then why do parents say "i don't want my kids around someone like that." i don't get why people equate transsexuals with sex offenders. in what instances would a sex offender be dressed in the clothing of the opposite gender, take hormone replacement therapy, and then blend so well into that gender as far as mannerisms and personality?
Transexuals?
I thought it was crossdressers. But I guess in society's eyes we're all the same. That even includes gay men and butch lesbians.
I think, for those who do make that equation, it's probably because of the really high MTF lesbian population. It's easy to blame people for being ignorant but you have to understand where they are coming from too, because a lot of MTFs have spent most of their life as men with sexual interest in women and it's not that surprising that that could make some women a bit uncomfortable sharing a bathroom. Yes, it is blown way out of proportion by some people though (usually for political purposes).
personally i blame rediculous porn movies and biassd media coverage. throw in a good mix of the moral right and everyone whos not married heterosexual and probably white is a pervert end result is what you got here a failure to communicate
jessi
My theory is this. I think it all has to do with gender roles, particularly toxic ones. One of the aspects of toxic masculinity is that men are id ridden animals who are constantly horny and can't control their urges. Another aspect of this is that femininity is the worst thing someone (particularly a man) could ever have, and must be avoided at all costs. Therefore, when someone who is perceived as a man dresses and behaves like a woman, since men are id ridden animals who can't control their sexual urges, and also because no man would ever want to stoop so low as to become a woman, the conclusion is that any man who dresses like a woman must be doing so because they are sexually motivated to do so. Hence, the whole association between transsexuals (women in particular) and perversion. This is also the origin of the all transsexuals are autogynephiles theory. So called "feminists" like Janice Raymond are actually encouraging misogyny by encouraging this notion that the only reason why a man would want to become a woman is sexual.
It's not just transsexuals. If you're not heterosexual then the risk of people accusing you of being a sex offender, among other things, is higher. This is just another way queer people are targeted in society by privileged white heteronormative people who are using their power to essentially bring us down, so we aren't supported. It's dehumanizing, if you ask me.
Yeah, it's more comfortable for people to assume that their wives and husbands couldn't possibly "do that" - in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
So it's safer to pin it all on minority groups.
Quote from: pretty on September 28, 2011, 12:52:52 AM
I think, for those who do make that equation, it's probably because of the really high MTF lesbian population. It's easy to blame people for being ignorant but you have to understand where they are coming from too, because a lot of MTFs have spent most of their life as men with sexual interest in women and it's not that surprising that that could make some women a bit uncomfortable sharing a bathroom. Yes, it is blown way out of proportion by some people though (usually for political purposes).
I think your giving people too much knowledge of the MTF community. Most people think we do this to be with or trick straight men. Your saying, because we are lesbians, is rediculous. Most people have no idea how many of us are lesbians..
I think a lot has to do with how transsexuality is visible in daily life and the common knowledge on the subject.
When you look at the transgender spectrum you see that most transsexuals blend in with society after their transition: they become invisible. This leaves those who are onfortunate to remain not passable, drag queens and over the top ->-bleeped-<-s. Because these are surrounded bij an aura of sensation they are often pictured in the media while regular transsexuals are not. Think of shows as Jerry Springer, the movie Silence of the Lambs et cetera.
Personally this has also frightened me. I was very worried on my future because I simply did not know transwomen who are successful in life after transition. All I saw were thos unfortunate with their looks and those who have taken severe blows in both their social and professional life. This possible future scared me to death.
In The Netherlands there is a trend in the media showing more and more articles and tv shows on what transsexuality truly is. I see many people in my social network picking up those messages although there will always be people who just refuse to learn.
Because some people are stupid and/or ignorant.
Quote from: FullMoon19 on September 27, 2011, 08:38:51 PMi don't get why people equate transsexuals with sex offenders.
The answer is simple enough. In this message, I will present the various scientific evidences which prove beyond a doubt that transsexuals are equivalent to sex offenders.
Everyone knows that sex offenders are a great threat to society, because they abuse people sexually. This causes great emotional trauma to their victims. The victims then become abusers themselves, or they have so much repression of their sexuality that they become afraid to be intimate with anyone. This is a huge threat to the world, as it is obviously God's Will that we procreate like rabbits.
