So yesterday I went to a local support group for older trans men.
I was really fucking nervous, changed like five times and put too much cologne on. Didn’t cut my head when shaving though, so bonus.
My friend who runs it came and picked me up, he’s in his mid 60’s and only transitioned about 4 years ago. Good dude, heaps odd though because he’s like a teenage boy in the body of an old man with a beard. hah.
Arrived and no one else was there, so my friend W who runs the group shouted me a beer and we grabbed a table away from the one or two other patrons in the bar. Within minutes two other guys arrived; J1 and J2. They were much older than me, although they didn’t look it because neither had begun T yet. After another short while a final guy came, V. He was maybe 5 years older than myself and beaming because he’d just gone on a first date. We all playfully ribbed him about it and ordered more beers.
There wasn’t much trans talk at all, which was awesome. We mentioned the one psych in our town who is able to help guys get their T letters, and how horrible he is with confidentiality, but that we’ve all seen him out of necessity. I spoke a bit about my balding and how long it took to get as bald as I am now. There was also some talk about underpants which are very cheap and also happen to have an inbuilt packer pouch.
Other than that it was; Relationships, Girlfriends/Wives, Football, Work, Me Moving.
It was really validating for me to be around a bunch of blokes that were just…blokes. Just happened to be trans too. And what’s more is that there’s a few of the older dudes who just can’t medically transition due to medical issues, work issues, family issues etc. The only time they get to be called their real names and “he” is in this fortnightly group. I could see the appreciation on some of the guy’s faces when we referred to each other. Something so simple can be someone’s life line.
All in all, 10/10 would recommend. Will go again.