UK transgender charity, Mermaids has been supporting kids, young people and their families since 1995. Now, in what often feels like a growing swell of misin…
Very important new survey on LGBTQ youth mental health with 34,000 respondents.
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/20/trans-suicide-transgender-day-of-remembrance-research-mental-health-trevor-project/
pinknews.co.uk New data on Transgender Day of Remembrance shows three in ten young trans or non-binary people have attempted suicide and more than half have considered it.
TERFs argue that gender identity in trans kids is based purely on sex streotypes. But here’s a new study showing that trans girls are just as likely to be tomboys as cis girls. TERFs are going to need a new argument 😁
https://www.newsweek.com/transgender-kids-living-identity-develop-cis-children-1471729
newsweek.com Researchers spoke to transgender children across North America for their study.
Eyebrow plucking is actually one of the most powerfully feminising procedures and by far the least traumatic! It is often the first procedure I perform on a set of pictures when I am simulating FFS. Some people prefer thicker eyebrows or to leave them completely natural, and that’s fine of course, but it’s important to be aware that it can affect passability. Personally, when it comes to plucking, I recommend that you go for a classic eyebrow shape rather than a fashion eyebrow shape. This is because eyebrows often do not fully grow back after they have been plucked a few times, and this can leave people with a fashion eyebrow shape long after the fashion has passed. If you are not confident about plucking them yourself, you can get a professional beautician to do it for you. If you want to do it yourself, you may need and eyebrow plucking diagram as a guide and the most popular one is based on 3 imaginary lines that start from the edge of your nostril. But there is a big problem with this diagram because people’s nostrils vary quite a lot. This means that if your nostrils are wider or narrower than average, all the other measurements are thrown out. Another problem would be if your nostrils are average but the distance between your eyes is not, for example, if your eyes are closer together or wider apart than average, the measurements are thrown out again. Having larger or smaller eyes than average will also throw the measurements out. All these problems are caused by trying to anchor the eyebrow shape and position to the nose, so I have devised a new diagram that anchors the eyebrow to the eye itself and is therefore largely independent of things like your nose width or the distance between the eyes. It is based on the average female eyebrow which also happens to have the classic eyebrow shape. Here’s how it works: If you imagine a vertical line (A) rising from the inner corner of your eye, this tells you roughly where the inner end of the eyebrow should be. Then imagine a vertical line rising from the centre of your pupil (B). This doesn’t point to anything in particular, but it’s halfway to the next line (C). (C) rises from the outer corner of your eye, and this tells you roughly where the peak of the arch should be (but remember, not everyone has an arch to their eyebrows). (A), (B) and (C) are equidistant and if you keep going the same distance again, you get the fourth line (D) which tells you where the end of the eyebrow should come. Many diagrams suggest that the arch should be aligned with the outer edge of the iris rather than the outer corner of the eye but when you look at averaged pictures of women like the one I have used above, you can see that the arch is normally a little further out than that, and aligns with the outer corner. Don’t be too close to the mirror when you are making your measurements! You need to at least 3 feet away (1 metre) otherwise the measurements will be out. If you don’t believe me, stand 3 feet away from the mirror, hold a pencil vertically against your face as if you were measuring line A, then gradually move closer to the mirror and see how the pencil moves out of alignment with the inner corner of your eye! You can mark points along the eyebrow with an eyeliner when you are measuring, and to judge thickness I would say that the thickest part of the eyebrow should be about the thickness of a pencil for a classic eyebrow shape. And remember, you almost always pluck only the underside of the eyebrows (you generally only pluck along the top edge to remove the odd stray hair).
Having said all that, remember that everyone’s eyebrows are different so only use plucking diagrams as a rough guide and don’t try to force your eyebrows too far outside their natural shape.
