Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Kia Ora,

::) Yet another hypothetical question folks, perhaps to chew on over the weekend ;D

::) Now suppose some wealthy, industrious trans-people got together and set up a trans-city...That was exclusively  trans-run, example Police force, hospitals doctor's clinics, schools, colleges, shops, religious places of worship/spiritual groups, in other words, everywhere was trans-friendly... Where trans-friendly cisgender people could also live there if they so choose[but they would be the minority]...

Things to think about...[To get you started]

Would this kind of isolation[from main stream cis-society] be healthy ?
Would living in such a place defeat the whole purpose of transitioning [to be seen and treated as "normal"]?   

::) What are the benefits of such a trans-friendly haven...

Metta Zenda :)

In a word...NO!

I didn't go through everything to be isolationist in my living environment.  I melded into everyday society, so why would I want to give that up?

Kia Ora,

::) One of the  positives of such a place....

::) It's a fact some transitioners sadly will no doubt remain trans-identifiable even after transition and because of this become the target of discrimination and ridicule...

So for the sake of ones mental well being, there would be some advantage to living in a more accepting environment...

One also needs to bear in mind the only difference to a cisgender environment would be the fact locals were not born the gender/sex they now identify with...

Metta Zenda :)   

To paraphrase General Phil Sheridan (who said this about Texas):

If I owned hell and that place I'd live in the former and rent out the later.

No I would not.  Homogeneity is very dull to me, and a lot of other reasons...

Uh... trans is a fragment of my identity not the entirety. Hell, I have more in common with other editors than other trans folk. No way.

I don't know about living there (I like the city I'm in now) but it sure would be nice to have it nearby to visit from time to time, just because it's somewhere you can go when you just want to feel safe.

Sounds like a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there..

I'd like to have trans folks about that I could hang out with, I get very lonely... But a Trans City? I'm not so sure... I'm not a separatist and I believe in freedom and equality

I'm afraid it would become too much like a religious group where some More Trans Than Thou Entity would be telling everyone what to think and how to live... There would be a speaker system through out the city constantly saying:

"All Hail To The Ultra Trans For They Are Above You And You Must Kiss Ass At All Times Or Be Shunned!!!"

And everyone would be required to wear some kind of trans emblem



*Sorry, scaring myself*

Nooooooo!

Maybe i just like the 'struggle', the challenge, even if it comes with being alone and also lonely at times. it still is all real.

Trans-city... they tried ->-bleeped-<-e like that and moved all followers to some place in South America not so long ago. Then they all killed themselves when their version of heaven did come about.

The whole thing would have a Nazi feeling about it for me.

:-),
and definitely NO!
Axelle

Actually while it would be temping, but they did something similar here in the States.  It was on the west coast in the 1940's.  Japanese Americans were herded in to camps. 

Having a city that was Trans, would only moves us out of sight, out of mind.  The funds would eventually round up everyone in the city and then make it a prison.

So for me, NO.  I must prefer being able to move about of my own free will.

Kia Ora,

::) It's interesting how some members have a desire to move to a more "trans-friendly" town or city... yet wouldn't want to live in a place that is made up of 'mostly" trans-people-Like the fictional place in this thread...

Metta Zenda :)

Quote from: Zenda on September 09, 2011, 04:00:54 PM
Kia Ora,

::) It's interesting how some members have a desire to move to a more "trans-friendly" town or city... yet wouldn't want to live in a place that is made up of 'mostly" trans-people-Like the fictional place in this thread...

Metta Zenda :)

I can understand that, too much of one thing can be boring.

Quote from: tarte on September 09, 2011, 04:13:53 PM
I can understand that, too much of one thing can be boring.

Kia Ora.

::) In this case don't you mean "Too much of a good/safe thing can be boring/unexciting !"  ;)

Metta Zenda :)

Quote from: Zenda on September 09, 2011, 04:18:12 PM
Kia Ora.

