I also just wanna say, after reading a few other posts, that I don't think wanting to be recognised as a transguy rather than being stealth means that you're less of a transguy. I definitely don't identify as gender neutral or third gender/sex (though I do think there are more than two sexes, that sex is more complicated than cismale/cisfemale and identify my own sex as transmale if someone asks).
It doesn't mean you're any less serious about being recognised as a guy...the problem is that society only wants to see cisguys as legitimate so it expects transguys to want to be exactly like cisguys and "pass" as them. I just don't want anyone to assume transguys who aren't stealth because they don't want to be are any less transguys than people who want to be stealth. Also, we shouldn't be seen as having had the "choice" to be transguys anymore than any other transguy or more than anyone who is cis female or cis male. I didn't choose to be a transguy anymore than a cisguy chooses to be a cisguy...but neither do I think that because I didn't have a choice that it's something I'm upset with or feel bad about. Just because you don't have a choice doesn't mean you aren't happy with who you are. People don't choose who they're attracted to either but doesn't mean they're unhappy about it (at least I'm not
). I do make the choice to be proud of who I am and not wanting to live stealth. It also shouldn't be assumed that transguys who are more open about who they are are no-op and/or no-ho. Depends on the person. Some of us just have/want surgery and don't want hormones, others just want hormones and don't want surgery, others of us want/have surgery and are also on T, others of us have been on hormones and then stopped etc. There's just as much diversity as with transguys who want to be entirely stealth and there's no one way to be a transguy.
What is making it easier for those of us who don't want to be stealth is that there is less control over our bodies by psychiatric institutions. Hormones are much easier to get (at least here) without a letter from a psychiatrist and there are more options as far as how to get surgery than there was in the past. Shrinks don't have as much power to gatekeep as they used to.