Estrogen: A Trip Report

Nature of gender dysphoria and effects of HRT

• Multiple trans commenters describe dysphoria as a mismatch between inner gender identity and body/social perception, not simply a hormone “craving” or fashion preference.
• Analogies include phantom limbs, waking in the “wrong” sexed body, or body horror at puberty changes.
• Coping hinges on both body change (HRT, sometimes surgery) and mind/social context: being seen and interacted with as one’s gender is repeatedly described as strongly relieving.
• Some stress that interests (e.g., programming, games) are largely independent of gender; others note that “male‑coded” hobbies often persist due to childhood socialization rather than identity.

Subjective experience of estrogen and testosterone

• Several describe clear perceptual and emotional shifts on estrogen: improved smell and taste, reduced inner “buzzing,” greater serenity, more emotional depth or empathy; some report losing interest in psychedelics or sugary foods.
• Others on long‑term HRT say their experience is more modest—better baseline happiness, but no dramatic “extra colors” or mystical effects, and caution against over‑interpreting placebo‑like phenomena.
• Some who have experienced high testosterone plus higher estrogen (e.g., bodybuilding) report feeling unusually connected, loving, and emotionally rich; crashed estrogen feels terrible.
• One theme: experiencing life on both major sex hormones is seen as giving unique perspective on selfhood and embodiment.

Science, evidence, and youth treatment debates

• Pro‑treatment commenters cite studies suggesting puberty blockers reduce lifelong suicidal ideation and that early gender‑affirming care improves youth mental health.
• Critics argue the evidence base is weak, highlight the Cass review and two randomized trials that allegedly show no benefit over controls, and note several European countries restricting blockers for minors.
• Cass and related work are in turn described by others as methodologically flawed and selectively embraced; claims of “isolated demand for rigor” around trans care are raised.
• There is an extended dispute over desistance rates: some studies are cited showing 70–90% of untreated dysphoric children later identifying as cis; others question these cohorts (old data, conversion‑style practices, diagnostic issues).
• Risks and ethics of blockers are contested: one side emphasizes mostly reversible effects and analogy to other pediatric interventions; the other stresses infertility, sexual function, and the possibility of locking in a trans path for youths who might have desisted.

Law, politics, and access

• One camp notes that current U.S. bans formally target minors and frame this as age/“medical purpose” regulation rather than sex discrimination; they argue adult care remains largely legal and see room to depolarize.
• Others counter with concrete examples (Florida in‑person rules, Missouri and federal Medicaid exclusions, Nebraska age‑19 limit) and argue that “protect the children” is a starting point toward broader rollbacks.
• There is disagreement over whether more radical rhetoric (“dead son vs living daughter”, calling restrictions “murder”) helped or hurt; some think reframing and moderating advocacy is essential, others see a need to resist an authoritarian trajectory that will otherwise keep expanding.
• A side debate explores whether courts should be involved in detailed medical questions at all, versus deferring to doctors and parents.

Gender roles, social constructs, and identity models

• Several participants distinguish sexed body, gender identity, gender expression, and gender roles as partially independent axes.
• Some nonbinary and trans posters emphasize that gender norms are heavily cultural, but say loosening roles alone would not have addressed their physical dysphoria.
• Others suggest a strategy shift: instead of metaphors like “woman in a man’s body,” foregrounding “people shouldn’t be forced into rigid masculinity/femininity” might be more persuasive in conservative contexts; trans respondents reply that this is solving a different (though related) problem and cannot replace access to medical transition.
• There is recurring frustration that trans people are simultaneously criticized for conforming too much to gender roles and for not conforming enough (retaining “male‑coded” interests).

Hormones, autism, and drug policy

• A speculative link is raised between prenatal testosterone, autism, and being trans; replies say many trans women have low testosterone before HRT and suggest reporting bias and underdiagnosed autism in cis women as simpler explanations.
• Access mechanics are clarified: you cannot simply “buy estrogen at Walgreens”; prescriptions, labs, and “bureaucratic hoops” are standard, though some note testosterone/TRT and black‑market steroids are easy to obtain.
• One strong pro‑liberalization voice argues for broad OTC access to medications (including anti‑androgens), contrasting this with the lethality of common OTC drugs like acetaminophen.
• Several trans posters stress “nothing about us without us”: given disproportionate discrimination and political targeting, trans people should be central in decisions about their care.