::) In this case don't you mean "Too much of a good/safe thing can be boring/unexciting !"  ;)

Metta Zenda :)

you're right  LOL

No, I like diversity.  Differnt languages, religions, ethnicities, etc, they add so much spice to live

Jen61

Even if someone paid me 4 million dollars, a free house, constant lovemaking with Bill Compton from HBO's "TrueBlood", I still would not live there.

Have u seen a trans support group?? lol...imagine being immersed in it 24/7. Ive been to Southern Comfort Conference and they almost drove me bonkers with the various hooplah stuff people were doing to make themselves the better girl....god knows, having an entire city of that? Dear Merciful God and His Virgin Mother in Heaven....

Besides, I do not label myself as trans...Im a girl so living there would strip away my identity of who I am versus what a medical textbook says I am.

Quote from: Annah on September 10, 2011, 09:53:29 PM
Have u seen a trans support group?? lol...imagine being immersed in it 24/7. Ive been to Southern Comfort Conference and they almost drove me bonkers with the various hooplah stuff people were doing to make themselves the better girl....god knows, having an entire city of that? Dear Merciful God and His Virgin Mother in Heaven....

Lol.  I've never been to a trans gathering of any kind.  I guess the support groups do help people somehow, but I don't get it really.  Whenever I feel like connecting with the community, Susan's does the trick just fine for me.

PS I'm Team Eric all the way :P

Quote from: Annah on September 10, 2011, 09:53:29 PM
Even if someone paid me 4 million dollars, a free house, constant lovemaking with Bill Compton from HBO's "TrueBlood", I still would not live there.

Have u seen a trans support group?? lol...imagine being immersed in it 24/7. Ive been to Southern Comfort Conference and they almost drove me bonkers with the various hooplah stuff people were doing to make themselves the better girl....god knows, having an entire city of that? Dear Merciful God and His Virgin Mother in Heaven....

Besides, I do not label myself as trans...Im a girl so living there would strip away my identity of who I am versus what a medical textbook says I am.

Kia Ora Annah,

::) Think about it - '4 million dollars' a house [the sex part would be of no interest to me personally] but just think you could rent the house out, travel for years on end, or start up a business with some of the money which enables you to do a lot of travelling... Technically speaking, you would still be 'living' there ::) Ah the possibilities are endless... ;) ;D

Metta Zenda :) 

Quote from: Zenda on September 10, 2011, 10:50:31 PM
Kia Ora Annah,

::) Think about it - '4 million dollars' a house [the sex part would be of no interest to me personally] but just think you could rent the house out, travel for years on end, or start up a business with some of the money which enables you to do a lot of travelling... Technically speaking, you would still be 'living' there ::) Ah the possibilities are endless... ;) ;D

Metta Zenda :)

if i rented my house in an all trans city, i probably would have come back to it burnted to the ground because someone disagreed with my tenant's use of labels or something lol

Quote from: Annah on September 10, 2011, 11:49:09 PM
if i rented my house in an all trans city, i probably would have come back to it burnted to the ground because someone disagreed with my tenant's use of labels or something lol

Kia Ora Annah,

::) Now why would you think that ?  ;) :P lol

Metta Zenda :)

if i rented my house in an all trans city... that's assuming that there in 'all trans city' there is anyone working who could pay rent.

If the cost of living there wasn't too expensive and they had fun activities there that I like then sure why not?  Sounds awesome to me. 

Kia Ora,

::) Just thought I'd bring this thread back from the dead... Oh wait that rhymes  ;D

Plus I've added "Or just "transition" there?" to the subject title, to make it a newish thread...

So a trans-city, like a 'transitional' city, where one could transition in a safe environment and move away after if one feels the need...

Metta Zenda :)

I'd rather be able to be like a regular guy.

No, immersion in trans stuff is not my cup of tea. I wouldn't want to transition in a place like that either as socialization with cis people would be more beneficial if one leans more towards the binary with their own identity.

I think I would. I would not need to worry about passing or anything, I could just be me.

I just totally hate of thinking of my outer appearance...hate it and I actually would like to live alone in some Pacific island.

I think a high school for gender variant children would be great. Then drop in an unsuspecting cis child and see him get mind f#$%^ed. :P

Kia Ora,

Edge brings up an interesting point....

