with that. Get a haircut that fits your face. I have kinda a pushback, it's like a slickback but without any gel, I just comb it back. That works for my style and my face. You gotta find something that fits you. Don't go out and get a "low taper fade" or an "icecream cut" just because that's what all the other guys got rn. It's okay to be different. You ain't gotta conform to the popular styles in order to pass. You can pass with your own thing going on.

Socializing

You gotta relearn how to socialize. Women socialize in a very different way than men. I'm not saying be mean, men aren't "mean", they're just not all "omg heyyy girl how are youuu" and hugging and all that bullshit. Men don't hug when they see eachother (which is unfortunate, men should hug more, and when you're on t and pass completely you should definitely hug your buddies in public to show other men it's okay), but until then, so you pass, don't hug in public. A "Hey man/brother/big dawg" will suffice. If you absolutely want to hug, a handshake that goes into a hug is okay too.

Another thing, and I don't know why this is, but men won't hold the door open for other men in the way they do for women. They go in the door and keep their arm holding it open for a little longer as they walk through, and give it a little push open when you get right to the door.

Don't be afraid to speak your mind, don't be passive. Men dominate. Don't be quiet about anything. Say what you think and don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks.

Face

Don't smile alot, unless you're laughing with your buddies or saying something stupid. Don't randomly smile at anyone, its seen as a feminine trait (again, no clue why this is).

If you have any facial hair pre t, dye it. Do NOT use mascara, people can tell its mascara, just dye the hairs so they're darker. And I suggest dark brown rather than black, it'll look more natural for smaller hairs. When it comes to eyebrows, don't overdo it but you can put a little mascara in them to make them look fuller.

Don't worry about being pretty, worry about looking like a man. Your facial expressions do matter. Women will tend to relax their face and push out their lips a tad bit and open their eyes a little more. And while yes, men look pretty like that too, but it makes you look feminine. I have a resting angry face, and most men who have had a rough life do, it tends to be seen as more masculine because "men struggle and just deal with it" or whatever blah blah blah toxic bullshit that cis men use as an excuse to not heal (not judging them because, same.) But anyways, it may be a regional thing since I'm in the rural south but men with rough angry facial expressions are seen as more masculine.

You've just gotta have that look in your eye like you've seen things ain't nobody should ever see.

Jewelry/accessories

Don't be scared of jewelry, men wear jewelry. But you gotta wear masculine jewelry. Thicker rings, vintage watches, leather bracelets, small earrings, and preferably only in one ear. Thicker chains on your necklaces, thin chains are seen as feminine. Leather necklaces instead of chains is also masculine. I have both a gold chain and a leather one on at all times.

For wallets, you need a leather billfold. The ones with the chain are seen as the most masculine because that's what bikers and truckers wear (my dad was a trucker and is still a biker so that's where I learned most of my shit from). Get a wallet with something on it. Mine has a skull with guns instead of bones behind it and says, "2nd amendment, Americans original homeland security." Which takes me into my next topic.

Be armed

Having a gun on your hip not only makes you look more masculine, but it's also for your safety. All trans/queer people should be armed at all times. The 2nd amendment is there for your safety, yes, YOUR safety. Not just conservatives, not just cishet mens, YOURS too. They're utilizing their right, so utilize yours. They ain't expecting no trans person to be armed because they think we're all liberals. So show them the difference between a liberal and a LEFTIST.

I think that's about it. Hopefully, this helps some guys. Just remember the first word of advice; Confidence is key.

[average-emo-enigma]

Hot tip for transmasc people/trans men: Try contouring your neck to make it look like you have an Adam’s apple.

We don’t realize it but that can often make you perceive someone as more masculine

[clowningcrows]

googles how to sneeze like a middle aged father

[thepossumest-awesome]

I tried layering hoodies and flannels recently and ohh my gosh. It really helps with dysphoria. 10/10 would recommend for winter.

[xx-pr0p5-n-m4ur1c0n-xx]

To the trans man that gave me the tape binding tip about cutting the edges of your tape into a curve so it's not as itchy,

I really hope you get your ass ate out or you get the best sloppy toppy cause omg I'm still itchy but it lasts like 5 mins. I can lean forward without the feeling of my skin stretching. Life is good. It fixed my marriage. It makes me look flatter now that I don't have to cut the edges after I applied it.

[saturnballz]

never underestimate how much confidence is important in passing

when I was in my very early social transition I'd cut my hair very short and wear only boardshorts and oversized hoodies and speak in my deepest voice (when I spoke at all) and refrain from doing anything remotely feminine, and I still got misgendered every single day because I just wasn't comfortable, I was just forcing it too much

now I haven't had a haircut in months (I really want to but don't have the money currently), I wear crop tops and fitted shirts, skinny jeans, speak in my gayest™ voice and I still pass at least 90% of the time because I assert myself in a masculine position and I am confident about it. confidence had such a big impact on my ability to pass that people that knew me three years ago now don't recognize me anymore + assume i'm a cis guy when interacting with me.

obviously if passing is important to you there's a lot of things that impact that, but genuinely don't underestimate how important confidence is. instead of forcing yourself to adhere to hypermasculine stereotypes you don't fit in, focus on becoming comfortable in yourself & your manhood

stay safe, love y'all

[puttingthesickinforensic]

hiii :3 do you have any tips for passing? chest is my main problem :( i dont have a binder, taping doesnt rlly work well and sports bras dont work too :( this is really huge problem for me so i hope u understand

and i am considering if i should ask my mom for a binder, i mean a long one so i can tell her it is a tank top for sports so thats why it is more expensive than other tops like that

and have a nice day ;3

- 🍴

hii, i would say i pass fairly well. I use the guys room without any problems, i am treated as male 70% of the time and im pretty confident in myself around other men.

