FTM Bottom Growth
Let’s talk about bottom growth —
I’m assuming most people don’t have much knowledge about trans bodies so as always I wanted to dedicate a photoshoot of mine to start conversations.
Bottom growth in the most simplest terms is the genital changes experienced by people on testosterone. It will increase erectile tissue in people who were born assigned female at birth just as a young boy experiences when he goes through puberty.
Trans bodies matter too. They deserve to be respected and they deserve to be talked about and educated on. I could barely find any information about bottom growth on the internet unless I wanted to look it up in Porn. There was little to any representation of my body anywhere. Loving your body as a trans person in this society is and has always been a radical act. So let’s talk about it…
Bottom growth is a sensitive topic for most people which is why I wanted to use my photography to make it easier to start conversations and discuss it. Flowers are normally symbols for growth so I chose sunflowers in particular to symbolism euphoria and happiness in your trans body. Although I still get constant dysphoria about my body there are a lot of things that I do get euphoric about. Personally, bottom growth has given me euphoria since being on testosterone. Testosterone has changed my life significantly due to its ability to change my body in a way that makes me 10x more comfortable with myself.
What does bottom growth mean exactly?
I’m sure this is the basic question most people are asking who don’t have much knowledge about the trans community, never-mind our bodies post hormones. Bottom growth is essentially when your clitoris grows wider and longer while taking testosterone. Your genitals are literally changing in feel and appearance. Typical growth is about 1 - 4 cm. This varies person to person but changes to your genitals will normally start around 3 - 6 months. Many people who take testosterone are transgender men; others, are nonbinary, including genderqueer, bigender and agender folk.
For some, it’s something that helps with gender dysphoria associated with their genitals and for others, it’s a "tolerated” side effect of hormones used to help with other kinds of dysphoria. I’ve had some conversation with other people who have experienced bottom growth and it’s different for everyone. Before I started testosterone I was unsure of starting because I thought I would hate it. But surprisingly, it helps significantly with my genital dysphoria and most importantly, it’s helped me enjoy sex. Pre-testosterone I hated everything about sex. I would do it just to get it over with and I never really thoroughly enjoyed anything about it. I avoided looking at myself in the mirror at all costs so I hated showering or anything to do with changing or being completely naked. Now, I’m a few days away from hitting my 2 year mark on T and I’m slowly becoming more and more comfortable with parts of my body that I used to hate.
However, there are definitely some changes that aren’t commonly talked about and that’s how it feels. You are literally able to get hard without having an actual penis. I will say, it could be uncomfortable at times because it’s just a feeling you have to get used to. It’s constantly growing so it’s going to be more sensitive as well as more visible. But the fun part about that is it makes you feel like you have something else there, because well, you do. Although it helps with dysphoria, sometimes it’s not enough so a lot of trans and non - binary individuals use packers or packing underwear to help alleviate more dysphoria that bottom growth cannot help with.
Underwear: www.paxsies.com // Packer: www.axolom.com
Transgender people deserve to be recognized and that includes our bodies.
