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What would a FtM transman's, who was born in 1990, life be like? [closed]
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I am writing a story with a trans character (female to male) set in the 1990's. My main character's parents are supportive from the beginning, but did transpeople have access to hormone injections and the sort of resources they do today back then? If there were, his family would help him receive them. He let them know early in life, at the age of four, that he didn't feel like being girlish or dressing femininely, and he'd get so upset about it that they realized this was a real thing their kid was going through. In my story he's supposed to appear as passably a boy by age 14, that whenever someone learns he's trans, they're completely thrown. I imagine that if transphobia is bad still these days, it must've been worse back then, and it wasn't even that long ago. What kind of barriers and discrimination would this little family face?
characters technical-writing realism
edited Aug 16 at 16:59
Rhettmartens
448213
asked Aug 12 at 21:29
CA Pichowsky
362
closed as off-topic by sudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kjörling♦ Aug 13 at 7:29
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question appears to be off-topic because asking what to write or asking for help rephrasing a sentence or passage are both off-topic here, as such questions are very unlikely to help anybody else." Рsudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kj̦rling
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show 2 more comments
up vote
7
down vote
favorite
I am writing a story with a trans character (female to male) set in the 1990's. My main character's parents are supportive from the beginning, but did transpeople have access to hormone injections and the sort of resources they do today back then? If there were, his family would help him receive them. He let them know early in life, at the age of four, that he didn't feel like being girlish or dressing femininely, and he'd get so upset about it that they realized this was a real thing their kid was going through. In my story he's supposed to appear as passably a boy by age 14, that whenever someone learns he's trans, they're completely thrown. I imagine that if transphobia is bad still these days, it must've been worse back then, and it wasn't even that long ago. What kind of barriers and discrimination would this little family face?
characters technical-writing realism
edited Aug 16 at 16:59
Rhettmartens
448213
asked Aug 12 at 21:29
CA Pichowsky
362
closed as off-topic by sudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kjörling♦ Aug 13 at 7:29
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question appears to be off-topic because asking what to write or asking for help rephrasing a sentence or passage are both off-topic here, as such questions are very unlikely to help anybody else." Рsudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kj̦rling
Great question, but more suited than research than writing.
– DPT
Aug 12 at 22:37
Agree with DPT - it's a good question, but it is decidedly off topic here as it's not about writing (you're essentially asking what to write vs how to write). History SE MAY be able to help if you ask a specific question about specific instances.
– Thomo
Aug 13 at 4:58
The part of the question that is about hormone injections might be on topic on Health.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 7:29
Look on Quora, I've answered dozens of questions regarding transgender people, and I've spoke to many trans men who transitioned in the 90s and before. Just be sure to search through the questions before posting your own--I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to answer the same questions, if worded slightly differently.
– Fayth85
Aug 13 at 9:58
1
I think this question should be reopened, it is relevant because it specifically asks what challenges her characters would face in her setting, and what would be available to them. I agree that in many ways it is research based, however from a contextual basis, I think it would be more beneficial to the author to explain from our perspectives what it was like as research may not give as personal a perspective and how to execute that in writing as direct advice. The goal is to write about something less known to the author and how to execute it.
– Rhettmartens
Aug 15 at 16:17
 |Â
show 2 more comments
up vote
7
down vote
favorite
up vote
7
down vote
favorite
I am writing a story with a trans character (female to male) set in the 1990's. My main character's parents are supportive from the beginning, but did transpeople have access to hormone injections and the sort of resources they do today back then? If there were, his family would help him receive them. He let them know early in life, at the age of four, that he didn't feel like being girlish or dressing femininely, and he'd get so upset about it that they realized this was a real thing their kid was going through. In my story he's supposed to appear as passably a boy by age 14, that whenever someone learns he's trans, they're completely thrown. I imagine that if transphobia is bad still these days, it must've been worse back then, and it wasn't even that long ago. What kind of barriers and discrimination would this little family face?
characters technical-writing realism
edited Aug 16 at 16:59
Rhettmartens
448213
asked Aug 12 at 21:29
CA Pichowsky
362
I am writing a story with a trans character (female to male) set in the 1990's. My main character's parents are supportive from the beginning, but did transpeople have access to hormone injections and the sort of resources they do today back then? If there were, his family would help him receive them. He let them know early in life, at the age of four, that he didn't feel like being girlish or dressing femininely, and he'd get so upset about it that they realized this was a real thing their kid was going through. In my story he's supposed to appear as passably a boy by age 14, that whenever someone learns he's trans, they're completely thrown. I imagine that if transphobia is bad still these days, it must've been worse back then, and it wasn't even that long ago. What kind of barriers and discrimination would this little family face?
