Transitioning and Other Options

Transgender people may engage in transition (or self-affirmation) processes with any or all of personal, internal, social, legal and physical elements. This chapter discusses data on transitioning generated by the 273 FtM transgender Australians in the 2013 E-Males study. In terms of physical transitions, non-surgical measures were the most common, and a strong majority of participants had used binding and hormones (87 %). Most (73 %) have had physical interventions to make their body look more masculine and 70 % intend to have additional modifications—chest surgeries were the most popular type. Almost half of the participants spent between $1,000 and $10,000 in this process. The great majority (97 %) expressed that these interventions have made a difference to their life and wellbeing, even when results were not optimal. Most participants were satisfied or very satisfied with their interventions. Some participants reported difficulties in their efforts to change their names and sex on documentation.