30 day genderqueer challenge

[Jamie D]

Day 28

28) Who are some people in your life, on or offline, who make your life better? Your relationship doesn't have to be related to queerness.

My wife and children have enriched my life beyond description.

But let's talk about here.

We have over 7,000 members and I have probably interacted with, maybe, 1,000 of them.  Just a guess.  I think I have learned from every single one.

Two administrators, Forum Admin and Z, have been exceptionally good mentors, and have bailed me out of more than one goof up.

The entire moderator corps are very dedicated people.  Although, Cindy James and her branding iron stands out.  I overlap VM, SL, Dev, and Connie quite a bit.  They are always there to answer my dumb questions.

I find Sephirah to be exceedingly compassionate and wise.

The members of the androgyne community, many of whom are on this thread, are people who are teaching me things about myself I never knew were there.

The bloggers are a special group as well.

I want to especially thank the teens and young adults were have here.  Interacting with you, and trying to figure out what makes you tick, makes me feel young again.  (Although, most of you will agree that I am hopelessly out of date and stuck in a past era, and that you humor me.)

This is a great community, full of great people.  And thank you to Ms L, who made it all happen.

[eli77]

28) Who are some people in your life, on or offline, who make your life better? Your relationship doesn't have to be related to queerness.

Lots of people... Sorry, I guess this question doesn't really interest me - too general.

(Although, most of you will agree that I am hopelessly out of date and stuck in a past era, and that you humor me.)

Of course we don't think that, /patpat. 

[suzifrommd]

Lots of people... Sorry, I guess this question doesn't really interest me - too general.

Going from seeing him 2-3 a week to once every couple of months is seriously going to suck.

Can you set up regular times each week to Skype? Not the same as in person, but you stay a big part of each other's lives.

When you think about it, 21st century is not as bad a time to live apart from people close to you.

28) Who are some people in your life, on or offline, who make your life better? Your relationship doesn't have to be related to queerness.

Kids, yes, and wife, who's put up with a lot from me.

One very close in-person friend who's been with me thick and thin. A wonderful pen pal who takes the time to email me nearly once a day.

And, of course, as Jamie said, dozens of people on Susan's boards who give me supportive comments and helpful information daily.

During the school year, there are also a hundred students who inspire me by giving their all in my classroom every day.

[Jamie D]

Of course we don't think that, /patpat. 

LOL
"You've got to be cruel to be kind." - Nick Lowe, 1979 

[aleon515]

28) Who are some people in your life, on or offline, who make your life better? Your relationship doesn't have to be related to queerness.

My two cats and my dog. (Ok, they are people too!) My best friend who totally accepts all this. My friends and acquaintances here (esp. one or two that I have a closer relationship with). Susan's  generally, and one or two people over at Laura's. My dog training people over on FB. I've really begun to appreciate the Trans* center in my city.

--Jay Jay

[Edge]

28) Who are some people in your life, on or offline, who make your life better? Your relationship doesn't have to be related to queerness.

My son, obviously. I don't like this question though since it is too simplified. There are many people who have made my life both better and worse. There are people, real and fictional, who I take ideas and inspiration from. The list would be extremely long anyway because, as hokey as it sounds, we all have the ability to make each others lives better. For example, food makes my life better. People grow the food, deliver the food to stores, and sell the food to me. All of them therefore make my life better. It's the same with everything else from basic needs to entertainment to making the world more beautiful.

[aleon515]

Day 29:Some positive Genderqueer experiences

Meeting and corresponding with someone who (so far) IDs like I do. Going to groups and meeting at the trans* center, and meeting people who ID as gq and genderfluid. Discussions on Susan's.

--Jay Jay

[suzifrommd]

Day 29:Some positive Genderqueer experiences

I actually *love* forming the kind of friendships that being mix-gendered allows me. They are so much more supportive and close than the friendships I see cis males manage. Spent a few hours on the phone last night with a great friend talking about ourselves and our lives. Don't hear about cis males doing that a lot.