Is an aggressive approach to FFS better than a conservative approach? When people talk about aggressive vs conservative FFS, they are usually referring to one of two different things: 1. The size of the change a surgeon makes to a particular feature. So, to give an example, whether the surgeon takes a large amount of bone from a chin (aggressive) or a small amount (conservative). The best approach in this case depends on the size of the patient’s chin, so if the chin is very large, then a big change might be necessary (aggressive), but if the chin is only slightly too large, then a smaller change might be appropriate (conservative). However, personal preference can play a part too, so a patient might choose to keep a little squareness or height in the chin for personal or aesthetic reasons, even if doing so compromises the femininity they could otherwise achieve. 2. The number of procedures. So, whether a surgeon recommends a large number of procedures, including ones which will only make a very small difference, (aggressive), or whether they recommend a smaller number of procedures, leaving out procedures that will have a minimal effect (conservative). Again, it’s about what’s appropriate for the particular patient, but the number of procedures can be more difficult to judge. Basically, surgery is a controlled injury and you always have to weigh risks against gains. So, using the chin as an example again, if you have a feminine face overall with only a hint of squareness to the chin, one surgeon might recommend leaving it as it is, because they feel it’s not worth the trauma, risks and expense for a change that even you will struggle to see clearly and that won’t impact noticeably on things like passability, while another surgeon might recommend doing it anyway because they feel that every little feminisation helps.
And remember, some surgeons will recommend procedures you don’t need at all and will have no effect on your femininity. This is an “aggressive” approach but also an erroneous approach, so don’t assume “aggressiveness” will always lead to a more feminine result.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-48590026/trans-people-like-second-class-citizens
bbc.com Munroe Bergdorf, one of the UK’s most influential transgender activists, speaks out after the NSPCC cuts ties with her.
Consultations in Scandinavia! I will be working with Facial Team in Stockholm, Sweden on 23 and 24 July. It’s a chance to have an assessment with a top FFS surgeon and to see a simulation of your potential results. Click on the link to make an appointment:
https://facialteam.eu/orientations-ffs-surgery-scandinavia/
facialteam.eu
I think I was the first researcher to point out that trans women’s jaws narrow towards the back, due to the effects of estrogen. 10 or so years later, it’s nice to see my observations backed by science 🙂
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743609519304138
sciencedirect.com Hormone treatment induces feminization of the body in transwomen and masculinization in transmen. However, the effect of hormone treatment on facial c…
Want to see something utterly beautiful?
THREAD: WOMEN WHO ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT TRANS RIGHTS
I asked women to contribute their pic to a collage of trans rights supporters. If you want to be included in collages, DM me, or reply to this thread with pic. Every time I get 100 more I will add to this thread…
100… pic.twitter.com/TWD69Af2H3
— Aidan Comerford (@AidanCTweets) April 27, 2019
twitter.com “THREAD: WOMEN WHO ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT TRANS RIGHTS I asked women to contribute their pic to a collage of trans rights supporters. If you want to be included in collages, DM me, or reply to this thread with pic. Every time I get 100 more I will add to this thread… 100…”
If you have “Scleral Show”, it means that the whites of your eyes are visible underneath the iris. It’s common in elderly people as the lower eyelid can start to droop (this is called “ectropion”), and it can sometimes indicate a medical condition, or result from an injury, or be a complication of lower-eyelid surgery.
All those examples should be treated appropriately by doctors, however, scleral show is also a natural feature in many people. And don’t assume that it is unattractive – the actress Bette Davis’ was famous for her unusually beautiful eyes, but it’s actually her scleral show that makes them distinctive.
A brief summary of why trans people were never the sex they were assigned at birth.
Here’s a lovely thing:
https://www.vogue.co.uk/video/we-wont-be-erased
vogue.co.uk 42 members of the trans and non-binary communities sat down with British Vogue to share their stories and explain why, no matter what the current media narratives or political climate, they won’t be erased.
ONE THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED AND FORTY-TWO SCIENTISTS sign an open letter stating that any attempt to define gender based on a person’s anatomy at birth or their genes is not grounded in science: “The relationship between sex chromosomes, genitalia, and gender identity is complex, and not fully understood. There are no genetic tests that can unambiguously determine gender, or even sex. Furthermore, even if such tests existed, it would be unconscionable to use the pretext of science to enact policies that overrule the lived experience of people’s own gender identities.” Spread this around as much as possible.
https://not-binary.org/statement/
not-binary.org Signed, scientists As scientists, we are compelled to write to you, our elected representatives, about the current administration’s proposal to legally define gender as a binary condition determined at birth, based on genitalia, and with plans to clarify disputes using “genetic testing”.1 This…
Is trans a form of intersex? This was written by Milton Diamond, Prof. Emeritus of anatomy and reproductive biology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He is a fierce opponent of surgical “correction” of intersex kids and a pioneering advocate of intersex rights.