For the most part most trans-people want to lead a normal life ie, just fit in and get on with life...

So if this hypothetical trans city came into existence 'how would' it differ from a cis/normal-city environment ?

That is, do we as 'trans'-people behave any differently to our cis-counterparts?

Will there still be trans-people, who judge other trans-people's appearance ?

No doubt there will still be prejudice and discrimination based on race, colour, and dare I say 'gender' ...

With that said, would there really be that much difference ?

Just some food for thought...

Metta Zenda :)

I voted yes, but it depends on...

I wouldn't have a problem with that city as long as it is inclusive to cisgender people as well.  Judging from the initial posting, it doesn't seem like there is anything preventing them from living there and functioning in the city as equals.  I am all about equality and non-discrimination.  So I would love to live in a city that doesn't judge anyone for their gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, etc...

However, if we are talking about a city that is only trans, then I would say no.  I don't want to live in a society that excludes others and creates a homogeneous identity.  Personally, that is antithetical to my beliefs because I believe in a society where diversity flourishes and individuality is cherished. There is nothing wrong with sharing traits, but it is another thing to live in a cult like environment. 

I agree with learningtolive.

Quote from: Kuan Yin on April 26, 2013, 11:48:25 PMSo if this hypothetical trans city came into existence 'how would' it differ from a cis/normal-city environment?

We'd all be trans people segregated from everyone else.

Quote from: Kuan Yin on April 26, 2013, 11:48:25 PMThat is, do we as 'trans'-people behave any differently to our cis-counterparts?

No (aside from our trans issues, but everyone has issues of some kind).

Quote from: Kuan Yin on April 26, 2013, 11:48:25 PMWill there still be trans-people, who judge other trans-people's appearance ?

I don't see why that would change, so yeah.

Quote from: Kuan Yin on April 26, 2013, 11:48:25 PMWith that said, would there really be that much difference ?

Yes. We'd be segregating ourselves from the rest of the population. We would be telling ourselves and the rest of the population that we're different. We'd be missing what they have to offer and they would be missing what we have to offer.

Hi,.

For myself no way, would not even concider it, im a female i spent most of my life keeping away from men , yes i had to work under them to be trained i just did not relate or have much in common with them,

I spent some time with a goup of dresser's & there were 6 trans   people that came in at different stages i thought okay can i get along with them when there were no trans people just the dresser's it was okay to a point it changed very quickly when the trans people came  no thanks,

in one setting i was embarrised to the point i wonted to leave the only reason i stayed was because it was a Human Rights meeting , & iv had put downs ,  ignored & really should not have been around some of them,

They dont like those of us who are intersexed that had been made very pointed ,

If it was about acceptance then its a very strange way of showing it , yes iv had issues to go through  a life time of 55 years not includeing the first 10,  im over 65, .

Now i wont say all are like that in thier interacting with other people , iv just never had this when i work with people in the real world  or interact with people in general so why should so many trans be  like this many i know seem to think they are better than others . i thought i had things incommon with them well i learnt other wise , so seems not,

Sorry its not an uplifting post it is just real world liveing , & iv been through enough with out getting it in the neck from some who dont wont to be friendly with others no matter how different they or we are,

A thought here theres a big difference between trans people  & us who are intersexed & born females  now i wont say all intersexed are all female some are more male so theres many differences to concider how much ether way will depend on the person concerned ,

Transgender or trans sexual  one detail out of many is trans people have two differences one being they dont have a womb & two thier hormones are male , again depending on the  person concerned they could be intersexsd so that would change details,  this will then change depending on wether they are male or female  some of us intersexed dont have our wombs ether,

You are right its not a simple one size fits all. many differences ,

...noeleena...

No I wouldn't and for the exact same reasons why I wouldn't have enjoyed living in South African apartheid or segregation in the Deep South.

I'm okay living here in London. The only reason you get people making statements which are racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic is because multiculturalism works.

