educating my friends about trans issues

[YBtheOutlaw]

background info: i'm still deep inside the closet, my friends think i know a lot about weird stuff.

so today, this friend of mine asks me out of blue, hey yb, what happens when somebodys gender changes?
and i'm like, well i'll be changing mine too, what exactly do you want to know?
nah i wouldn't say such a thing, i just put on an innocent curious face hiding my anxiety and asked what do you mean?
friend: like, how do some peoples gender change?
me: you mean like, surgically changing the gender? well there are some people called trans...(my heartbeat is going mad)
friend: no i mean the natural changes. i saw this newspaper article about a woman who turned into a man, but she's pregnant! it even had a photo of him
me: well there are people called intersex but that's not what you say. natural change you say?
friend: yes i've heard of some other stories of such people too. how does that happen?
me: i don't really know but i'll find and tell you tomorrow

so tomorrow is a big day, i'm gonna enlighten my friends!

[Rachel]

Today a coworker (5 or 6 in a group) asked how do you tell if you have low T. He said the doctor at Jeff said, do you get aroused when you see a girl. He said yes and the doctor said your t is fine.

I responded sex is 90% in your head and you can get aroused with no T and bathed in E. Next, the normal range for a male is 249 to 849 ng/dl. Lastly I said the only way to know is with a simple blood test.

There were 6 persons staring at me.

[YBtheOutlaw]

that's why i've been so reluctant to bring up trans topics into discussions with my friends. i know i need to test the waters, and i've tried many times but their responses have always been negative. they are so transphobic and unaware of the possibilities, and i've always wanted to educate them and create a good impression about trans people. but, they might suspect me if i explain too well, like, how do i know all these if i'm not trans? why am i talking good of transsexuals when the common belief is to reject them? plus i'm not sure about myself, what if i relate some fact to myself and they get tipped off? but now, i have an excuse to know a lot about trans issues because i'm supposed to research about it! i couldn't meet that friend today, i'll have to see how it turns out when i explain to her.

[aleon515]

Some are quick studies, and some are SLOW learners. One of my "friends" (acquaintances) on FB-- I am VERY open, but still... asked on my home page about the surgery. I told her that it is was not appropriate to ask re: genitals on FB. She got quite snippy about this. Cisprivilege.

I have a youtube channel and did a Trans Etiquette video. I also do some definitions (cisgender, transgender, etc.). The education stuff starts at 2 min.



--Jay