To be transgender is to be among a minority that challenges the status quo simply by their very existence. In the last ten years the Internet changed everything, opening a whole new world of communication to transgender people who thought they were alone in the world.
Yet while medical researchers are still exploring the causes of transgender behavior, and activists are fighting for equal rights, it is troubling that within our community myth and misinformation is spreading (as fact) at an alarming rate.
Like many of you I belong to several online forums: places where people exchange ideas, have discussions, and to some extent make friends. What astounds me – no, startles me – is that I've heard statements "as fact" about a broad range of topics from what motivates gays, transsexuals, drag queens, women, and CDs, to what a trans-person can come to expect at different levels of their evolution. And most of it is stereotypical rhetoric, failing to realize that there is a wide spectrum to the word transgender and that not every experience is – or will be – the same.
Because someone has a compulsion as a child to wear mom's clothes and in later life buys their own and continues that practice, doesn't mean they
actually understand it. What it does mean is that they understand how it makes THEM feel, no more, no less. It isn't fact, it isn't truth; it is merely opinion that is subject to change based on their future life experience.
Still, many seem to search out headlines and theories to support their pre-adopted positions rather than gathering information and experience first and then rendering an opinion about it at a later date. And challenging their adopted truth brings quick dismissal: "You just don't get it." In fact, many times some of us do get it because we've been there. We just don't happen to agree. actually understand it. What it does mean is that they understand how it makes THEM feel, no more, no less. It isn't fact, it isn't truth; it is merely opinion that is subject to change based on their future life experience.There are those that have not explored their own transgender behavior (or others) beyond the bedroom door -- or perhaps an annual transgender social outing – yet continue to make careless statements that they defend with the veracity of a lioness protecting her Pride -- all based on experiences they have never had. This is neither helpful to the individual or the community, and it further confuses an already confused mainstream that we should be educating. more here >>
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