If you think about it, being trans is actually kind of weird.

[stavraki]

With my culture as a Native American, to us it is pretty sacred.  I love being two spirited, and wouldnt change myself for the world.  Weird? no. Different? yes. but who isnt different?  My only difference is my gender, and I am proud to identify as and be a woman, and I feel blessed that it is in this day and age I was born, so that modern science can help me out with who I am

I couldnt imagine being two spirited two hundred years ago and not having the medical care available to be able to help me find balance It is a blessing to be able to walk between adn understand the genders, not a curse.  Only modern society with its strict mores/norms on what is male female in such a binary pattern that create those feelings.  If you can over come those limitations, you help change society by proper interaction with those in our lives, because they effect other peoples views when negativity is expressed on our gender roles, and place within society.

So walk strong in who you are and love and help all that cross your path find a smile.  Only through self acceptance and the above, can we change the binary mores/norms, and move who we are out of a subculture and into the mainstream again

~Dayna xoxo

love this bit, especially - I believe there is great insight, though a painful journey at some or many points.  The eyes of the transgendered community can see through the myopia of the conventional world and pierce the illusions of stereotypes with much greater acumen than those not challenged by adversity.  That is why policy reform, I believe, is impelled by minority groups, and their power to make social reform to mirror their truth, in defiance of society's conventions, and despite the momentum of society's monolithic pressure to conform.

[PrincessDayna]

love this bit, especially - I believe there is great insight, though a painful journey at some or many points.  The eyes of the transgendered community can see through the myopia of the conventional world and pierce the illusions of stereotypes with much greater acumen than those not challenged by adversity.  That is why policy reform, I believe, is impelled by minority groups, and their power to make social reform to mirror their truth, in defiance of society's conventions, and despite the momentum of society's monolithic pressure to conform.

I agree on every aspect The problem is once somone is minoroty in one way, there is such a myriad of issues concurrent with societal monolithic mores and norms, that it can be a challenge to adjust. For instance, not every native tribe shares the same culture or same approach to the two spirited, ad to not delve into culture rape; certain tribes have more then 2 genders, some up to 4! These old ways are deeply ingrained in those who walk their traditional paths...and its normal to us that do But ya inevitibly in the end, larger societal change is always formed by minority cultures

[stavraki]

I agree on every aspect The problem is once somone is minoroty in one way, there is such a myriad of issues concurrent with societal monolithic mores and norms, that it can be a challenge to adjust. For instance, not every native tribe shares the same culture or same approach to the two spirited, ad to not delve into culture rape; certain tribes have more then 2 genders, some up to 4!

So much would be lost if each culture did not somehow both retain some ancestral trace, in a great road backwards and forwards through time.

These old ways are deeply ingrained in those who walk their traditional paths...and its normal to us that do But ya inevitibly in the end, larger societal change is always formed by minority cultures

...I'm thinking about the Stonewall riots here, on the one hand, and on the other, mysticism and spirituality of great, ancient cultures, as I ponder transgender journeys.

In the fusion of the two something is emergent that is a whole greater than the sum of the parts.  Ancient Greek mythology is full of beings of blended races, in varied composites.  I love the Minotaur for this reason: unstoppable mental fortitude.  But, I'd blend with the Minotaur, the Wisdom of the Goddess Athena, to temper the heart and stay the hand, until the right time for a firm hand, and then add in Aphrodite--love--and in that composite blend, tackle the face of society's Chimeras--(Chimeras are mean and not equipped to use power wisely).

cheers n good to meet u, stav

[~RoadToTrista~]

Of course being trans is weird, lol. Can't say I've met very many of them.

[PrincessDayna]

Thats all really deep, and very nice to meet you, too, sir As far as Spiritual, Im reminded of all sorts of things having mixed cultural roots with Scottish and Irish in my blood: it reminds me of an aunt on my dads side (well great aunt) who helped name me in the womb The name spirtitually is the mother of the shidhe folk, or the Tuatha de Dannan (tribe of Dana), mother of all celts. She was a practitioner of the "old ways", i inherited alot of her books/writings but never practiced...makes me wonder if she knew my gender way ahead of time because of that? I feel my name is pretty sacred in those regards.

I am just now reading more into all that side of things, but will never mix it with my native culture, by heart I am a typical native woman for my age

[zombieinc]

I couldnt imagine being two spirited two hundred years ago and not having the medical care available to be able to help me find balance It is a blessing to be able to walk between adn understand the genders, not a curse.  Only modern society with its strict mores/norms on what is male female in such a binary pattern that create those feelings.  If you can over come those limitations, you help change society by proper interaction with those in our lives, because they effect other peoples views when negativity is expressed on our gender roles, and place within society.

I think that perhaps in past times, when tribes still lived together without much or any outside interference, being two spirited was seen as accepted and ok. They may have simply been themselves within their communities and tribal society. I'd like to think that was the case, anyway.

I agree that today's stricter gender binary standards do create those negative feelings that being trans is a curse. It's not. It's different, but it's not a curse.

I really wish that I could upvote your original post, Dayna. It's a great one, imho.


   

Especially since the dad is very anti-gay, anti-arts, anti-everything not sufficiently manly.

This has nothing to do with a child being mis gendered at birth.

I do think that the attitudes of one's birth parents and the type of culture they are born into have a great deal of influence in how they are gendered at birth and how open they are about expressing their true identity throughout their formative years. In this particular example, I do not think that my friend's son will be allowed to express feminine traits even if that his true personality or even if he identifies as a non-binary. Most of this due to the strict masculine culture that is very prevalent where we live. My friend's husband is not very open minded and has made rude comments about different things such as men who perform drag, guys who wear make up and even guys who prefer to be clean-shaven instead of wearing ridiculous-looking wooly-willy beards. It's idiotic and I don't say much to him these days.

You can't speak truth to people like that, imho. I feel bad for their son because I know that my friend is the exact opposite. She was very active in the LGBT community prior to "settling down" with her husband/baby daddy. She confided in me that she wouldn't have a problems if her son wanted to play dress up or wear girl's clothes or even if he came out as gay or bi later in life. But I know that her husband would because he is anti-anything that doesn't fit his narrow-minded worldview when it comes sexuality or gender.

[JoW]

I don't march to a different drummer...my "drummer" uses a kazoo.

'She definitely marches to the beat of her own drummer. Actually, I think she makes her own drums.'

[dpadgett628]

I don't think she meant "weird" in a bad way. I think all she meant was that it is a strange concept to think about, not that being trans is weird, strange, etc. 

I do agree that it is an odd concept to think about, but we are the way we are and it doesn't matter what anyone thinks~


Changed pronouns: Make sure you use the correct pronouns or I will fall on you like a ton of bricks. I really don't like that.

Changed pronouns? Did I say he or something? In that case, I swear it was just typing too fast then. I'm sorry :c