i am a chubby trans guy and i have a thick thighs. i've been itching to try on compression shorts but i'm not sure if it'll be effective enough especially on a fat person. yeah, exercising can really help reduce it but it's a commitment and i just need something temporary.
Lee says:
You didn't actually ask any question here, so I'm not sure if you're looking for advice on what type of compression short to buy or looking to be given permission to purchase a pair, but my advice is go for it!
If you want to buy compression shorts and you can afford to buy them, then buy compression shorts!
Underworks sells compression shorts on their site and on Amazon for about $23-$30 + with shipping typically costing around $5.50 so you'd be paying around $36 plus tax.
You can get a lower level of compression in athletic compression shorts like these, if you need to have something more discreet and less medical looking, although they might not have as much squishing power so they may not be as effective as you're hoping for.
There’s also women’s shapewear like Spanx that compress the thighs if you aren’t out and need to explain your purchases to family.
You usually can't try Underworks on in the store, but you may be able to try on women's shapewear in some stores before you buy it so you can decide whether it's worth the cost for you. You may also be able to buy them used online, buy them in thrift shops, etc.
Finally, it can be reassuring to remember that chubby people of all genders can have thick thighs regardless of whether their hormonal system is testosterone or estrogen dominant.
When someone is looking at you your thighs tend to not be part of their first impression, especially if you're wearing pants/loose shorts that fully cover the thigh.
People don't usually get misgendered solely because their thighs are thick-- it's true that all of these things contribute to a person's unconscious assumption of gender, but the thighs alone aren't usually a dealbreaker.
That doesn't mean that your feelings of dysphoria are 'wrong' or something-- feelings are feelings. But if you're self-conscious about your thighs and you find yourself ruminating on it, then one coping strategy can be using active self-talk to remind your brain that nobody is thinking about your thighs as much as you are.
I also have some self-consciousness about one of my thighs-- but in my case, people actually are noticing my surgery scars and thinking about it (I get a lot of stares and questions if it's uncovered) so it's a bit of a different situation.
Clothing really helps, so I usually either wear pants or wear basketball-length shorts that go down to the knee so my thigh isn't visible. Another thing that helps is wearing a sleeve that covers my thigh so people don't notice and ask questions. The sleeve also helps protect my thigh so it serves double duty.
I'd recommend that you spend some time looking through your pants and shorts both before and after you get the compression shorts to see what makes you feel confident and what makes you feel self-conscious.
And as always, in the future please ask a question that I can answer- no statements or vents! I'm Autistic and I'm likely not going to be able to infer what question you intended to ask if you don't actually state it.
Followers, anything to add for anon?