characters technical-writing realism
edited Aug 16 at 16:59
Rhettmartens
448213
asked Aug 12 at 21:29
CA Pichowsky
362
edited Aug 16 at 16:59
Rhettmartens
448213
edited Aug 16 at 16:59
Rhettmartens
448213
edited Aug 16 at 16:59
Rhettmartens
448213
448213
asked Aug 12 at 21:29
CA Pichowsky
362
asked Aug 12 at 21:29
CA Pichowsky
362
asked Aug 12 at 21:29
CA Pichowsky
362
362
closed as off-topic by sudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kjörling♦ Aug 13 at 7:29
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question appears to be off-topic because asking what to write or asking for help rephrasing a sentence or passage are both off-topic here, as such questions are very unlikely to help anybody else." Рsudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kj̦rling
closed as off-topic by sudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kjörling♦ Aug 13 at 7:29
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "This question appears to be off-topic because asking what to write or asking for help rephrasing a sentence or passage are both off-topic here, as such questions are very unlikely to help anybody else." Рsudowoodo, Thomo, Pawana, Michael Kj̦rling
Great question, but more suited than research than writing.
– DPT
Aug 12 at 22:37
Agree with DPT - it's a good question, but it is decidedly off topic here as it's not about writing (you're essentially asking what to write vs how to write). History SE MAY be able to help if you ask a specific question about specific instances.
– Thomo
Aug 13 at 4:58
The part of the question that is about hormone injections might be on topic on Health.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 7:29
Look on Quora, I've answered dozens of questions regarding transgender people, and I've spoke to many trans men who transitioned in the 90s and before. Just be sure to search through the questions before posting your own--I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to answer the same questions, if worded slightly differently.
– Fayth85
Aug 13 at 9:58
1
I think this question should be reopened, it is relevant because it specifically asks what challenges her characters would face in her setting, and what would be available to them. I agree that in many ways it is research based, however from a contextual basis, I think it would be more beneficial to the author to explain from our perspectives what it was like as research may not give as personal a perspective and how to execute that in writing as direct advice. The goal is to write about something less known to the author and how to execute it.
– Rhettmartens
Aug 15 at 16:17
 |Â
show 2 more comments
Great question, but more suited than research than writing.
– DPT
Aug 12 at 22:37
Agree with DPT - it's a good question, but it is decidedly off topic here as it's not about writing (you're essentially asking what to write vs how to write). History SE MAY be able to help if you ask a specific question about specific instances.
– Thomo
Aug 13 at 4:58
The part of the question that is about hormone injections might be on topic on Health.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 7:29
Look on Quora, I've answered dozens of questions regarding transgender people, and I've spoke to many trans men who transitioned in the 90s and before. Just be sure to search through the questions before posting your own--I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to answer the same questions, if worded slightly differently.
– Fayth85
Aug 13 at 9:58
1
I think this question should be reopened, it is relevant because it specifically asks what challenges her characters would face in her setting, and what would be available to them. I agree that in many ways it is research based, however from a contextual basis, I think it would be more beneficial to the author to explain from our perspectives what it was like as research may not give as personal a perspective and how to execute that in writing as direct advice. The goal is to write about something less known to the author and how to execute it.
– Rhettmartens
Aug 15 at 16:17
Great question, but more suited than research than writing.
– DPT
Aug 12 at 22:37
Great question, but more suited than research than writing.
– DPT
Aug 12 at 22:37
Agree with DPT - it's a good question, but it is decidedly off topic here as it's not about writing (you're essentially asking what to write vs how to write). History SE MAY be able to help if you ask a specific question about specific instances.
– Thomo
Aug 13 at 4:58
Agree with DPT - it's a good question, but it is decidedly off topic here as it's not about writing (you're essentially asking what to write vs how to write). History SE MAY be able to help if you ask a specific question about specific instances.
– Thomo
Aug 13 at 4:58
The part of the question that is about hormone injections might be on topic on Health.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 7:29
The part of the question that is about hormone injections might be on topic on Health.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 7:29
Look on Quora, I've answered dozens of questions regarding transgender people, and I've spoke to many trans men who transitioned in the 90s and before. Just be sure to search through the questions before posting your own--I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to answer the same questions, if worded slightly differently.
