When 18-year-old Jamie Raines began his female-to-male transition, he decided against making it an insular, private journey. Instead, he began taking selfies every day to document the change. We’ve seen plenty of these selfie-a-day videos before, of course, but Raines’ one is astonishing.
The changes are apparent almost immediately after starting on testosterone. When asked by Buzzfeed his reason for taking the pictures, Raines said: “It was to see how testosterone can change the face. So if people come away seeing that, it can make those changes, then that’s good."
But it’s much more than that. Within seconds, you can see noticeable changes in muscle, hair, his voice.
After three years and a lot of selfies (1,400 to be precise), the response has been so huge – particularly from trans people and those considering hormones – that he wants to carry on. “As time went on it became more rewarding,” Raines said. “So now, I feel like I’ve been doing it for so long I just want to keep going, for maybe five years. I’m really happy I’ve done it. “
He has some strong advice for other trans men about to start testosterone. “Patience is your best friend with transitioning and it’s good to surround yourself with a community or friends and family that will support you – either online or in real life.” As the pictures show, Jamie has had his girlfriend with him throughout.
“Ask questions of people who’ve already gone through it. It feels like it takes ages for things to start happening but then when it does start everything changes really quickly. Now people are surprised when I tell them I’m trans. I had a job interview recently and when I told them they thought I was going to transition from male to female!”
While reading and researching are one thing, Raines’ video actually shows that change does happen quickly. And from the response to his open efforts, it’s clear that seeing the visual efforts has been inspirational for many others.
