A recent meme was making the rounds about how you shouldn’t shame trans women who still have deep voices because estrogen/progresterone can’t undo what testosterone did, and that is entirely true. My friend Luna Rudd – the same person who designed that complicated layer cake of attraction I posted yesterday – then wrote this comprehensive guide.
The following things are irresverisble/unchangeable:
For People who are AMAB:
– Bone Structure (Including Height)
– Facial Hair Growth (Without Electrolysis or Laser Hair Removal)
– Deepness/Tone of Voice (Without training. Basically once vocal chords lossen, you need to train them to retighten.)
– Genital Configuration (Without Surgery) For People who are AFAB:
– Bone Structure (Including Height)
– Breast Size (Without Surgery)
– Genital Configuration (Without Surgery)
Things Hormones do change:
– Muscle Tone (Testosterone causes increased tone, Estrogen causes descreased tone)
– Body Fat Distribution (Testosterone results in a boxier figure, Estrogen results in a curvier figure.)
– Breast Growth (Estrogen Increases, Testosterone does not cause atrophy) – Facial Hair Growth (Testosterone will spark facial hair growth, Estrogen will not reverse it)
– Vocal Tone (Testosterone will deepen the voice, Estrogen will not cause it to become higher.) – Pheromones (Testosterone creates a muskier scent. Estrogen creates a sweeter scent.)
– Pore Size and Sweat Production (Testosterone makes people more prone to sweating and increases likelihood of acne. Estrogen tends to make skin clearer.)
– Body Hair Growth / Distribution (Testosterone causes thicker, coarser body hair; Estrogen causes thinner, more sparse body hair)
– Hair on your head (Estrogen can thicken hair slightly, testosterone can thin hair slightly.)
– Skin Thickenss and Texture (Estrogen makes skin soft, thin, and smooth. Testosterone makes skin thicker and rougher.)
– Sensory perception ( Sometimes in small ways, hormone levels can effect things like the curvature of your eye, olfactory senses, taste, etc.)
– Tear Duct Production (Estrogen causes you to produce more tears.)
– Emotional response (This one is harder to describe, but Estrogen makes emotions a bit more complex and deep. It’s easier to feel like sad, mad, angry, and horny all at the same time.Testosterone makes emotions more straight forward.)
-Sex Drive (Testosterone makes people horny, end of story there.)
Additional Fun Facts:
Although pills, patches, and injections exist for both Testosterone and Estrogen. The most common administration of Testosterone is a weekly shot, and often estrogen is given in pill form. As, a trans woman I’m totally biased, but I always say Estrogen is a flower and Testosterone is a weed. To create an Estrogen rich environment in a Testosterone dominant body, a secondary hormone called an Anti-Androgen needs to be used to block Testosterone’s effect on the body. (A.K.A. Weed killer) To create a Testosterone rich environment in an Estrogen dominant body, you usually just need to add Testosterone and let it go wild.
This has been my TED Talk. I hope you enjoyed yourselves. If you have any other further questions, I will take them now.