– Fayth85
Aug 13 at 9:58
Look on Quora, I've answered dozens of questions regarding transgender people, and I've spoke to many trans men who transitioned in the 90s and before. Just be sure to search through the questions before posting your own--I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to answer the same questions, if worded slightly differently.
– Fayth85
Aug 13 at 9:58
1
1
I think this question should be reopened, it is relevant because it specifically asks what challenges her characters would face in her setting, and what would be available to them. I agree that in many ways it is research based, however from a contextual basis, I think it would be more beneficial to the author to explain from our perspectives what it was like as research may not give as personal a perspective and how to execute that in writing as direct advice. The goal is to write about something less known to the author and how to execute it.
– Rhettmartens
Aug 15 at 16:17
I think this question should be reopened, it is relevant because it specifically asks what challenges her characters would face in her setting, and what would be available to them. I agree that in many ways it is research based, however from a contextual basis, I think it would be more beneficial to the author to explain from our perspectives what it was like as research may not give as personal a perspective and how to execute that in writing as direct advice. The goal is to write about something less known to the author and how to execute it.
– Rhettmartens
Aug 15 at 16:17
 |Â
show 2 more comments
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
If you go back a bit further you will find the contraversial story of the tennis player and doctor Renee Richards. One aspect that made her attempt to play in the Women’s Open was the belief that she would be stronger than the other contestants. It was not considered fair to the rest that she wanted to compete with women.
One question you must decide for your character - does he want the surgery or will the hormone treatment suffice and he will live his life as a male without it?
In the ‘70s hormone injections and assignment surgery were available but extremely rare.
The barriers that are more likely are those that anyone who is different would encounter.
The personality of your character could well determine how accepted he is, particularly in a time when there are many who vividly remember the Civil Rights movement. If your character is kind, he will have friends. If your character is more interested in making a point, perhaps his life would be more difficult.
1990 is not 1890 and - while prejudice exists in every time - the medical procedures existed. It was part of a protocol to have years of psychiatric treatment to ensure that the person desiring this reassignment truly wanted it, so finding a psychiatrist willing to see your protagonist could be one barrier.
Your character might not wish to undergo the psychiatric assessment that was believed necessary.
Another barrier that family might encounter is enrolling their son in school while all documents show him as other. Legal name changes are not something your average teenager is allowed to do, so his parents would have to do that for him.
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
For transmen the hormone treatments are steroids. They can find them through a gym, even a clever 14yo who is training harder to keep his body muscular, and probably recognize the natural boost of adrenaline and testosterone hormones from exercise as a good feeling. Being serious about athletics would fast track him to people with more experience using hormones and other methods to body enhance.
Ditto, a transwoman who has a sister on birth control or a mother who has had plastic surgery. Hormones are not difficult to figure out, and they are used for the same purposes by cisgendered so they are not at all rare.
He would relate with other young men attempting to masculinize their physique, adopting the behavior and dress of older boys, counting every hair on his lip and chin, and fantasizing about the private lives of celebrities and sports heroes. Don't forget to make him a kid.
Most of his experience would depend on his parents (a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler). Not all cultures react in the same way to gender variance or psychiatry, and then again neither do individual parents and family members so the home experience really could be almost anything – including having bigger problems than a teen who is picky about his clothes and what name you use in front of his friends to not embarrass him. This is all relatable family drama. If there are siblings they will each have "issues" ahead of them from the parents' point of view. To outsiders it might seem "exotic" but for this family it is a daily routine, and they have never known otherwise.
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
2
"a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler" - no, not if he was born in 1990, as the question states. Personal computers were still uncommon in the early '90s, the internet was in its infancy, almost no one had an email address, even Google didn't exist (created in 1998, listed on stock exchange 2004). It's easy to forget how quickly the technological age has advanced.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 5:03
@Chappo I think you're forgetting that it takes about 14 years since birth to start realizing there is a problem that needs fixing. So "born in 1990" means "treatment circa 2004", well into the information-age.
