Passing as male in 1970
It's 1970 in Los Angeles. The MC is a 23 year old trans man deeply involved in hippy culture who's starting to come out as FTM (in an environment that my late-90s-born FTM self is damn glad he didn't live in).
I imagine that it would be easier in some ways for him to do this than it would be for a trans man today to do so, given that older adults would spend all their time complaining about these damn kids and their androgynous fashion choices combined with the fact that zero trans awareness = 'that guy with a feminine voice and soft features is probably pretty young or just lost the genetic lottery'. On the other hand, I have no idea how he would change his style of dress and grooming to be read as male amongst his compadres.
What would he do with his hair? What items of clothing could, with their presence or absence, discern his gender? How would he bind in an era before mass-produced binders without destroying his ribs? Would he try to train his voice down to a lower register or put lifts in his shoes or anything along those lines?
I've searched early 70s fashions for both men and women, and over the years since I first came out in 2012 have collected an amazing amount of information on early trans history (from which I've learned that people only paid any real attention to trans men a few years after the MC comes out).
Thanks in advance!
I imagine that it would be easier in some ways for him to do this than it would be for a trans man today to do so, given that older adults would spend all their time complaining about these damn kids and their androgynous fashion choices combined with the fact that zero trans awareness = 'that guy with a feminine voice and soft features is probably pretty young or just lost the genetic lottery'. On the other hand, I have no idea how he would change his style of dress and grooming to be read as male amongst his compadres.
What would he do with his hair? What items of clothing could, with their presence or absence, discern his gender? How would he bind in an era before mass-produced binders without destroying his ribs? Would he try to train his voice down to a lower register or put lifts in his shoes or anything along those lines?
I've searched early 70s fashions for both men and women, and over the years since I first came out in 2012 have collected an amazing amount of information on early trans history (from which I've learned that people only paid any real attention to trans men a few years after the MC comes out).
Thanks in advance!