I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: you do not need to be trans to transition! The last time I said this, people did not like it!!

But please hear me out!

I obviously believe that you do not need to transition to identify as trans. If you identify as any gender other than the one you were assigned at birth, congratulations, you can consider yourself transgender if you want to.

You don’t need to change your name, take hormones, or have surgery to claim ownership over the trans identity, in my not-so-humble opinion.

That said!

I also think that there are a lot of people who need to microdose transitioning to figure out if identifying as trans is right for them.

To elaborate: What does it mean to transition? Obviously, everyone knows about hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgeries, which often require a psychologist to declare you trans (lol). Still, there are lots of other parts of transition that anyone can dabble in just for fun and me time.

Non-Permanent Aspects of Gender Transition

1. Clothes

The most obvious one is clothes! A lot of trans people get a whole new wardrobe when they transition, but nothing is stopping you from trying out a new style of dress just to see how it makes you feel.

2. Hair

Anyone of any gender can grow their hair long or cut their hair short. You can try changing your hair to see if you feel gender euphoria, having it a new way and no one has to know why you’re changing your hair. (Raise your hand if a particular haircut made you realize you were trans…)

(Pardon the filters, it was 2012 😅)

3. Makeup

If you’ve never tried makeup before, it’s something you can discretely buy, try on privately, and then take off before heading out in the world. Maybe you’ll be surprised by how it makes you feel!

4. Voice

And finally, voice! Voice training is another part of transition that is not permanent. It’s completely reversible and comes with a lot of great excuses to be learning it (I’m learning voice acting, I joined an improv troupe, I’m learning singing…) You can simply try speaking in a new way if you want to!

Playing with these “softer” elements of transition - clothes, hair, makeup, and voice training - is a great way to help you decide if identifying as trans is right for you. And if you do already identify as trans, they’re a great intermediary step before deciding to do some of the more permanent types of transition like hormones or surgery.

And if you play with all these things and decide not to identify as trans, you’re still learning about your authentic self, which is always valuable work.