– Agent_L
Aug 13 at 7:19
@Agent_L yes, acknowledged, but I was responding in particular to the words “since he was the atypical toddlerâ€Â. The child was a toddler in the early ‘90s. In any event, the author would be well advised to make sure the IT being used is applicable for that time, whatever year it happens to be.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 7:32
1
Adding to @Chappo's comment, the Internet started taking off in earnest in homes around 1995-1996. Of course search engines predate Google; there was AltaVista, Yahoo, and several other relatively large ones, plus a number of smaller, more specialized ones. That said, back in those days, a more likely venue for "educating oneself" about an issue would be to ask in a Usenet newsgroup, or on a mailing list, relating to the subject matter at hand; the breadth and depth of information readily available on the Internet that we take for granted today didn't exist.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 8:08
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
I don't recall hearing at all about Transgenders in the 90's, and I'm very much a live-and-let-live liberal on all sexual orientation issues.
I imagine the vast majority of people would just class this as homosexual behavior and discriminate on that basis, and the history of that struggle is reasonably searchable. Your 'dress like a boy' girl would just be seen as a butch female lesbian.
Then and now I had two female gay friends that lived together but closeted in public. They even told their landlord and neighbors they were just friends splitting the rent. It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against (I know at least two CEOs that explicitly did discriminate against homosexuals, male or female).
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
4
"It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against" - In quite a few states, that is still true today.
– Kevin
Aug 12 at 23:24
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
If you go back a bit further you will find the contraversial story of the tennis player and doctor Renee Richards. One aspect that made her attempt to play in the Women’s Open was the belief that she would be stronger than the other contestants. It was not considered fair to the rest that she wanted to compete with women.
One question you must decide for your character - does he want the surgery or will the hormone treatment suffice and he will live his life as a male without it?
In the ‘70s hormone injections and assignment surgery were available but extremely rare.
The barriers that are more likely are those that anyone who is different would encounter.
The personality of your character could well determine how accepted he is, particularly in a time when there are many who vividly remember the Civil Rights movement. If your character is kind, he will have friends. If your character is more interested in making a point, perhaps his life would be more difficult.
1990 is not 1890 and - while prejudice exists in every time - the medical procedures existed. It was part of a protocol to have years of psychiatric treatment to ensure that the person desiring this reassignment truly wanted it, so finding a psychiatrist willing to see your protagonist could be one barrier.
Your character might not wish to undergo the psychiatric assessment that was believed necessary.
Another barrier that family might encounter is enrolling their son in school while all documents show him as other. Legal name changes are not something your average teenager is allowed to do, so his parents would have to do that for him.
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
If you go back a bit further you will find the contraversial story of the tennis player and doctor Renee Richards. One aspect that made her attempt to play in the Women’s Open was the belief that she would be stronger than the other contestants. It was not considered fair to the rest that she wanted to compete with women.
One question you must decide for your character - does he want the surgery or will the hormone treatment suffice and he will live his life as a male without it?
In the ‘70s hormone injections and assignment surgery were available but extremely rare.
The barriers that are more likely are those that anyone who is different would encounter.
The personality of your character could well determine how accepted he is, particularly in a time when there are many who vividly remember the Civil Rights movement. If your character is kind, he will have friends. If your character is more interested in making a point, perhaps his life would be more difficult.
1990 is not 1890 and - while prejudice exists in every time - the medical procedures existed. It was part of a protocol to have years of psychiatric treatment to ensure that the person desiring this reassignment truly wanted it, so finding a psychiatrist willing to see your protagonist could be one barrier.
Your character might not wish to undergo the psychiatric assessment that was believed necessary.
Another barrier that family might encounter is enrolling their son in school while all documents show him as other. Legal name changes are not something your average teenager is allowed to do, so his parents would have to do that for him.
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
If you go back a bit further you will find the contraversial story of the tennis player and doctor Renee Richards. One aspect that made her attempt to play in the Women’s Open was the belief that she would be stronger than the other contestants. It was not considered fair to the rest that she wanted to compete with women.
One question you must decide for your character - does he want the surgery or will the hormone treatment suffice and he will live his life as a male without it?
In the ‘70s hormone injections and assignment surgery were available but extremely rare.
The barriers that are more likely are those that anyone who is different would encounter.
The personality of your character could well determine how accepted he is, particularly in a time when there are many who vividly remember the Civil Rights movement. If your character is kind, he will have friends. If your character is more interested in making a point, perhaps his life would be more difficult.
1990 is not 1890 and - while prejudice exists in every time - the medical procedures existed. It was part of a protocol to have years of psychiatric treatment to ensure that the person desiring this reassignment truly wanted it, so finding a psychiatrist willing to see your protagonist could be one barrier.
Your character might not wish to undergo the psychiatric assessment that was believed necessary.
