They're in the same wave of hatred, but I don't mean the observation as a negative. I support LGBT, but for those who don't, typically, transgender is the most misunderstood.
To be fair, I've heard the exact same thing from my gender therapist on several occasions and he's very active in the LGBT communities in various parts of Minnesota. This isn't meant to demean the issues that homosexuals have to deal with at all; it's actually a discussion about how the LGBT community deals with transsexuals in general. I've heard a lot of transsexuals state that they feel the "T" within LGBT is a silent letter. Admittedly, this is part of the reason why I chose the title I did for this thread. ^^;
Ah, okay, no worries then. It seems at times even "B" is invisible as well though, some gays and lesbians don't consider it a "real" orientation for some reason, though it does seem that the "T" is the least visible most of the time. I just don't agree with comparing degrees of how accepted each is because its relative to each person's individual situation. To be fair, being anything other then heterosexual will garner a lot of disdain no matter where you go in the good ol' USA.
You're absolutely right about that. It seems that the "B" and the "T" have things in common when it comes to these struggles. As far as acceptance of transsexuals is concerned, the only reason we may not be as accepted as other people in the LGBT community is because we don't have a very strong collective voice. This has to change and fast; I really hope that there will continue to be more awareness as time goes on. Also, just to make sure we're on the same page: transsexualism is not a sexual orientation. It's a gender identity. Because of the difference between those two things, I'm oftentimes amazed that the "T" got grouped into the acronym to begin with.
We are on the same page, I'm a little confused as well as to why its in the LGBT group, but I'm not complaining, as I've said before all T's I've met are amazing people, all very brave and kind.
I'm glad to hear that everyone you've met who is transsexual has been like that. I wish I could say I've had the same experience myself; unfortunately my local transsexual community is not very supporting and has developed itself into a clique that I feel very excluded from. This seems to be a problem not just with the local transsexual community but with the area in general. With that in mind, I want to take this moment to once again thank everyone who has posted thus far in this thread to show support and good feelings; it has made me very happy! Finding good support in my area has been quite difficult and the response from everyone here has filled me with elation.
This! SO this! I'm Biohazardjonny's partner and this is my first post on this forum whatsoever (he loves it so I thought I'd check it out.) I just wanted to voice my agreement with this. I am biologically female but have always been pretty genderqueer (for lack of a better word) and I have never really understood why gender identity was lumped in with sexual orientation. I think that it's a categorization that causes more problems than it does good for the trans community sometimes because it makes it seem like gender is connected to sexuality in a way it's just not. I'm also bisexual and have been out of the closet about that since my last teens, so what's been said here about the "B" being plagued with intolerance, even from within the community, I have seen far too much of, as well. It's a sad state but it is getting better across the board. I think if we can just give all hold out and give this ten more years (if that long) the world will be a much different place for the community as a whole. The world is changing for the better and I know that we will see the day, in our lifetimes, that widespread discrimination is a thing of the past. (And the Brony community seems to bear some proof of that. ^^)
Change in these matters does seem to happen oh-so-slowly, but it does happen. Ten years? Things will be much better, and in twenty years, there will be a few isolated communities that still preach intolerance, and in fifty years, we'll be wondering "What was the big deal back then?" If you give a big enough time frame, I become an optimist.
A change no matter how small it seems, is still a change. Even though as much as i would like to wake up tomorrow and see the world is 100% tolerant and ok with everything, i know it wont likely happen. But i know that atleast when i do wake up, there will be one person if not more that understands and accepts whats going on.
First of all, let me say how elated I am that you came forward and posted this about yourself; even more so that it's your very first post! I know firsthand how difficult it is to speak with people about this. You are to be commended. I hold hope for the future as well; I anticipate that we will see changes for the better in our lifetimes. :3 Also, yes: the Pony communities are way ahead of their time and very unique in a good way. As I said elsewhere, culture's adaptive nature provides for change provided the culture itself desires change and provided enough time passes. I agree with your estimate of 50 years, give or take a decade. That one person--both with education and a will to make changes--will eventually change into two, then into four, then into 16, and on and on in an exponential fashion; while the process will be slow, eventually people will be more tolerant and supportive of others.
Can't really speak of anyone except the T who killed herself before graduation last year. What's really a shocker is that nobody even cared (With the exception of a few people, including myself) that she was gone. It's a shame that people who are labeled as "Different" are ridiculed and shunned by the populus. And yeah, she was a girl to me, at least. You guys shoulda (Or maybe you shouldn't...) heard the insults she got. I dunno if I coulda gone on either with that. I'm a B, myself, just not nearly as "Open" about it as some are. I'm not neccesarily in the "Closet", but I don't tell anyone unless they specifically ask me.
Wow, that's just awful. It is a tragedy whenever something like this happens. Unfortunately, this happens far too often; I really hope that as people know and understand more about these things, tolerance will increase. I am so sorry to hear about your friend.
What really P's me off is the fact that nobody even cared. She was a human-damn-being, who killed herself because of some idiots who decided that she wasn't "Normal". What IS Normal? There is no such thing as "Normal". Everything in the world is Abnormal to a certain degree.
That would make me very unhappy as well. Also: you're absolutely right. Normalcy is very subjective and because of this, there is no way to prove that anything is "normal."
Current society's definition of normal and perfect are... vile far too often. I'm sure I could have led some rallies against intolerance with very choice words.
Your anger is perfectly understandable. I also find myself dismayed and angry with how our society behaves and acts towards each other. However, I do caution against the kind of anger that I see used far too often by other activists. While those who are intolerant are ignorant and hurtful, we must not forget that they are human, too. If we respond to their behavior with anger, it may become difficult for us to educate them and remove ignorance. We have to remember that productive activism fights ignorance itself, not the people who are ignorant.
The reason I put such a small time frame on great change for the better is because it's happening so much faster now than it was when I was a child so far as LGBT rights are concerned. The world won't have wholly become tolerant in that time, but I think it will be a very different environment than the one we see now, even only ten years from now.
