Man, 21, Snaps Selfies of His 3-Year Gender Transition in Captivating Photo Series
Jamie Raines took a photo of himself every single say, for three years.
— -- A young British man bravely documented his journey transitioning from female to male in a remarkable photo series compiled of selfies that were snapped every day over the course of three years.
"I wanted something for myself to document my transition and was very into photography at the time, so I combined the two and decided to take a photo of my face every day," Jamie Raines of Essex, England told ABC News. "I wanted something to show changes in face shape and the way I looked and watching the clip now it shows how much it has changed.
"I’m very happy," he added. "I didn’t imagine 4 years ago that I would be in the position I am now and it’s an amazing feeling."
Raines, 21, said that he remembers feeling that he shouldn't have been born a female as far back as his days as a toddler.
"My first memory of this is from when I was four years old and I thought I was just like every other boy," he said. "As I grew older I realized I was a little different. I felt a lot of discomfort, [was] upset and had very low confidence.
"As time went on and I realized more and more that I couldn’t continue living as female," Raines recalled. "I felt scared and frustrated, but then felt some relief when I came out and was supported and accepted by family and friends. My mom said it made sense and explained a lot about how I was when I was younger. My Dad has been really great and supportive about it too. They accepted me as their son, but could see that I was still the same person, just happier and living as male.
When he was 17 years old, Raines said he "socially" transitioned and began living as a male and legally changing his birth name, which he would not disclose, to Jamie--a name that he said, he and his family arrived at together.
Soon after, Raines said he started taking testosterone and underwent a mastectomy six months following his 18th birthday, where he then began the three-year photo series, which he documented on his Tumblr page, in an effort to document his altering appearance.
"The first few months on 'T' [testosterone] are very exciting, but also slightly frustrating," Raines said. "The first time I felt a big jump in confidence was when my voice dropped properly for the first time. ... Since then, it’s been a process of gradually becoming more and more comfortable and within the last six-to-eight months I’ve started to look older and my facial hair has filled."
Raines said in addition to his new look, he couldn't be happier in all other aspects of his personal life including his recent college degree and his four-year relationship with girlfriend, Shaaba.
Raines said he hopes his photography project will comfort and inspire young people who are apprehensive about transitioning.
"Maybe to offer some hope of the changes that can happen, that things get better, and that they aren’t alone," he said.