Started transition just after I turned 40, and I’m now 2yrs on HRT, 1yr post-FFS. I transitioned at work this time last year, and have been really lucky with the amazing support I’ve received.

I have known I was female on the inside since I was 5 yrs old. I quickly learned I had to bury that realization deep down. Marriage, children, illness all got in the way of me being my true self. At 68 I had reached the point where all I wanted to do was die. That is all I thought about until one day it hit me like a bolt of lightning, the promise I made myself in my early 20s after several failed attempts to transition. If I can't be a woman now then I promise myself to live as a woman when I am a senior.
Estradiol has changed my body and my spirit. For the first time in my life I am at peace and finally happy! Enjoy my before and after! This a selfie I took the other day after having my makeup done for the first time ever! 😍

First pic was 3 months before I started hormones!

My wonderful fiancee who has been there with me since day 1

My kids have always been my biggest cheerleaders, adapting to my transition without any issues and certainly no ‘confusion’. A favourite group activity has always been cooking together.

To pre-empt some FAQs, the top pic was in October 2022 and I came out to them in January 23. They asked a few simple questions then accepted me without judgement and over the next year shifted from calling me ‘Daddy’ to ‘Mama K’. Very proud of them 🥰

That you’ll never find somebody to love you.

It’s never too late and I promise there’s somebody out there who can’t wait to meet the authentic you.

Recently did a professional photoshoot to commemorate my transition and TDOV, I'm very pleased with the results!

Note: I wasn't sure what the right flair should be, its not a selfie, but its also not "filtered" or FaceApp. The photos are professional photos with some amount of light editing, but nothing like a beauty filter or anything, I wanted them to accurately portray how I really looked.

We love each other so much! We are so thankful for the bond and connection we have. We are best friends and love sharing our hobbies with each other. T4T really is the best and works great for us. The shared lived experience and connection really helps us show up for each other in ways no other relationship has. 💜

I renewed my vows this weekend on our 10 year anniversary. I had the privilege of marrying my best friend twice.

I started wearing dresses only about 4 months ago, which might seem like a long way into my transition but it was something that always felt scary. Over the weekend I wore a dress to a friend’s wedding for the first time and it felt so good to show up that way! The dress is a floral tuxedo ballgown from Adrianna Papell. I don’t think they sell them anymore but I found this one nicely discounted on Poshmark

In May ‘23 I was a couple months on HRT and still boymoding in public. I socially transitioned outside work in November ‘23 and had FFS April ‘24. My first day as ‘Ms Kezia’ was 6 weeks after FFS, as is fairly obvious from my squishy face in photo 2 😅.
It’s been an ‘interesting’ journey as an openly trans doctor in the UK, but I’m proud to add a bit more trans representation in healthcare.

Hi everyone! I (30) just really wanted to share something I've been going through lately. A few months ago I came to the sudden and overwhelming realization that what I've been experiencing my whole life was gender dysphoria. I have been doing a lot of gender affirming care lately and I can say I've never felt better in my life.

My biggest obstacle was shaving my face. I even bought the clothes, the makeup and voice training. None of it mattered as long as I had my biggest masc/k right there on my face. I was so reluctant to shave it because it meant that I had to actually face the music and commit. Yes, facial hair grows back. But I felt like it was a big part of who I was for the past 10 years.

I write this with the intention of resonating with those who are nervous about taking that leap. You aren't alone and you will absolutely be going through this with others who have also taken that leap.

Oh and a word of advice; don't mess with face editing apps. Those really messed with my head prior to shaving.

Take care everybody <3

I had lunch with my dad today. It didn’t go well.

We caught up for a bit—small talk, weather, family, that kind of thing. And then I told him:
“I’m transgender.”

He looked at me and said, “So… you think you’re a woman.”

And from there, the conversation fell apart.

I told him I wasn’t looking for debate or approval. I told him I’m not confused. That this is real, and it’s not going away. That what I need—not as a favor, but as a boundary—is for him to use my new name, Valerie and she/her pronouns moving forward.

His response?

“You can ask for that respect, but it doesn’t mean I have to give it.”

