T+9: Are We Male Yet?
Reflections on nine years of testosterone therapy
(Content note: Discussion of health, weight, and body image.)
This week marks nine years since I began testosterone therapy to address the gender dysphoria I experience living in a female-assigned body. That date — January 3, 2014 — is the second of three major milestones in my early gender transition, both in chronological order and in importance. The most significant date is my Nameday, September 23, 2013, when I announced my new name and non-binary gender to the world. The final milestone was my legal change of name and sex, on July 14, 2014.
I previously wrote reflections on five years of hormonal transition, in January 2019. What has changed since that date?
As is evident from the photos, I have gained a significant amount of weight. I attribute this primarily to being sedentary, especially since the start of the pandemic. In 2014 I was very active, doing physically demanding volunteer work and running races on a regular basis. Since 2020, I’ve spent the vast majority of time…