Appearance wise? I don’t dress too brightly (that’s not related to passing im just dark and gloomy), I wear a lot more masculine clothing pieces (baseball caps, sneakers, chunky wristbands), I wear baggier clothing to hide the bumps from my binder (but not so baggy that i’m drowning in them if that makes sense?), and i use black mascara to LIGHTLY darken my peach fuzz and eyebrows.

everything else is just confidence. If you believe you’re a guy, act like it. Look at them confused when they misgender you, talk about yourself like a guy and just be. You are a man because you say you are.

if your mom won’t get you one i will dude no joke

if this is shitty advice i’m so sorry most trans guys ik just assume im born this way so yk

[thestyleofblackneutrality]

(NOT APRIL FOOLS, GENUINE POST) Gender Neutral/Unisex Essentials: Long Skirts

*Both collages are from my pinterest: mxrusababy

This the list of essentials i’ve compiled that we’ll be going through:

First on the list: long skirts!

*Note: You do not need to be nonbinary to dress this way and vice versa.

Long skirts are generally gendered as neutral particularly due to historically unisex labelling across cultures. The skirt’s length is usually from the knee down, any higher may be more likely to be read as feminine though it depends. The shapelessness too helps create ambiguity as the shape of the body can not be used as a factor in gendering someone, which can be helpful if one feels dysphoric about their body from the waist down. 

Examples of long skirts:

⁃ Long pleated skirts

⁃ Long denim skirts

⁃ Long accordion skirts

⁃ Long asymmetrical skirts

⁃ Long straight skirts

⁃ Long a-line skirts

⁃ Long circle skirts

[riejournalz]

Passing tips b like: NO makeup, NO long hair, NO alt clothing, big pant big shirt ONLY!! Man thats all my swag gone. Goth transmascs gotta suffer i guess.

[ash-den]

Big transmasc passing tip

My personal biggest passing tip is dyeing your eyebrows with any brown box hair dye (adapt to your hair color, if youre very blonde take a dark blonde, etc - chose a tint darker than your actual eyebrow color).

Do it a day where you KNOW you’re not going out the day after, because you will have stains on your forehead - to minimize that, before dyeing, rub some vaseline on the skin around your eyebrows (dont put any on the hair though or it won’t absorb color). Use a spoolie or a small brush to apply - you really don’t need a lot, so don’t use all of the dye, just a very small amount.

Make sure to follow the recommendations on the box, like the allergy testing and stuff. They do warn you on the box not to use on eyebrows, but it’s only because they don’t want you getting product in the eyes (please be careful).

When I did that the first time, I was pre-T and got immediately gendered correctly after going out, it was so nice!

Any box dye will do, I always went for the cheapest in my color. You can also use it to dye your peach fuzz or facial hair if you have some, but I don't really recommend it as it leaves a lot of stains if you don't have enough hair to absorb it, it all goes on the skin. Also eyebrow hair get replaced pretty quick so it will fade away.

[magick-mr-skull]

So if you like have any tips for a Pre-T Sea Otter or someone becoming an Otter you can drop them in my inbox

Or any tips on how to grow more hair, a beard, deepen my voice, and look more masc :p

[emotboyswag]

The bittersweet nature of "passing" as a trans person

I have no regrets in my transition except this one thing which i find it hard to express bcs i dont wanna sound ungrateful for being a passing trans person.

my disclaimer to this post is: it is hard to be a non passing trans person and non passing trans people are far more vulnerable than passing trans people. Also passing is not every trans persons goal. Although it is one of my goals in my transition im not saying "i have it now i regret it" im just gonna say kinda like. a sadder side to passing.

pre T i would say i passed like 60% of the time to cis ppl and when i wasnt seen as a dude theyd always either ask my pronouns or like ask my gender (i live in a pretty liberal place). i was quite rarely out and out just misgendered like maybe 5% of the time in the basically 7 years i lived as a pre T trans person (not including ppl who misgendered me on purpose) but i was sooo clocky to trans people like i am a v socially awkward guy but i found it easy to make trans friends when i met trans people irl when i was pre T bcs they mostly knew and we kinda were drawn together.

Im now a year and 8 months on T and i love passing i pass genuinely 100% of the time even when im not binding (and i have a larger chest that im very dysphoric about) and i have a cis passing voice. I often have a lot of like. not imposter syndrome about it but i have bad dysphoria and often assume im not gonna pass when i do or assume i look more like a girl than i do. Also im 5'3 and have kinda long hair (not long but i used to have it super short and now its a bit longer) but im just seen as a cis guy. so like i am not pretending i dont love passing it makes my life soo much easier and lessened my dysphoria.

What i will say is i miss the immediate kinship of meeting another trans person or being in the same room as another trans person and both knowing ur trans or becoming friends bcs ur trans or automatically having someone to pair up w in a group of strangers bcs u both know ur trans. Also on nights out i miss meeting new ppl and just talking to each other about being trans bcs we automatically recognise each other. like i miss the solidarity u feel as a trans person when u seen another one rather than trans ppl assuming im cis and me actively making an effort to mention im trans around new trans ppl. also i miss that trans ppl used to feel automatically safe around me whereas now i know bcs im perceived as a cis man sometimes they feel on edge. idk its just bittersweet i think <3

[l1ve-l4ugh-lov3craft]

nico nico do you have tips for passing when it comes to hair 🙏🏻

ohhhhhhhh okay i do have a couple actually!

so ofc generally it helps to keep your hair shorter. just cos we live in a depressingly gender role-y world and people associate short hair with masculinity

HOWEVER!

if you want your hair a bit longer, keeping it down? i think? works for me?? cos it can kinda hide your face if you think it looks a bit feminine

or even, like, and half up-half down look if you want your hair out of your face

errrrrr…those are the ones i have on the spot?? i hope they helped???