Shedding some light

[Lo]

Non-binaries were treated as mythical or non-existent, just like a unicorn.
I take it as an inside kind of kidding around. Unicorns in the forest, here.

Also, this area of Susan's was originally called Androgyne Talk,
and there were considerations and suggestions made to change it,
but its now more traditional for here. It's not going to be changed.
It is the area for non-binary type people, which covers so many labels, that to choose one just doesn't cut it.
Even the use of non-binary is not a correct umbrella for some, but they are here and accepted.
That's the most important thing around here.
Not any label, but the acceptance of each individual, regardless.
Transsexuals that are somewhere in their journey of transition are always welcome.
And there are a variety of people that just pop in every so often. Positive attitudes go a long way.
As well as Charlie the Unicorn videos.
Ativan

Oh yeah, never said it should be changed.

I think I was more confused when I came here, as there was nothing quite explicitly stating "this forum is for more than just angrogynes". It took an hour or two of reading threads to figure out that it was a lot more broad than the forum name conveyed. Should be sticky, IMO. :V

[ativan]

Wasn't trying to imply anything, sorry if it reads that way.
It was a round about way to explain Charlie the Unicorn video.
Just a little bit of the background history, there.
This thread is the first sticky we ever got here.
Ativan

[Shantel]

Wasn't trying to imply anything, sorry if it reads that way.
It was a round about way to explain Charlie the Unicorn video.
Just a little bit of the background history, there.
This thread is the first sticky we ever got here.
Ativan

Somebody enlighten me, what the h-ll is a sticky?

[Lo]

@Ativan: Sorry! And fair enough. :]

@Shantel: Hehe, it's one of these threads that stays at the top of the forum. A "stuck" thread, if you will.

[Shantel]

@Shantel: Hehe, it's one of these threads that stays at the top of the forum. A "stuck" thread, if you will.

Oh gotcha! 

[ativan]

Back when this sticky was first put up and some of the others also, things were a little weird around here.
But things changed for the better and still are.
It comes down to levels of respect for all Trans* people.
I think the community here made some wise choices.
The effects of those choices have had a positive effect not only on non-binary people, but others too.
Although I deleted a lot of my posts because they seemed outdated to me,
it is still worthwhile to look back at some of the others to get an idea of what has been accomplished over the last couple years.
Susan and her staff have done a very good job of integrating genderqueers and other non-binaries into this form.
People had to make some personal choices that were hard to make in some cases.
But the payback and pay forward have been very well received. 

http://www.transgenderprofessionals.org/2013/07/01/no-trans-left-behind/

This is an article that I just got done reading.
I think it's worth the time to read through it.
This sticky was put up to pay forward.
The way we look at each other is always going to be changing.
Who we are is always going to be moving forward.
The better we are able to define ourselves, the more acceptance we get from society as a whole.
But just like the 'you look alright' topic is about acceptance, not a contest... the key word is alright.
I think of that thread as being a key way to express ourselves at will.
It is our acceptance thread. Just like this one is our defining thread.
And when we want to just ramble, we have the thread that can't be derailed.
It's for fun and is kind of silly, but the wording, 'can't be derailed', is kind of who we need to be.
Looking back, we have achieved a lot. We still have a lot to do.
Ativan

[Taka]

there's something even more interesting about the forest. there are unicorns in it.
we are the unicorns, those who aren't really supposed to exist, but still do if you just believe. i'm more of a faery kind of thing though, have you seen my tail..?

[Taka]

I haven't seen your tail.  But as you can see by my avatar, I'm not a unicorn either, but a pegasus!  As you can see in this article, http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Pegasus-Unicorn_War, we are at war with the Unicorns

now that you mention it, i might have hidden my tail a little bit too well. most people don't notice it at all. so you're at war with the unicorns? only makes the forest more interesting, and a little dangerous to try and traverse. maybe that's why so many transsexuals chicken out of transition even when they managed to get to the city gates. probably also a reason why many hesitate to settle in the forest.

[ativan]

Forest Wars....
We such little kids here, sometimes. 

That is something that has been commented on more than once.
There is a childlike quality to most of us.
It's a welcome relief from the stress of the real world.

From Pica's description of it being much like Pooh's Forest to the darkest of forests where the scary things live.
The forest has many kinds of inhabitants. Unicorn's being the most notable I suppose.
It's no wonder the binaries can be so confused with us.