https://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/2015to2019/2016-transsexualism.html
hawaii.edu In “Transsexualität in Theologie und Neurowissenschaften: Ergebnisse, Kontroversen, Perspektiven” (translated title: “Transsexuality in Theology and Neuroscience: Findings, Controversies and Perspectives”; contains articles both in German and in English), ed. by Gerhard Schreiber, Berlin and Boston…
Masculine hairlines tend to have corners that give them an “M” shape if they are deep corners, or a square shape if they are not so deep. Feminine hairlines tend to be rounded with either no corners, mild corners, or what I call “ghost corners” where the corners are there, but they are filled with fine, downy hair. But there is another, somewhat rarer hairline type that I call the “omega” hairline “Ω”. You mostly see it on women from South Asia.
It’s kind of the opposite of the “M” shape where the corners are replaced by peaks.
I feel I should point out that in this poster, Conan the Barbarian appears to be standing on a mountain of mostly female skulls.
Not sure that’s quite the image he was hoping to project.
You may have seen an idea spreading on the internet that head size is a significant factor for trans women. Here is a brief fact check: 1. Men, on average, have larger heads than women because men, on average are larger than women. This makes it very easy to find pictures of trans women next to cis women showing the trans woman with a larger head. This proves nothing – it’s not science and is highly vulnerable to confirmation bias. Charts and statistical tables showing average head measurements are not very useful in this context either because they don’t generally compare men and women of the same overall size. 2. However, men also have *proportionately* larger heads – this means that given a man and woman of the same height, the man will, on average, have a larger head, however, the science suggests the difference in cranium diameter is small (2 to 3%). 3. There is currently no evidence that head size is a significant factor in gender recognition. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a factor, but we will have to wait for the science on it before we know.
4. If you have a large head, you can’t make the cranium smaller, but you can usually do things that make it *seem* smaller by choosing the right hairstyle, and procedures like jaw reduction can make the face smaller (do be aware though that the size of the jaw must still balance with other features).
This is a very interesting article about why some people feel threatened by trans people. Well worth a read. A couple of TLDR excerpts: “transgender individuals can be perceived as simultaneously transgressing the gender norms of BOTH binary genders. For example, a trans woman (i.e., someone assigned male at birth who now identifies as a woman) is transgressing male norms by identifying as a woman, but also may be seen as transgressing the norms of being a woman by not appearing feminine enough. Indeed, other research has found that transgender women are particularly at risk for prejudice and violence due to society’s general tendency to police femininity and to punish transgressions of misplaced femininity.” “The researchers focused on a notion referred to as “distinctiveness threat.” According to Social Identity Theory our social identities, or the groups to which we belong, help us to define our personal identities. To the extent that the boundaries around the groups that are important to our identities become blurred, we may experience distinctiveness threat. In short, the uniqueness of who we are as an individual comes under threat when the boundaries around group definitions that we use to define ourselves shift or become malleable.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inclusive-insight/201809/what-precisely-do-transgender-people-threaten
psychologytoday.com Recent research explores the link between the gender binary and transprejudice.
Kostenlose Beratung in Zürich mit Facial Team und mir. 31. Juli 2018. Kontaktieren Sie das Facial Team, um Ihren Termin zu vereinbaren.
https://facialteam.eu/ffs-cost-consultations/international/
facialteam.eu
This is great: “…a systematic literature review of all peer-reviewed articles published in English between 1991 and June 2017 that assess the effect of gender transition on transgender well-being.” And what did they discover? “This search found a robust international consensus in the peer-reviewed literature that gender transition, including medical treatments such as hormone therapy and surgeries, improves the overall well-being of transgender individuals. The literature also indicates that greater availability of medical and social support for gender transition contributes to better quality of life for those who identify as transgender.” And also: “Regrets following gender transition are extremely rare and have become even rarer as both surgical techniques and social support have improved. Pooling data from numerous studies demonstrates a regret rate ranging from .3 percent to 3.8 percent. Regrets are most likely to result from a lack of social support after transition or poor surgical outcomes using older techniques.”
whatweknow.inequality.cornell.edu