Over the past several months, I have seriously thought about the fact that I may be a transgender woman. I have told some people close to me. Some of them I know through left-wing causes/DSA and others are close. I have not told anybody in my family, even though I think they would support me.
Of course, as you likely know, there has been a renewed movement against queer people from the right over the past year or so, not that things were great from them before hand.
I admit, I have worn women's clothing in private and liked it very much. However, I also admit that I have yet to do it publicly. I just feel like I'm waiting for the right opportunity.
A lot of trans people don't start presenting in public until they've been on HRT for a little bit,
If the thought of it doesn't repulse you, I'd give HRT a try, it takes at least a few weeks for anything permanent to happen (super minor breast growth) and the initial effects within the first week or two can give people a lot of confidence, reduce dsyphoria making things easier, and can dismiss a lot of worries and questions.
Other notes that I wish I knew going in
If youre in the US a lot of the country operates on informed consent, so it can be really easy to get hormones, if you find someone but they don't do informed consent, I'd shop around a bit before going to them
If youre not, wait lists are often long so you should act fast, and you might have to do diy hrt.
If you decide hrt is good for you long term, wait a fair bit to do prog, I'd recommend a year and a half but like, 6 months is fine on the low end. Don't let them put you on synthetic prog, you want micronized progesterone (and unfortunately you got to boof if for proper effect)
Also injections or patches are much better, injections more so, but both give you better results and may suppress T without any antiandrogen. If they don't, look into alternatives to spiro because spiro sucks for some people long term.
The first year or so of transitioning is the hardest. Youre actually dealing with a bunch of bottles up stuff instead of bottling it up, and you have to learn to navigate transphobia and misogyny. But it gets a lot easier, so don't give up
Very good advice. HRT saved my life.
For anyone considering it, you really should research things on your own before you see a doctor, because a lot of the doctors frankly don't know very much. A good place to start reading is https://diyhrt.wiki/transfem