Hudson's Guide: About Hudson

"Ponder the unthinkable. Question the status quo. Live in the world as well as your own nation. Dream of a better future, but contribute to the present. Share your talents. Commune with all people. Be steady friends and bold companions. Address the truly important issues of your times. Be honest in all that you do. Take your education, your talent, and your energy, and build a nation and world community that consider knowledge a gift to be shared, a healthy planet a place to be cherished, and human dignity and opportunity fundamental conditions to be enjoyed by all people."
--Former MIT president Charles M. Vest's challenge, delivered to MIT graduates at commencement each year from 1990-2004

About Hudson

Hello and thanks for visiting my site. I'm a trans man who resides in the midwest. I enjoy the Great Lakes, the midwestern countryside, really good cheese, and the fine people who live in these parts.

In my spare time (when I'm not working on this Guide), I like watching old movies, working on my car, playing dice, watching football and baseball, reading about history, politics, and other topics that interest me, and listening to music (alt country, bluegrass, alt rock, classic country, old school hip hop, and anything by Patty Griffin). I also like being outside, walking and biking, and I try to take road trips around the U.S. and Canada when I can swing the money.

Why I Started This Guide
When I began earnestly researching female-to-male transition in the late 1990s, I scoured books and the internet for information. I was lucky, in that there was a lot more information available to me than there would have been had I started looking even just a few years earlier. The internet has helped to make a wealth of information available to many people, and it also provides the opportunity for online forums in which trans men can interact and share information with one another.

Still, I felt that much of the information I was looking for about transition was scattered, at times difficult to wade through, and sometimes incomplete or even inaccurate. There were questions I had about hormones that I simply could not find answers to on the internet, but could find by checking out various textbooks at the library. And in addition to questions about hormones, surgeries, and health care, there were questions I had about regular "guy stuff" such as shaving, hair loss, or buying a suit-- those also required some digging.

One of the most excellent resources I came across in my early research was Lou Sullivan's book, Information for the Female to Male Cross Dresser and Transsexual. I found a used copy of the third edition (copyright 1990) in a bookstore and snapped it up. The thing I love about this 123-page book is that it covers so many topics (definitions of transsexualism; tips on clothing, hair, body language, and voice; surgeries; hormone therapy; advice to family and friends; and more) in a matter-of-fact, even, accessible tone. It has the wonderful grassroots feeling of trans guys sharing information amongst ourselves, without judgment or reservation. Sadly, the book is now out of print. When I first read through it, I thought to myself, "I wish there was something like this readily available today, updated with the latest information and resources."

This Guide is made in the spirit of Sullivan's book. I wanted to gather information on many topics of concern to trans men and their loved ones, so that a reader could get a solid, detailed introduction to any topic listed here, as well as find links to where they could learn more. I wanted the tone to be accessible and welcoming, like Sullivan's book, so that no matter what the identity of the reader, their stage in transition, or their knowledge of FTM issues, they would be able to walk away with useful, non-judgmental information.

I also wanted the Guide to be free of charge and easy to load and navigate, no matter with what web browser or from where in the world a person was looking at the site. This site lacks a lot of graphics and is very plain in appearance-- it is designed that way so that it is accessible to as many people as possible. Since its inception in March of 2004, this site has been viewed more than 1,035,000 times in 130 countries.

I'd like to thank the many trans men and allies who have contributed to this site, either indirectly through the information they have provided in various FTM organizations or on their own internet sites, through the exchange of wisdom and ideas I've shared with them in online forums, or directly through their specific personal feedback to this site. Thank you.

-Hudson

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