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Introduction
Transgender women are women whose recorded sex at birth was male but whose gender identity is female. Transfeminine people represent a group that includes not just transgender women but also non-binary people who have a more feminine gender identity than the one that is expected for their recorded sex at birth. Many transgender people experience what is known as gender dysphoria —this is discomfort caused by people's bodies not matching their sense of identity. Not every transgender person deals with their gender dysphoria in the same way. However, for many people, hormone therapy can help them feel more like themselves.
Why it's done
Feminizing hormone therapy is used to induce physical changes in your body caused by female hormones during puberty secondary sex characteristics to promote the matching of your gender identity and your body gender congruence. If feminizing hormone therapy is started before the changes of male puberty begin, male secondary sex characteristics, such as increased body hair and changes in voice pitch, can be avoided. Feminizing hormone therapy is also referred to as cross-sex hormone therapy. During feminizing hormone therapy, you'll be given medication to block the action of the hormone testosterone. You'll also be given the hormone estrogen to decrease testosterone production and induce feminine secondary sex characteristics. Changes caused by these medications can be temporary or permanent. Feminizing hormone therapy can be done alone or in combination with feminizing surgery. Feminizing hormone therapy isn't for all transgender women, however. Feminizing hormone therapy can affect your fertility and sexual function and cause other health problems.
Transgender hormone therapy of the male-to-female MTF type, also known as feminizing hormone therapy , is hormone therapy and sex reassignment therapy to change the secondary sexual characteristics of transgender people from masculine or androgynous to feminine. Some intersex people also take this form of therapy, according to their personal needs and preferences. The purpose of the therapy is to cause the development of the secondary sex characteristics of the desired sex , such as breasts and a feminine pattern of hair , fat , and muscle distribution. It cannot undo many of the changes produced by naturally occurring puberty , which may necessitate surgery and other treatments to reverse see below. The medications used for the MTF therapy include estrogens , antiandrogens , progestogens , and gonadotropin-releasing hormone modulators GnRH modulators. While the therapy cannot undo the effects of a person's first puberty , developing secondary sex characteristics associated with a different gender can relieve some or all of the distress and discomfort associated with gender dysphoria , and can help the person to "pass" or be seen as the gender they identify with. Introducing exogenous hormones into the body impacts it at every level and many patients report changes in energy levels, mood, appetite, etc.