Another barrier that family might encounter is enrolling their son in school while all documents show him as other. Legal name changes are not something your average teenager is allowed to do, so his parents would have to do that for him.
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
If you go back a bit further you will find the contraversial story of the tennis player and doctor Renee Richards. One aspect that made her attempt to play in the Women’s Open was the belief that she would be stronger than the other contestants. It was not considered fair to the rest that she wanted to compete with women.
One question you must decide for your character - does he want the surgery or will the hormone treatment suffice and he will live his life as a male without it?
In the ‘70s hormone injections and assignment surgery were available but extremely rare.
The barriers that are more likely are those that anyone who is different would encounter.
The personality of your character could well determine how accepted he is, particularly in a time when there are many who vividly remember the Civil Rights movement. If your character is kind, he will have friends. If your character is more interested in making a point, perhaps his life would be more difficult.
1990 is not 1890 and - while prejudice exists in every time - the medical procedures existed. It was part of a protocol to have years of psychiatric treatment to ensure that the person desiring this reassignment truly wanted it, so finding a psychiatrist willing to see your protagonist could be one barrier.
Your character might not wish to undergo the psychiatric assessment that was believed necessary.
Another barrier that family might encounter is enrolling their son in school while all documents show him as other. Legal name changes are not something your average teenager is allowed to do, so his parents would have to do that for him.
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
answered Aug 12 at 23:18
Rasdashan
636
636
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
For transmen the hormone treatments are steroids. They can find them through a gym, even a clever 14yo who is training harder to keep his body muscular, and probably recognize the natural boost of adrenaline and testosterone hormones from exercise as a good feeling. Being serious about athletics would fast track him to people with more experience using hormones and other methods to body enhance.
Ditto, a transwoman who has a sister on birth control or a mother who has had plastic surgery. Hormones are not difficult to figure out, and they are used for the same purposes by cisgendered so they are not at all rare.
He would relate with other young men attempting to masculinize their physique, adopting the behavior and dress of older boys, counting every hair on his lip and chin, and fantasizing about the private lives of celebrities and sports heroes. Don't forget to make him a kid.
Most of his experience would depend on his parents (a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler). Not all cultures react in the same way to gender variance or psychiatry, and then again neither do individual parents and family members so the home experience really could be almost anything – including having bigger problems than a teen who is picky about his clothes and what name you use in front of his friends to not embarrass him. This is all relatable family drama. If there are siblings they will each have "issues" ahead of them from the parents' point of view. To outsiders it might seem "exotic" but for this family it is a daily routine, and they have never known otherwise.
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
2
"a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler" - no, not if he was born in 1990, as the question states. Personal computers were still uncommon in the early '90s, the internet was in its infancy, almost no one had an email address, even Google didn't exist (created in 1998, listed on stock exchange 2004). It's easy to forget how quickly the technological age has advanced.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 5:03
@Chappo I think you're forgetting that it takes about 14 years since birth to start realizing there is a problem that needs fixing. So "born in 1990" means "treatment circa 2004", well into the information-age.
– Agent_L
Aug 13 at 7:19
@Agent_L yes, acknowledged, but I was responding in particular to the words “since he was the atypical toddlerâ€Â. The child was a toddler in the early ‘90s. In any event, the author would be well advised to make sure the IT being used is applicable for that time, whatever year it happens to be.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 7:32
1
Adding to @Chappo's comment, the Internet started taking off in earnest in homes around 1995-1996. Of course search engines predate Google; there was AltaVista, Yahoo, and several other relatively large ones, plus a number of smaller, more specialized ones. That said, back in those days, a more likely venue for "educating oneself" about an issue would be to ask in a Usenet newsgroup, or on a mailing list, relating to the subject matter at hand; the breadth and depth of information readily available on the Internet that we take for granted today didn't exist.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 8:08
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
For transmen the hormone treatments are steroids. They can find them through a gym, even a clever 14yo who is training harder to keep his body muscular, and probably recognize the natural boost of adrenaline and testosterone hormones from exercise as a good feeling. Being serious about athletics would fast track him to people with more experience using hormones and other methods to body enhance.
Ditto, a transwoman who has a sister on birth control or a mother who has had plastic surgery. Hormones are not difficult to figure out, and they are used for the same purposes by cisgendered so they are not at all rare.
He would relate with other young men attempting to masculinize their physique, adopting the behavior and dress of older boys, counting every hair on his lip and chin, and fantasizing about the private lives of celebrities and sports heroes. Don't forget to make him a kid.
