someone commented saying "but cutting your hair and not wearing jewelry will make you pass better, idk why people are so resistant to it"
1. not every trans man is white and long hair and jewelry are often times an expression of nonwhite culture. im not saying that youre being racist, but you should consider that not all trans men are white and telling them to cut their hair and not wear jewelry can have different implications for nonwhite trans men than it does for white trans men
2. i pass with long hair and jewelry
3. most trans men are not going to pass as cis men consistently until they are on testosterone. some trans men can and do (i happened to be able to pass as either a boy or a girl pre/early transition (i pass as a cis man now), however i was hormonally intersex, ymmv) but most will not. and that sucks and its unfair but thats just how it is. some trans men wont even pass after several years of testosterone. passing is largely genetics based and not every trans man has genetics that will help them pass
4. some trans men on t are being low dosed intentionally by doctors
there are a lot of factors that tie into passing pre t. trans men who are bigger bodied are going to have a harder time passing as cis men than skinny trans men, trans men who are restricted from cutting their hair and wearing mens clothing are going to have a harder time passing as cis men than trans men who are able to do those things, and yeah sometimes you just happen to look more masculine pre t than most pre t trans men do because thats just how you look. these things arent universal but they are generally applicable
the big issue with passing advice (and this includes people who ask for passing advice) is that asking people if you pass as male or how to pass isnt going to actually give you any accurate insight on if you pass or not. if you tell anybody that youre trans and ask if they can tell, they will usually find something, even if the average person wouldnt. posting a picture of yourself and asking trans people, who are usually more well versed in trans features, if you pass or not isnt going to accurately tell you if you pass. if you want to know if you pass, go outside and interact organically with people and see how they treat and interact with you. someone zooming in on a picture of you to tell you that the light in your eyes makes you look like a woman isnt the same as talking to a cashier at a store or a neighbor on the bus. the average person you walk by on the street isnt staring at you from a short distance to try to see if you look like a woman
also, long hair doesnt even inherently mean that someone wont pass as male even if theyre pre t. ive seen trans men who pass better with long hair than they do with short hair and i think im one of those people. short haircut doesn't always mean its a masculine haircut or that itll make you look masculine. a part of haircuts is highlighting features that you like and hiding features that you dont. someone with a very feminine shaped face might pass better with long hair that hides that shape. a buzz cut might inhibit your passing
ultimately, if you are pre t and dont pass, having a short hair cut, not wearing jewelry, and wearing basketball shorts all the time probably wont make a meaningful difference in your ability to pass. most trans men do not pass pre t, and some dont even pass on t. thats my main issue with passing advice in general, because its usually not applicable. having said that, if someone is asking for haircut advice and what haircut would suit them, that is an appropriate time to comment, and also to anyone who struggles with their hair you should research haircuts for your face shape/hair texture. there are short haircuts that can flatter your face shape and help you pass regardless of your face shape but its not every short haircut and you might end up cutting your hair in a way that doesnt help you pass or actually makes you pass less
