where to go from here

Firstly, congratulations. It's really amazing that you've uncovered a new facet of yourself and I hope this fresh understanding of yourself leads you to all the happiness in the world.

What follows is a bit of how I mentally processed with different stages of self-acceptance. If you find something in here that jives with you and helps--awesome! If not, then I hope it at least makes for a mildly interesting read.

I called myself non-binary for a good bit before inching to the left, (i.e., I went through some more gender-neutral spaces, progressing more masculinely) and I personally took a good bit of time sitting with each new stage, letting my newfound understanding of myself settle a bit, and seeing how it changed how I thought about myself in relation to others, and even different facets of my identity. I let it flow over me like a new skin, in a way, letting it stretch and settle and reveal little bits of who I was and who I wanted to be, as a person and as a man. For me it felt like I was finally letting myself inhabit spaces, and roles, and senses of self that had been closed off from me due to a good bit of forced-femininity. For me, it was a good bit of enjoying letting myself feel like myself and settling in. I let my first cracks be mine and mine alone.

Telling people came somewhere thereafter, and it's really important (though I'm sure you know this) to find a good group of people to support you. Especially if you're not passing or are just trying things out like pronouns and names, it's really important to have caring, non-judgmental people to help you along the way. When you're ready and itching to tell people, pick a good, first confidant who you have very good reason to suspect will be open and supportive.

From there, find things that are affirming to you. For me that was finding a new preferred name and swapping out the few remaining feminine hold-overs from my wardrobe for things that made me feel better about myself. Just go one day at a time and find what makes you happy.

/r/ftm Thread