Most of his experience would depend on his parents (a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler). Not all cultures react in the same way to gender variance or psychiatry, and then again neither do individual parents and family members so the home experience really could be almost anything – including having bigger problems than a teen who is picky about his clothes and what name you use in front of his friends to not embarrass him. This is all relatable family drama. If there are siblings they will each have "issues" ahead of them from the parents' point of view. To outsiders it might seem "exotic" but for this family it is a daily routine, and they have never known otherwise.
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
2
"a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler" - no, not if he was born in 1990, as the question states. Personal computers were still uncommon in the early '90s, the internet was in its infancy, almost no one had an email address, even Google didn't exist (created in 1998, listed on stock exchange 2004). It's easy to forget how quickly the technological age has advanced.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 5:03
@Chappo I think you're forgetting that it takes about 14 years since birth to start realizing there is a problem that needs fixing. So "born in 1990" means "treatment circa 2004", well into the information-age.
– Agent_L
Aug 13 at 7:19
@Agent_L yes, acknowledged, but I was responding in particular to the words “since he was the atypical toddlerâ€Â. The child was a toddler in the early ‘90s. In any event, the author would be well advised to make sure the IT being used is applicable for that time, whatever year it happens to be.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 7:32
1
Adding to @Chappo's comment, the Internet started taking off in earnest in homes around 1995-1996. Of course search engines predate Google; there was AltaVista, Yahoo, and several other relatively large ones, plus a number of smaller, more specialized ones. That said, back in those days, a more likely venue for "educating oneself" about an issue would be to ask in a Usenet newsgroup, or on a mailing list, relating to the subject matter at hand; the breadth and depth of information readily available on the Internet that we take for granted today didn't exist.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 8:08
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
For transmen the hormone treatments are steroids. They can find them through a gym, even a clever 14yo who is training harder to keep his body muscular, and probably recognize the natural boost of adrenaline and testosterone hormones from exercise as a good feeling. Being serious about athletics would fast track him to people with more experience using hormones and other methods to body enhance.
Ditto, a transwoman who has a sister on birth control or a mother who has had plastic surgery. Hormones are not difficult to figure out, and they are used for the same purposes by cisgendered so they are not at all rare.
He would relate with other young men attempting to masculinize their physique, adopting the behavior and dress of older boys, counting every hair on his lip and chin, and fantasizing about the private lives of celebrities and sports heroes. Don't forget to make him a kid.
Most of his experience would depend on his parents (a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler). Not all cultures react in the same way to gender variance or psychiatry, and then again neither do individual parents and family members so the home experience really could be almost anything – including having bigger problems than a teen who is picky about his clothes and what name you use in front of his friends to not embarrass him. This is all relatable family drama. If there are siblings they will each have "issues" ahead of them from the parents' point of view. To outsiders it might seem "exotic" but for this family it is a daily routine, and they have never known otherwise.
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
For transmen the hormone treatments are steroids. They can find them through a gym, even a clever 14yo who is training harder to keep his body muscular, and probably recognize the natural boost of adrenaline and testosterone hormones from exercise as a good feeling. Being serious about athletics would fast track him to people with more experience using hormones and other methods to body enhance.
Ditto, a transwoman who has a sister on birth control or a mother who has had plastic surgery. Hormones are not difficult to figure out, and they are used for the same purposes by cisgendered so they are not at all rare.
He would relate with other young men attempting to masculinize their physique, adopting the behavior and dress of older boys, counting every hair on his lip and chin, and fantasizing about the private lives of celebrities and sports heroes. Don't forget to make him a kid.
Most of his experience would depend on his parents (a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler). Not all cultures react in the same way to gender variance or psychiatry, and then again neither do individual parents and family members so the home experience really could be almost anything – including having bigger problems than a teen who is picky about his clothes and what name you use in front of his friends to not embarrass him. This is all relatable family drama. If there are siblings they will each have "issues" ahead of them from the parents' point of view. To outsiders it might seem "exotic" but for this family it is a daily routine, and they have never known otherwise.
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
answered Aug 13 at 4:00
wetcircuit
3,397724
3,397724
2
"a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler" - no, not if he was born in 1990, as the question states. Personal computers were still uncommon in the early '90s, the internet was in its infancy, almost no one had an email address, even Google didn't exist (created in 1998, listed on stock exchange 2004). It's easy to forget how quickly the technological age has advanced.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 5:03
@Chappo I think you're forgetting that it takes about 14 years since birth to start realizing there is a problem that needs fixing. So "born in 1990" means "treatment circa 2004", well into the information-age.
