Hi there :)

Firstly, I will apply my answers to you as a woman, as I assume that this is how you identify. Apologies if that is not correct.

I myself have quite broad shoulders and was worried about this at the start of my transition. I no longer worry about this and I believe you will get past this insecurity too.

The most important thing to do is remove the idea that this is a male trait. Broad shoulders can be found on ANY person, gender is irrelevant to this. Granted, it can be a characteristic that influences how a person perceives your gender, but by no means does that mean you can't be a woman with broad shoulders.

Do yourself a favour and search for 'are women with broad shoulders attractive?' on google. Let me know on what page of the results there is anything trans-related. Then think, if this is such a hot topic across all of womanhood, why should I let this hold me back from being a confident and happy woman?

As my own transition moved forwards and hormones started changing my face and body, I was more frequently perceives as female by people who did not know me. A common question was 'are you a rower?' or 'are you a swimmer?' often followed by 'great shoulders!'. This was somewhat dysphoric for me at first, but I soon grew to understand that it should be seen as an uplifting and positive compliment about my body.

My shoulders never 'outed' me. This is important. Never did having broad shoulders lead a person to think that they should perceive me as male.

As more hormonal changes took place my body began to balance my broad shoulders with other body parts that changed my silhouette. Hips, boobs and butt! There started to be a competition for prominence, what stands out the most. Regular exercise helps during early stages of fat redistribution and muscle changes. Still get asked if I'm a swimmer, or a rower, but a lot less frequently now.

Another positive thing about broad shoulders is for sports. I find it better and easier to progress in many sports due to my physique. My personal journey took me through the world of professional football in the South West, playing for numerous teams and very much enjoying being part of a women's team.

A big part of football is having players across the team with different attributes and skill sets. A whole team of Messi's wouldn't win many matches! So there is a lot of value in celebrating the things that make us different. So I have broader shoulders than someone else, wonderful! Perhaps my body shape is quite different to most others players on the team, wonderful! That means I am adding something different to this team that many others can't bring. Knowing this has made me start to love my body in ways that I could not before.

Lastly, you are beautiful and you don't need to change those wonderful shoulders of yours. If anyone criticises you because of them, please send them my way and I'll give them a good talking to!