Transsexuals, gays, lesbians, and everyone who chooses not to produce babies are also a threat to society because they do not procreate. This lumps them into the same category as sex offenders and people who are infertile. Obviously, transsexuals are almost as much of a threat to society as people who choose to waste their seed by masturbating.
I hope you have enjoyed this very logical proof for why transsexuals are similar to sex offenders.
I'm sure the ignorant think that black males are the biggest sex offenders as well, though statistics show that the biggest sex offenders are white heterosexual males.
gender=sex
gender nonconformity=sexual nonconformity
sexual nonconformity=sexual deviance
sexual deviance=sex offender
sex offender=child molester
Quote from: Torn1990 on September 28, 2011, 02:52:24 AM
It's not just transsexuals. If you're not heterosexual then the risk of people accusing you of being a sex offender, among other things, is higher. This is just another way queer people are targeted in society by privileged white heteronormative people who are using their power to essentially bring us down, so we aren't supported. It's dehumanizing, if you ask me.
Not specifically white people. Black communities are very homophobic and transphobic. Even worse than rural white communities.
Quote from: Amazon D on September 28, 2011, 06:37:36 AM
I think your giving people too much knowledge of the MTF community. Most people think we do this to be with or trick straight men. Your saying, because we are lesbians, is rediculous. Most people have no idea how many of us are lesbians..
I was pretty shocked myself. As a solidly (monogamous, btw) bi person, I can't grasp a homosexual
or heterosexual view easily.
Been thinking a little about this sexual orientation bit lately, heavy stuff.
I think part of it is that many people in the mainstream are only peripherally aware of TG/TS, mainly in the context of fetish porn or the occasional unfortunate XY transwoman who is actually a wonderful person but who simply doesn't pass and is therefore unfairly categorized by the observer as a "linebacker in a dress"...and therefore somehow abnormal. They don't have any idea that they may have interacted with any number of transpeople in their day-to-day lives and simply didn't notice because the transperson passed convincingly and "acted normal".
Since it is the boundary exceptions that are usually seen by the public, the public tends to stereotype all of us as fitting those boundary cases. We humans seem to love stereotypes, whether sexual, gender, racial, functional, or even political.
I also think there tends to be some bias between transmen and transwomen in the public eye as well, just because transmen are a bit more...invisible, socially speaking. A transman who passes poorly may be perceived as younger, gay, or effeminate, but still male. Even a chest too large to bind reasonably can be made passable with a relatively simple surgery, if money permits. A transwoman who passes poorly, however, tends to be more obvious due to bone structure and deeper natural vocal resonance. (There will always be exceptions to every rule, of course.)
The best thing we can do to counter this is to continue working on promoting awareness and acceptance until the day when the average "Joe Blow" on the street understands that it isn't about sex; it's about quality of life. It's about identity. In many cases, it's about our own sanity.
Ignorance. When I was a kid in the 60's this kind of thinking that homosexuals and drag queens were pedophiles was quite common. Turned out that the professionals that dealt with the pedophiles back then knew that most were heterosexual or loners and most of the offenders knew their victims, usually relatives. Some even married women with kids and had normal sexual relations with their wives and eventually got to her kids. This info I got from a psychologist who dated my mom.
Joelene
When I first came out to my mom she compared my mindset to that of a child molester...Probably one of the most shocking things that came out of her mouth. Oh it wasn't like "You think like a child molester," it was more like, "You're born with these feelings like a child molester is born with theirs." Either way, I didn't like it >_>.
The simple fact is that we need to keep educating the future. Look how women and black people were once discriminated against heavily compared to today. Now it's slowly becoming taboo to hate on even homosexuals (at least where I'm from, which is surprising considering I live in a close-minded town). The more we educate the future about how we're just normal people, the better the lives as all transsexuals and transgendered persons in general will be. I have no doubt that one day we'll be treated fairly and be given equal rites. We just have to keep fighting the good fight.
The saying "Ignorance is Bliss" is a bunch of BS.
I was compared to a child molester very recently, and casually, by the mother of an old friend. I can't talk to her anymore. I don't even want to try to change her thinking. It hurt me.
Which doesn't answer your question, I know.
Quote from: kael on October 07, 2011, 04:50:12 AM
I was compared to a child molester very recently, and casually, by the mother of an old friend.
Don't feel bad. I've been compared to a child molester by both family and close friends....because I like to keep my fingernails long.
