With a recent fundraiser, I see a lot of people talking about not understanding how "cosmetic surgery" could help someone dealing with dysphoria feel better about themselves.

So let me talk about a simple way "cosmetic" alterations helps me.

One of the issues I had a lot of trouble with, was beard shadow.

No matter how close I shaved, no matter how much I color corrected and used makeup, even when other people assured me they couldn't see ANY... there was NO point where I could not see it.

And it doesn't matter how much other people assure you that NO-ONE can see anything... when YOU can still see it, it is distressing and uncomfortable.

We spend SO long hating our features... it is so "baked in"... often no amount of therapy can help.

What really helps me be able to look in a mirror and not see it... has been getting hair removal. I can KNOW that there is no beard shadow.

It may not have been visible to others before... but that didn't help me. I had to make a physical change in order to improve.

Trans people get to spend so long having to deal with hating certain features, like viscerally sickeningly hating it... that it can require a permanent physical change to be able to move beyond that.

No matter what others see, we have to KNOW it has been changed.

I know Fionne has received SO many comments about her looks, which only compounds the problem.

So please, have some grace and understanding. She never demanded anything, and couldn't have asked in a more undemanding manner.

Please show love if you can. https://twitter.com/FionneOrlander/status/1279403919026851842?s=20