[GhostTown11]

I actually *love* forming the kind of friendships that being mix-gendered allows me. They are so much more supportive and close than the friendships I see cis males manage. Spent a few hours on the phone last night with a great friend talking about ourselves and our lives. Don't hear about cis males doing that a lot.

I hear about that all the time, they're called gay men!

[Edge]

29) Some positive genderqueer experiences.
I met the school councillor at my college because she began a queer group. It ended up only being the two of us, so we ended up talking more about gender and bisexuality. She has so far been the only person in real life who understands and is fine with me being genderfluid. She has a lot of advice and understands what I'm going through.

[Julian]

I'm still trying to write a poem. It's not working.

[Pica Pica]

28) Who are some people in your life, on or offline, who make your life better? Your relationship doesn't have to be related to queerness.

There are hundreds of people. I am lucky that wherever I go, I find interesting people who are good to spend time with. I've given up being scared of being lonely.


29) Some positive genderqueer experiences.

It's hard to answer because there aren't many experiences that are gender-focused, be you man, woman or androgyne. I suppose the first time someone said something I had done was 'pretty' was nice.

[Jamie D]

Day 29

29) Some positive Genderqueer experiences

Interacting with the fine people at Susan's Place, of course!     

[Jamie D]

Day 30

30) What does Genderqueer mean to you?

Well, it took us 33 days to reach the end of the challenge.  Not too bad.
I am going to make this a sticky (permanent post), so that future readers can chime in.

What does genderqueer mean to me?  It means coming to grips with the raging conflicts that are ongoing in my head.  That's where genders can be found - at least for me.

It also means I have an obligation to try to better understand those who do not fit, or subscribe to, the gender binary.  And to be more sympathetic and empathetic to those who are questioning their gender, as I questioned mine over the years.

[eli77]

Day 29:Some positive Genderqueer experiences

Meeting someone who made me feel rather less unique, and thus somewhat less crazy.

30) What does Genderqueer mean to you?

Accepting certain things about me are fine as they are, aren't broken, and don't need to be fixed.

[suzifrommd]

Day 30

30) What does Genderqueer mean to you?

The good:
I love having a female heart, appreciation of the emotional side of life, and the ability to understand both sides of the gender divide. I would HATE to be a cis male.

The bad:
My body doesn't tell the story of my gender, and, despite intense soul searching, I have not come up with any satisfactory way to tell it myself. I can't imagine going through life with people not being able to see my gender by looking at me, but I also can't think of anyway to avoid that.

[aleon515]

30) What does Genderqueer mean to you?

When this merry-go-round started some 3 months ago or so, I had no idea that there were not just two genders. You know you were male or female and in some rare (1 of 1000++ cases) somebody was born in the "wrong body". I "knew" at this time that there were many more men who became women than the other way. It did not in any way have anything to do with me in the slightest.  I had no idea that you could be both, neither, or something else entirely. I didn't know taht you question your gender and especially that you could question that there was gender at all.
What genderqueer means to me is just how much I didn't know.
Thanks all for playing along. This has been fun and interesting to see what people will write.


--Jay Jay

[Edge]

30) What does genderqueer mean to you?
I don't really know what to say. Some days, I like the term because something that literally means gender weird seems to fit. Some days, I hate it because some people who follow the social fads also use it to describe themselves and I don't want to be confused with those idiots.
As for how I feel about my gender, I don't like it. I want to be able to have one gender and stick with it. I would if I had a choice. This may sound contradictory to what some people believe, but I feel trapped because of the fluidness.

[Joann]

 What are your favorite physical features of yourself?
My legs and long curly hair. i use to put on my Daisy Dukes and head to the mall. Girls would point and giggle  and i just got a complement from a woman on my curls. She was enviousness.  I love it

[Empty Miroir]

I haven't posted since the first one a while ago, I kind of forget in my lurking to actually post stuff. I've started posting my answers to the 30 day challenge in my new blog http://delicatemasculinity.blogspot.ca/, so if anyone wants to read them go right ahead. Though I warn you, I'm a real oddball. And I'm very open about everything I write, so a little caution in advance.