Kyh, there is a huge difference between being segregated and dating someone. Personally, though, my feelings about dating someone do have some common ground with my feelings of not wanting to be segregated. I would not specifically look for a trans partner and exclude any possibility of a cis partner. (Neither would I specifically look for a cis partner and exclude any possibility of a trans partner.) If I was dating a trans person, it wouldn't be because they are trans. It would be because I like them as a person. Does that make sense?
We are regular people and deserve to be treated as such. Being trans doesn't define us. We define us.

I agree with Stella and think that transphobia would only get worse if we segregate ourselves.

No. Because that would be really boring. I like to be with people like me yet I'm strongly against homogenisation.

I feel like it defeats the objective of transitioning. Yes we transition to be closer to our true selves, but we also do it to be able to be seen as our gender (we do it for how other see us as well as for ourselves, if that make sense). Living in a city were everyone assumes your transgender would near enough defeat the objective of trying to pass.

If someone was to transition there I think that there is a chance that they would stick out like a sore thumb when going into "normal society". In a trans community gender definitions would be blurred and someone transitioning might not be able to see things that point them out as their sex rather than their gender.

The very idea of a transcity is against my principles.  It is a form of segregation, and could very well become a ghetto.

Such things have a sordid history I am not prepared to repeat.

ARBEIT MACHT FREI

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F9%2F95%2FEntrance_Auschwitz_I.jpg%2F800px-Entrance_Auschwitz_I.jpg&hash=cca5998f857c5c971f991793234531f2e7cc50a4)

I would rather embrace and celebrate diversity.

Quote from: Jamie D on April 28, 2013, 02:51:52 AM
The very idea of a transcity is against my principles.  It is a form of segregation, and could very well become a ghetto.

Such things have a sordid history I am not prepared to repeat.

ARBEIT MACHT FREI

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F9%2F95%2FEntrance_Auschwitz_I.jpg%2F800px-Entrance_Auschwitz_I.jpg&hash=cca5998f857c5c971f991793234531f2e7cc50a4)

I would rather embrace and celebrate diversity.

Kia Ora Jamie,

That's a very real possibility...After all, ghettos were originally set up in Italian towns and cities to 'protect' the local Jewish communities from the other non Jewish town/city people...

Metta Zenda :)

I'm clearly in the minority on this one, but I'd run out to that city at least for a lengthy visit!

One of the most overwhelming parts of early transition for me was realizing how inundated we are by gender-essentialist language, rhetoric, and socialization. It made me feel more intensely alone and devalued than I ever had - which is saying something - and having my eyes opened to that has made me less comfortable in this world than I was even before coming out. That bit of awareness allows me to clock my discomfort and locate its external sources, instead of just assuming I'm inherently deficient, so I'm grateful for it, but it's been sobering and sad to recognize. We live in a world that exhaustively upholds this binary that leaves no room for me to stand. I can understand how, for many trans people, acceptance by their cis families and allies is crucial in identity formation and to feel content in their lives. As a non-binary queer, though, I would give anything to live in a place which recognizes different options and values the struggles of self-creation and determination.

Obviously, it would all come down to execution - the people founding the city would be coming from lifetimes in cis-dominated society, so I'm sure we'd be subject to many of the same mistakes and threats as anyone else. And obviously GLBTQ communities are hotbeds of racist/sexist/classist/fatphobic/ableist attitudes, so I'm not trying to be too utopic here. But it would feel amazing to harness that sort of potential and physically break from a society that disregards and devalues us, and I would love to be part of the experience(/experiment) that ensued. It would be a much larger manifestation of the transitional process we've all grappled with in very different ways, and I'd love to see how our experiences thus far have equipped us to enact progressive social change.

For context: I moved to San Francisco six months back (and to Portland, OR three years before that) seeking a larger trans community, more extensive and informed services, and greater legal protection (I work in childcare and have lost work because of my identity presentation). No place is perfect - I see some truly brutal things in this city on the regular and my physical safety is threatened whenever I leave my house. But there's no question that I've received more and better opportunities living here than I could have accessed probably anywhere else in this country. So that definitely sways my answer to this poll!