Well this is a much tigher knitt group than I was expecting, so I figured I'd better give a short introduction so I'd seem like less of a stranger in the midst.

I'm not sure how exactly I found my way to the eunuch archive in the first place, but I've been browsing the stories for at least a year or two, and only recently started paruzing the message board. I'm 26, male, gay, and aparently sexually, a bottom. Lookup the stories by "Brian F" they really struck a nerve. The idea of a totally smooth crotch definately excites me, through realistically, there's a small chance of actually undergoing any surgury.

I have actually experimented with hormones already though. For whatever reason, I decided to try a transdermal estrogen regimine. I tried twice, once for only two weeks, the next time for about three weeks. The mood swings are what drove me off both times. Though I'd never had clearer skin in my life. And for someone who already found his nipples to be erotic playthings, the estrogen definately made them even more sensative.

So I've done much more illegal estrogen than pot. Go figure.

Lately, I'm thinking more about just an anti-androgen to calm down the labido. Don't exactly want to eleminate it, just be able to keep better focus. Not rushing anything though. Right now I'm actively job searching, and have been interviewing regularly, typically on short notice, so I'm definately afraid of what the hormones will do to my demeanor.

The other rub, which isn't much of anything for most people around here, is the conern over spacial resoning. I'm a Mechanical Engineer by trade, so I rely on spacial thought constantly while performing design and diagnostic work. Long before hearing about hormone's effects on this portion of thought, I took an aptitute test, that reported I'm "over 90th percentile" in terms of spacial reasoning. Oddly, my friends figured I'm good at navigating on road trips, and I still get calls from college buddies asking me for directions, even when they're two states away. And, I've looked through directions I typed before - no landmarks, just route numbers, road signs, and distances in hard miles.

No scientific proof that any of this is related to my testosterone washed brain, but I don't want to rush in and start screwing with this when I'm starting a new job. Probobly have to wait a few months.

Lastly, I live about 15 minutes away from Dr. Kimmel in Philadelphia. So if anyone is comming to town, let me know.

-D

re your concerns about spacial reasoning and visualation skills.

I have been taking estrogen and andro blockers for years. When I was in school I got 800 on my SAT math scores and could play chess blindfolded. I haven't noticed any real drop off of my math and spacial skills. Admitted I am not in a tech field now, but for years I ran support groups for trans people here in Seattle and we have a metric shitload of high tech trannies, all on estrogen and blockers, many going on to SRS. Most of them continue to function at high levels of competence in the various high tech fields. Lynn Conway who developed much of the structures on which modern computers are built, continued to perform with distinction in the field of computers after transition.

So i think that your concerns are not entirely justified, though as usual, for each person, your milage may vary.

Transward

OMG.... you sound sooooooooo brainy. Good for you.

Concerns about spatial reasoning ability does not suggest that one day you can do Cattellian Calculus and the next day you're saying "Ohhhh Mah Gaaawwd, numbers? Like Eeewww." It suggests a perceptual differentiation and approach to thought process, nor does it imply that men can and women can't (any particular item....).

Men and Women, when looked at on a larger level, have a tendency to show specific patterns of reasoning approach. Men tend to be more linear in their approach, which doesnt mean women can't be. The change discussed in the transition from male-to-eunuch involves some discussion as to whether or not it is simply a CHANGE toward the landmark-based spatial reckoning that women tend to use, rather than the direction-and-distance style that is typical of man-the-hunter. The matter is still quite unsettled.