Sounds like you’re at least in a somewhat good place and working towards progress which is awesome!

I’ve been tremendously happy with the area I live in so far. If I wear a mask, a cute hat, painted nails or not, wearing a purse, and practice my voice, I’ve been able to pass and get gendered correctly. It’s still daunting but my courage is building.

Do everything you can that makes you feel safe and euphoric and keep building yourself up!

Ya stuff really sucks now. States are starting to try and push through even worse laws, and it’s getting pretty discouraging. But keep your chin up and keep reaching out. Start with small changes that might be less perceived. Underclothing is a great start. Painting nails should be ok too in most places I hope.

Now that I’m finally ready to change my name there’s no point because they are holding up all the passport changes. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in February but I haven’t found any updates about that yet. Assuming they even follow a court order to continue processing them…

Just gotta keep on practicing as much self care as possible. Form as many good affirming and positive habits you can. And hopefully things will get better!

I don’t have any go to brands yet but I wanted to thank you for linking these places as I can use them for inspiration. I really appreciate this space and thank you all so much! <3