Although I wander the darkest of the trails at times,
I have a nicely well lit area that has my treehouse near a pond, that has a rope swing.
The rope ladder is always down and I never lock the trap door.
If I'm not there, help yourself to whatever you need.
Or come and look for me in the dark corners of the forest.
Always in search of the greater truth that calls to me from there.
Ativan

[black_moon_dust]

Honestly Im not sure how to explain it.

When ppl ask me it, i simply state i like the idea of having a deeper voice, the facial hair, and normal flat male chest. yet i like having long hair and wearing make-up. I like to look feminine yet also masculine

[Jamie D]

I love the Forest Dwellers!   

[Danielle Emmalee]

I love the Forest Dwellers!   

And we love you!  But only on Wednesdays

[Allison Wunderland]

I can see why people who are not happy with the male/female gender dichotomy might be uneasy with the term "androgyne", given its etymological roots in that dichotomy, but I like it because to me it speaks of ambiguity, and there's nothing wrong with being ambiguous.

So although I experience myself as basically female somatically (though still stuck with male anatomically) and want a more female-appearing body, I consider myself fairly androgynous in my sense of self, and how I want to present to others. I have to admit (behold my hilarious reluctance!) that I'm warming to "genderqueer" as a term - but then I'm also finally warming to "queer" as a term . To me it's just another way of pointing out to people that "things don't just have to be the menu-driven way we're accustomed to think they are." Alongside the part of me that wants to fit in and be accepted is another brighter self, who wants people not to be sure what I "am" because that frees us all up, potentially.

Why would anyone expect to be instantly understood by strangers anyway?

Andro = male
Gyne = female

And so it's "both/neither" -- depending. Tags are both useful and restrictive.

Very dear friend of mine, the person who handed me the keys to the closet . . . she has night-caps on her bedposts, one obviously female, one obviously male. And so when I ask her who wears what, her reply is, "It depends on what day it is!" LMAO

Some days I feel entirely ambiguous. Some days I feel self-conscious about the ambiguity. Generally, this feeling passes and besides -- no one in my social sphere gives a good damn in the first place.

Simple, superficial inventory, today's wardrobe:

6 earrings, female.
Hair tie, hot pink -- reddish.
Hoodie, huge, women's
Seersucker short sleeve shirt, cotton, male buttons
Tank top
Cargo capris -- women's fly closure.
Underpants -- briefs, cotton, navy, female.
Beach sandals -- unisex, male sized.
"Purse" -- it's a black, nylon laptop  bag, for a tablet (smaller).

And I suppose that trading in the 4WD Ranger for a Ford Focus SE hatchback is a sort of vehicular "cross-dressing." LMAO

We eschew the term "cross-dressing" because it suggests being in one state and consciously moving across to another. We're not moving anywhere! This is not a "costume" -- not an ironic parody of anything! "Drag" is generally viewed as an exaggerated female presentation, e.g. looking like "queens" and Vegas show girls.

We are "US" -- authentic, integrated . . . admittedly a bit ironic.

And I'll be damned if the position I'm standing amidst is static, unchanging! It changes minute to minute!

--------------------

Ativan --

The woods are silent, dark, and deep
And I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep

---------------------------------------------

Padma --

Quote du jour . . .

"You look entirely confused?

Think how I must have felt for 6 decades.
Now it's YOUR turn!"

LMAO

[SheaD]

I always understand the word 'androgyne' to mean a blending of both masculine and feminine, some where in between. Not everyone uses the term that way, and that's fine. For myself, its never seemed adequate.

While i do have masculine characteristics as well as feminine characteristics, and am therefore a blending of the two, I sometimes 'feel' more one than the other, just as sometimes I feel more generous and other times I feel more selfish. I'm not one or the other, but a mix of both, and the amount that I am doesn't change, but how I feel it or express it does. So genderfluid, which I've used for a few years now, also doesn't fit. At the same time, I spend most of my time 'feeling' some where 'in between' (having bits of both) that is really something entirely different, something I've called gender neutral. I've come across the word neutrois, which I almost like. It denotes an agender or gender neutral type of idea with most people desiring a transition to a neutral physical appearance. That people have been able to transition *tN or *tA is inspiring for me.

In this thread, Alex offered the term intergender. This is the only place I have seen this to date, and it fits me best of all the terms I've heard or used. I'm always me, how much I am masculine or feminine doesn't change, but I'm both and neither.

If I could, I'd be FtI (female to intersex), and I am so glad to find people with the desire to be intersex like I have. For my sex to match my gender, it'd be intersex. Calling my gender, then, intergender makes perfect sense! Not exactly a combination of the binary genders, it's something else in between and beyond.