Testosterone

The male sex hormone, which causes young males to change the tenor of their voices, to grow facial and body hair, and cause acne is called testosterone. Every human being has a certain amount of testosterone in their bodies; it simply occurs at a higher rate in males than females. Transsexual men take testosterone to cause the deepening of their voices, to grow that facial and body hair, and unfortunately we also get acne as well. Well, most of us get acne.

Most transsexual men start injecting (or using the cream or patch versions) testosterone under the care of an endocrinologist, and with a letter from a qualified psych person, stating that the man is transsexual and not crazy. Unfortunately, transsexuality is viewed as a mental illness by many psychologists and other mental health professionals, because it is listed in the DSM-IV, the big book of mental illnesses put out by American Psychiatric Association. I would personally recommend that any transman looking for a qualified psych professional not consider going to a psych who believes that transsexuality is a mental illness instead of a biological-based condition.

Anyway, once a transman has a psych letter in hand, and gets their first shot of testosterone, he will begin, very slowly, to have facial and body hair grow in, with a few months his voice will drop, his sex drive will go up, and his clitoris will start to grow. Also, many transmen note an emotional calmness, now the body dysphoria is lessened.

My experience with testosterone is that it's an amazing substance. This yellowish liquid (the hormone is held within oil for injections), injected once a week (some do it once every other week, with a higher dosage than a weekly injection), changes the body to an amazing degree. I've grown a beard. My voice has dropped a bit, though I'm still mistaken for my mother on the phone. I feel more at home in my body.

I started testosterone in October of 2002. What a difference even a year has wrought upon my body. It's a great thing.