[Ibby]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Small unsolicited tip: you can get your eyebrows waxed even before you get hormones. It'll change your facial appearance more than you realize.

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Or go the whole hog and have 'eyebrow sculpting' done. Same thing with a few extras like trimming and plucking. Might help to get a really nice shape happening.

I haven't worked up the nerve to even get a more feminine haircut yet, let alone get my eyebrows done. I know I need it. It's just a matter of working myself up to it.

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

What's the reception at Greenbergs been? I sorta can't really wrap my head around most of the folks there having any idea what you are all about. (I know that's shooting fish in a barrel, but still.)

I moved to Burlington in January. I was never out at Greenberg's. I didn't - can't - really hide my flamboyance or, well, fagginess, but it went mostly un-acknowledged, if it was noticed much at all. But I definitely gave nothing by way of alternate gender presentation at work. Until I came up here - where I'm passing (attempting to pass) full time - it was strictly an after-hours, closeted matter.

edit: that's not quite true. I wore bras and padded my chest a few days at work... but under all the layers and my baggy uniform sweatshirt, nobody could tell, and I certainly didn't volunteer it. I absolutely trust that all my coworkers would have been at the very least grudgingly tolerant, because personal respect, i think, would have trumped misunderstanding or bigotry... but some of the clientele, well, I suspect there would've been complaints. I had to settle for secretly enjoying every "ma'am-sir-ma'am".

I feel like I've been, at risk of sounding hubristic, pretty brave about being out, here in burlington. I've only introduced myself to my roommates as Erika, and I've corrected pronoun issues where they've come up (but not as often as a couple of my roommates have corrected pronoun issues on my behalf to the landlord who doesnt quite get it), and i'm even out in classes, even though of course I had to correct the teachers the first time they took roll. But on the other hand, I'm not brave enough yet to correct cashiers or waiters or, y'know, strangers. On one hand it's not a big deal, why should I care if they think I'm a guy, it doesn't affect how they do their jobs... but on the other, it's important to ME. One of these days I hope my pride and my strength of identity will be enough that I'll stand up for myself better... but in the meantime, the fact that I'm sure the eyebrow-groomers or hair-cutters or whatever would read me as male irrationally scares me enough to make me keep putting it off.