– Agent_L
Aug 13 at 7:19
@Agent_L yes, acknowledged, but I was responding in particular to the words “since he was the atypical toddlerâ€Â. The child was a toddler in the early ‘90s. In any event, the author would be well advised to make sure the IT being used is applicable for that time, whatever year it happens to be.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 7:32
1
Adding to @Chappo's comment, the Internet started taking off in earnest in homes around 1995-1996. Of course search engines predate Google; there was AltaVista, Yahoo, and several other relatively large ones, plus a number of smaller, more specialized ones. That said, back in those days, a more likely venue for "educating oneself" about an issue would be to ask in a Usenet newsgroup, or on a mailing list, relating to the subject matter at hand; the breadth and depth of information readily available on the Internet that we take for granted today didn't exist.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 8:08
add a comment |Â
2
"a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler" - no, not if he was born in 1990, as the question states. Personal computers were still uncommon in the early '90s, the internet was in its infancy, almost no one had an email address, even Google didn't exist (created in 1998, listed on stock exchange 2004). It's easy to forget how quickly the technological age has advanced.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 5:03
@Chappo I think you're forgetting that it takes about 14 years since birth to start realizing there is a problem that needs fixing. So "born in 1990" means "treatment circa 2004", well into the information-age.
– Agent_L
Aug 13 at 7:19
@Agent_L yes, acknowledged, but I was responding in particular to the words “since he was the atypical toddlerâ€Â. The child was a toddler in the early ‘90s. In any event, the author would be well advised to make sure the IT being used is applicable for that time, whatever year it happens to be.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 7:32
1
Adding to @Chappo's comment, the Internet started taking off in earnest in homes around 1995-1996. Of course search engines predate Google; there was AltaVista, Yahoo, and several other relatively large ones, plus a number of smaller, more specialized ones. That said, back in those days, a more likely venue for "educating oneself" about an issue would be to ask in a Usenet newsgroup, or on a mailing list, relating to the subject matter at hand; the breadth and depth of information readily available on the Internet that we take for granted today didn't exist.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 8:08
2
2
"a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler" - no, not if he was born in 1990, as the question states. Personal computers were still uncommon in the early '90s, the internet was in its infancy, almost no one had an email address, even Google didn't exist (created in 1998, listed on stock exchange 2004). It's easy to forget how quickly the technological age has advanced.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 5:03
"a mom with the internet would have been educating herself since he was the a-typical toddler" - no, not if he was born in 1990, as the question states. Personal computers were still uncommon in the early '90s, the internet was in its infancy, almost no one had an email address, even Google didn't exist (created in 1998, listed on stock exchange 2004). It's easy to forget how quickly the technological age has advanced.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 5:03
@Chappo I think you're forgetting that it takes about 14 years since birth to start realizing there is a problem that needs fixing. So "born in 1990" means "treatment circa 2004", well into the information-age.
– Agent_L
Aug 13 at 7:19
@Chappo I think you're forgetting that it takes about 14 years since birth to start realizing there is a problem that needs fixing. So "born in 1990" means "treatment circa 2004", well into the information-age.
– Agent_L
Aug 13 at 7:19
@Agent_L yes, acknowledged, but I was responding in particular to the words “since he was the atypical toddlerâ€Â. The child was a toddler in the early ‘90s. In any event, the author would be well advised to make sure the IT being used is applicable for that time, whatever year it happens to be.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 7:32
@Agent_L yes, acknowledged, but I was responding in particular to the words “since he was the atypical toddlerâ€Â. The child was a toddler in the early ‘90s. In any event, the author would be well advised to make sure the IT being used is applicable for that time, whatever year it happens to be.
– Chappo
Aug 13 at 7:32
1
1
Adding to @Chappo's comment, the Internet started taking off in earnest in homes around 1995-1996. Of course search engines predate Google; there was AltaVista, Yahoo, and several other relatively large ones, plus a number of smaller, more specialized ones. That said, back in those days, a more likely venue for "educating oneself" about an issue would be to ask in a Usenet newsgroup, or on a mailing list, relating to the subject matter at hand; the breadth and depth of information readily available on the Internet that we take for granted today didn't exist.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 8:08
Adding to @Chappo's comment, the Internet started taking off in earnest in homes around 1995-1996. Of course search engines predate Google; there was AltaVista, Yahoo, and several other relatively large ones, plus a number of smaller, more specialized ones. That said, back in those days, a more likely venue for "educating oneself" about an issue would be to ask in a Usenet newsgroup, or on a mailing list, relating to the subject matter at hand; the breadth and depth of information readily available on the Internet that we take for granted today didn't exist.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 8:08
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
I don't recall hearing at all about Transgenders in the 90's, and I'm very much a live-and-let-live liberal on all sexual orientation issues.