I'm sure that if these people knew about my transsexuality, I would be compared to Satan incarnate. At least now I'm "just" a child molester. I think I can live with that.
i don't get it at all. probably just the usual paranoia, combined with the knowledge of some men who molested little boys. so they think that
'child molester = gay' and 'crossdresser (drag queen) = gay' also means that 'crossdresser (transsexual) = child molester'
completely illogical, but when were humans logical beings?
It's all about control. "I want everyone to be like me. So if I demonize people I consider weird, they will either change to be like me or go away."
Being a sex offender is taboo even within the prison population. Pedophiles don't have many friends in prison.
All I have to do is find one person who molested a child AND had at any time in his life crossdressed and whammo! I got me a ->-bleeped-<- pervert! Send it to the sensationalistic media and you've just created public enemy #1. And since the ignorant speak the loudest, you've got yourself an immediate and very vocal following. Then you can start taking donations to stop the ->-bleeped-<- pervert and next thing you know, you're living the high life. Cha-ching!
OK it's really about money.
I think TheAetherealMeadow put it best and so much more eloquently than my "All men are horney" and "You have to be insane to WANT to be a woman" theory. Being at the absolute bottom of the societal totem pole we are the low hanging fruit to blame and or kick around with impunity.
In fairness much positive progress has been made since I first considered transitioning in the 70's. Then, you had to be suicidal or close to it to seriously give transition a go. In today's world, the obligatory Sweeps Week rating grabber TG scripts always have a positive spin. Some shows do/did have recurring trans characters leading typical lives. I hope to see a lot more progress in the next 40 years. I also believe that ignorance will always abound. Sex and gender are just too much of Hot-Button issues to think there will ever be a time of universal understanding.
Quote from: TheAetherealMeadow on September 28, 2011, 01:20:06 AM
My theory is this. I think it all has to do with gender roles, particularly toxic ones. One of the aspects of toxic masculinity is that men are id ridden animals who are constantly horny and can't control their urges. Another aspect of this is that femininity is the worst thing someone (particularly a man) could ever have, and must be avoided at all costs. Therefore, when someone who is perceived as a man dresses and behaves like a woman, since men are id ridden animals who can't control their sexual urges, and also because no man would ever want to stoop so low as to become a woman, the conclusion is that any man who dresses like a woman must be doing so because they are sexually motivated to do so. Hence, the whole association between transsexuals (women in particular) and perversion. This is also the origin of the all transsexuals are autogynephiles theory. So called "feminists" like Janice Raymond are actually encouraging misogyny by encouraging this notion that the only reason why a man would want to become a woman is sexual.
Quote from: Laura91 on September 28, 2011, 12:55:06 AM
why do people equate transsexuals with sex offenders?
Because there are a LOT of ignorant dumb-asses out there.
This.
And also because Silence of the Lambs had a serial killer that cut women apart and wore their skin as a suit. That certainly didn't help either. An absolutely irresponsible and completely fabricated portrayal. It still makes me sick to this day.
Quote from: jojo10 on October 08, 2011, 01:02:26 PMAnd also because Silence of the Lambs had a serial killer that cut women apart and wore their skin as a suit. That certainly didn't help either. An absolutely irresponsible and completely fabricated portrayal. It still makes me sick to this day.
Well, fiction does tend to be fabricated in one way or another...
Simple
Everyone knows that they are surrounded by deviants ..... rapists, paedophiles, homosexual men, lesbians, bondage freaks, piss freaks etc etc etc ........the trouble is that all of these people are invisible.
We aren't....... and it's "obvious" that we did it all for sex anyway, so we get the flack for everyone ..... we're the VISIBLE perverts
I think the real answer lies in the people who portrays in the media. Who is the face of transsexuals and transgender people ? Turn the TV, locate a program dealing with transsexual/transgender who do you see ?
The guy with the 5 o'clock shade in garter belt, fishnet stockings, miniskirt, and stiletto boots, who claims to be a prostitute by choice, and who says: "love knows no boundaries." Should I say more ?
Jen61
Because there stupid!
Because they highly uneducated.
The VERY LAST thing on most of our minds be to be sexually offensive, yes?
I'm ever so glad no one to take advantage of ME - in an 'offensively' speaking way.
It's just plain dumb. Yet the world is populated with dumbos galore...
So, best to stay clear and give them a wide birth,
Axelle