Earlier this year, I was asked in a conversation here on EP about my perspective on certain lifestyles. I turned down the discussion at the time because my anger was at a low boil due to then-recent events in Last to Post, and I didn't want it to bubble over. I think now I'm ready to speak my mind. To be blunt, I'm against the movement and all it stands for. To me it feels unnecessarily confusing and a further means of dividing everyone and everything. Far as I'm concerned, if the practices didn't exist, there'd be significantly less anger in the world because it's one (or five) less thing(s) to get worked up over. Speaking as someone who was constantly mocked and teased in school for 12 years because his perspective was perpendicular to most other people's, life is perplexing enough as it is. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Now, I realize that those who know me might see these statements as hypocritical, at least where gender-switching is concerned. I would like to mention that I am not against it as a concept: a large chunk of my time in college was spent reading "Ranma 1/2" fanfiction, my character Callista Wilson-Metallium is a gender-swapped deviation of my namesake, and another character of mine (Ambush Cat) possesses the ability to adjust his own DNA and form as she wills it. To explain, I have no issues with Ranma's curse or Wildcat's transformation into Callista for a simple reason: the changes they underwent are complete and total, at least physically so. They may retain a more masculine way of thinking (Callista's past as Wildcat is, in fact, partially responsible for her prudish behavior in the present day), but physically there's nothing that remains of them as male right down to the DNA and cells that comprise them. At least until Ranma comes across hot water. Now, with all of that being said, I'd like to make it clear that just because I hate the practices does not mean that I hate the people who practice them. As I told someone else on Fimfiction in the past, I draw a clear line between the two. Far as I'm concerned, if that's what they want to do with their lives, that's their choice and I'm not going to harass them for it. Whatever the consequences are for their choices, it's on them to deal with it. I'm not the unapologetically vitriolic type. And let's be real: if I hated everyone who practiced those things, I would never have stuck around Fukufics, MSF, Fimfiction, or even here as long as I did. >^_^< Anyway, that's my take on things. If I upset anyone here---which is a strong possibility---then I apologize. Ciao mein, everyone!