I imagine the vast majority of people would just class this as homosexual behavior and discriminate on that basis, and the history of that struggle is reasonably searchable. Your 'dress like a boy' girl would just be seen as a butch female lesbian.
Then and now I had two female gay friends that lived together but closeted in public. They even told their landlord and neighbors they were just friends splitting the rent. It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against (I know at least two CEOs that explicitly did discriminate against homosexuals, male or female).
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
4
"It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against" - In quite a few states, that is still true today.
– Kevin
Aug 12 at 23:24
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
I don't recall hearing at all about Transgenders in the 90's, and I'm very much a live-and-let-live liberal on all sexual orientation issues.
I imagine the vast majority of people would just class this as homosexual behavior and discriminate on that basis, and the history of that struggle is reasonably searchable. Your 'dress like a boy' girl would just be seen as a butch female lesbian.
Then and now I had two female gay friends that lived together but closeted in public. They even told their landlord and neighbors they were just friends splitting the rent. It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against (I know at least two CEOs that explicitly did discriminate against homosexuals, male or female).
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
4
"It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against" - In quite a few states, that is still true today.
– Kevin
Aug 12 at 23:24
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
I don't recall hearing at all about Transgenders in the 90's, and I'm very much a live-and-let-live liberal on all sexual orientation issues.
I imagine the vast majority of people would just class this as homosexual behavior and discriminate on that basis, and the history of that struggle is reasonably searchable. Your 'dress like a boy' girl would just be seen as a butch female lesbian.
Then and now I had two female gay friends that lived together but closeted in public. They even told their landlord and neighbors they were just friends splitting the rent. It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against (I know at least two CEOs that explicitly did discriminate against homosexuals, male or female).
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
I don't recall hearing at all about Transgenders in the 90's, and I'm very much a live-and-let-live liberal on all sexual orientation issues.
I imagine the vast majority of people would just class this as homosexual behavior and discriminate on that basis, and the history of that struggle is reasonably searchable. Your 'dress like a boy' girl would just be seen as a butch female lesbian.
Then and now I had two female gay friends that lived together but closeted in public. They even told their landlord and neighbors they were just friends splitting the rent. It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against (I know at least two CEOs that explicitly did discriminate against homosexuals, male or female).
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
edited Aug 16 at 17:34
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
answered Aug 12 at 22:40
Amadeus
38.1k245124
38.1k245124
4
"It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against" - In quite a few states, that is still true today.
– Kevin
Aug 12 at 23:24
add a comment |Â
4
"It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against" - In quite a few states, that is still true today.
– Kevin
Aug 12 at 23:24
4
4
"It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against" - In quite a few states, that is still true today.
– Kevin
Aug 12 at 23:24
"It was still (in America) the kind of thing employers (and landlords) could discriminate against" - In quite a few states, that is still true today.
– Kevin
Aug 12 at 23:24
add a comment |Â
Great question, but more suited than research than writing.
– DPT
Aug 12 at 22:37
Agree with DPT - it's a good question, but it is decidedly off topic here as it's not about writing (you're essentially asking what to write vs how to write). History SE MAY be able to help if you ask a specific question about specific instances.
– Thomo
Aug 13 at 4:58
The part of the question that is about hormone injections might be on topic on Health.
– Michael Kjörling♦
Aug 13 at 7:29
Look on Quora, I've answered dozens of questions regarding transgender people, and I've spoke to many trans men who transitioned in the 90s and before. Just be sure to search through the questions before posting your own--I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to answer the same questions, if worded slightly differently.
– Fayth85
Aug 13 at 9:58
1
I think this question should be reopened, it is relevant because it specifically asks what challenges her characters would face in her setting, and what would be available to them. I agree that in many ways it is research based, however from a contextual basis, I think it would be more beneficial to the author to explain from our perspectives what it was like as research may not give as personal a perspective and how to execute that in writing as direct advice. The goal is to write about something less known to the author and how to execute it.
– Rhettmartens
Aug 15 at 16:17