Those of us who are "women of transgender experience" get a double whammy of this; we often have hair in places no cis woman has, so we do a lot to get rid of that hair, in addition to everything else. I personally have had a dozen laser treatments on my face, in addition to epilating my arms and legs to the point where they don't grow hair anymore, and taking the razor to my underarms, and, yes, also cutting down the pubic hair. (Thank heaven I never had back hair, and only a small patch of chest hair that didn't require much work to eliminate.)

Our motive has an extra component to it; we want to be perceived as women, so, ironically, that means we have to conform to the feminine stereotypes even more than cis women do. It is "empowerment and self-expression," as you say...it just feels like we have more at stake: not just our image, but our very identity.