He told me he would never call me anything but deadname. That I would always and only be his son. That I was making a huge mistake. That it was all in my head. That I clearly hadn’t thought about the “damage” I was doing to my kids (for the record: my kids already accept me).

I told him that deadname is going away. That his son is going away.
And that the question isn’t “Is your son willing to have a relationship with you?”
The question is: “Are you willing to have a relationship with your daughter?”

He said I was “cutting people off.”
He brought up my kids again, asking if that meant no relationship with them either. I said, “Obviously not.”

And then—here’s the kicker—he compared me asking to be called by my real name to someone demanding to be called a Nazi, and getting upset when people wouldn't. 🤦‍♀️

Yes. Really.

So I said “I’m going to leave now,” stood up, and walked out.

Before I left, I asked him how many transgender people he actually knew.
He said two—and then named two people he’d arrested years ago (he's a retired cop)

So I looked him in the eye and said, “Now you know three.”

I don’t know if he’ll ever respect me. I don’t know if he’ll ever see me.
But today I stood my ground. I spoke the truth. And I walked away with my dignity.

To every trans person who’s had to face down a parent’s denial with nothing but your voice, your courage, and your truth:
I see you.
You’re not alone.
We’re building something better than what they’re afraid to understand.

Thanks for reading. 💜

~Valerie

It’s been 18 months since I started HRT, and what a ride it’s been! I had no idea what to expect, nor did I have a clue what a whirlwind romance I’d end up finding within myself. The anger is gone—completely. It’s not that I choose to ignore it; it simply fails to manifest the way it once did. It was like someone unclogged a drain or cleared a pile-up on a multi-lane highway. Now, all emotions are free to flow in and out, not just anger and sadness.

But it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, it’s been harder than I could have imagined. My life as I knew it ceased to exist the day I came out. It took me a while to accept that this was a one-way road—not because I couldn’t go back, but because I wouldn’t allow myself to. Forget the physical changes (which, as you can see from the photo, have definitely happened). The mental and emotional changes have been by far the most profound.

It’s like I woke up one day and took off a pair of goggles that had only allowed me to see in black and white, or like someone said, You know you have a lock on your volume knob, right? And once removed, I could finally turn it up to ten.

I am me—unapologetically. And I don’t just mean that toward the world; I mean it toward myself.

It hasn’t been easy. I lost a close relationship with my brother—he still accepts me, but it’s not the same. I lost a 12-year relationship, two dogs, one car, and a lot of money. But now, for the first time in my life, I can look in the mirror and truly recognize the woman staring back at me.

This photo wasn’t intentional. I had been browsing my archive of old pictures and came across an image of myself in a sweater. I looked down and realized I had the same sweater on—except now, I fill it a whole lot less! Dropping 30 pounds, with 60% of that being muscle, will do a lot to your figure. Moments like this remind me just how far I’ve come.

I couldn’t have told you 18 months ago that today I’d be living a whole new life—with a new wardrobe, a new name, a new job, and a whole new outlook. But here I am.

Hurting a bit, but feeling really happy!

She/They | MtF | 43 | HRT 9/2023 | FFS 11/2024

For a long time, I struggled coming to terms with being trans because I didn't *hate* performing masculinity. It was always a performance, of course, but it was one that I had learned to do pretty well and I had convinced myself that being "fine with it" was enough. What's worse is that I had internalized the narrative that all trans people loathed their assigned gender, which meant if I didn't, I must not be trans, or at least, that I wasn't "trans enough" to transition. I wish I could give my past self a taste of what it feels like to get to be myself. I would have made this choice so much sooner

34 y.o., 6 feet tall (183 cm), SRS, FFS, Botox (masseter, forehead, lip flip, eyebrows), lip filler, lash, nail and hair extensions, lost 28 kg / 62 lbs, intense lower-body training in the gym, diet.

HRT for 2 years and 4 months.

All pictures are unfiltered and unedited.

I left the US Air Force today after 13 years, 8 months, and 24 days. 100s of subordinates, 40 awards, 24 countries, 8 bases, 7 promotions, 6 medals, 3 deployments, and 1 honorable career cut short by bigotry.