The reason I am saying this is because many transgender people post questions on Yahoo Answers and I feel that there's a need for better, higher quality answers and supportive responses there and especially to transgender people who have yet to seek out somewhere like Susans Place. There is also a need for answers by non-transgender people seeking out questions about certain transgender people.
For example, the term "transgender" on a yahoo answers search gives out about 16 questions in a 24 hour period, over 100 in a 7 day period.
Examples of questions:
Does being transgender make anyone else feel pathetic?
Telling parents about being TransGender.?
my mom caught me wearing my sisters clothes i'm transgender but my mom didn't know?
As a transgender if you self medicate is there less risk with taking "too little"?
I think I am transgender?
What should I do help needed?
I need coming out advice help!!?
I'm just posting this as a call for people here to help others on Yahoo Answers, since there may even be people there that are lost and are just starting to seek help.
I've always considered a lot of the questions to be someone trolling, same as many of the responses to them.
^ If some people troll there doesn't mean that everyone is trolling. An open, heavily trafficked place like Yahoo Answers is definitely going to have trolls, much like Youtube. I think that putting better answers there is also important to at least educate others better as well as to help others.
You could always give them a link to this site.
Yeah, sadly I kinda learned that YA is a cesspool of trolls. I agree with you, Katelyn, they do need better answers and support.
I've been there before.
Before coming on this site I would constantly ask questions about being transgendered because not too long ago I was near the peak of my depression with with so many questions. I did get some help from some FtMs and a few MtFs but most people didn't know what they were talking about. One lady named Clones Don't Have 100 (don't remember exactly) kept sending me links to forums and I was stubborn at first but then I took a look at them and eventually came to this site. I have to admit at first I was a bit nervous to join and I thought I would never stick with it but now I'm addicted lol.
I'm not too sure where I am going with this but I agree. There are some transgendered and questioning people out there that could benefit from a site like this.
I tend to avoid those sort of places, simply because of the number of troll types.
Some questioners and respondents may well be genuine. But there seems to be so little moderation. Also, a decent site like this, most responses are cross checked by others who know.
I'm sorry that some questioners may be genuine, but all we can really hope for it they eventualy find places like this. That's how I bumped into this.
Yahoo is a horrible place to get advice, a lot only go there to put people down. I do go there every now and then but get intimidated. Especially in the lgbt and gender studies sections. There are so many cruel people out there, they seem to have no empathy. How do you even go through life being that hostile to anyone? I hate yahoo.
The best thing to do for those people and anyone in the mental health section is to reach out to them in email, I do that all the time and give them links to places that will actually help them. I've seen people pour their hearts out and say they want to die only to get the response "jump off a building" nice isn't it?
Quote from: Nayhdia on January 27, 2012, 07:49:46 PM
Yahoo is a horrible place to get advice, a lot only go there to put people down. I do go there every now and then but get intimidated. Especially in the lgbt and gender studies sections. There are so many cruel people out there, they seem to have no empathy. How do you even go through life being that hostile to anyone? I hate yahoo.
The best thing to do for those people and anyone in the mental health section is to reach out to them in email, I do that all the time and give them links to places that will actually help them. I've seen people pour their hearts out and say they want to die only to get the response "jump off a building" nice isn't it?
I know the feeling. I was looking for support on yahoo answers when I came out to my dad about being trans and it didn't go so well and one guy on there just had the meanest things to say and told me I didn't respect my father and I only want cash from him which I never even mentioned and his EXACT words were " there's no point in his coddling, or giving money to, a self-centered, envious, unpleasant, ignorant and spiteful little wretch who is so wrapped up in her morbid and preposterous delusions that, at 19 years of age, she has not a thought in the world for finishing her education" and he didn't even stop there so yeah it makes me wonder why some people hate their lives so much that they prey on others who are down? I guess misery really does love company and I guess Yahoo Answers is like a petri dish to them.
" there's no point in his coddling, or giving money to, a self-centered, envious, unpleasant, ignorant and spiteful little wretch who is so wrapped up in her morbid and preposterous delusions that, at 19 years of age, she has not a thought in the world for finishing her education"
Wow, just wow my jaw dropped. That is a perfect example of the privilege that cis people can't even see yet exert over everyone else. I might never fully know how trans people feel, or the pain they go through but I can empathize completely. This is what I meant; how do you go through life without empathy, without understanding? Just because you aren't living in others shoes shouldn't mean you can't understand them.
That THING has probably not had a day of hard ship in their life, so they have no understanding of it and don't even want to try.
Finding good advice or compassion on YA is a joke. That place needs better moderation or just to be shut down. It started out as a good idea, but is now known as a place for trolls to go and be entertained by stupid questions and disgusting answers. I feel sad for people who turn to that place for help. I used to spend hours trying to give sensible answers. Yes, it's a good idea to try and be a voice of reason in there, though.
Clarification Moment:
I did NOT say to use Yahoo Answers to get Answers, I said to ANSWER questions that these people that may be in the wilderness and seeking answers. I was asking for people to help others there (as well as to give smart answers to cis-people there clueless about TG people.) It could be as simple as redirecting people here.
(on second note: I realize that many of you have given answers there, so what I said doesn't apply to you)
Sorry Katelyn my insomnia sometimes makes me read things that sometimes isn't there. I get this so much where I misread something.
I am a regular on Yahoo Answers. I also see a lot of transgender people on there. Unfortunately, I also see a lot of trolls. People on there can be nasty. I've been told to go drown myself in a pot of boiling water among other things lol.
^ Unfortunately, living in a Christian based society (this would apply to all the other Judeo - bible derived religions as well), such bigotry and hatred is encouraged by religion and thus permeates society. Sometimes I wonder if it's just better to go live in Asia (if not a more progressive western country.)
Japan seems pretty awesome, they seem much more progressive than Australia/UK/America. But so does Sweden to some extent exept for the rad fems. But rad fems are crazy.
I agree with two statements
1. Yahoo answers is a horrible place to go to for advice...it's a cesspool of misinformation.
2. It could definitely use more informed people (like us?) to give advice. Enough correct answers will mitigate the few wrong answers.
Unfortunately, since there is no one controlling who answers there will always be some misinformation. I am always amazed that some people will answer questions on there when it is obvious they have no clue to the correct answer. I'm not talking about transgender questions in particular just questions in general.
I rarely check Yahoo Answers since a large percentage of people on that site are immature.
Quote from: Katelyn on January 27, 2012, 11:55:09 PM
^ Unfortunately, living in a Christian based society (this would apply to all the other Judeo - bible derived religions as well), such bigotry and hatred is encouraged by religion and thus permeates society. Sometimes I wonder if it's just better to go live in Asia (if not a more progressive western country.)
Good thing you found this place. Let's not beat up on any religious, political or ethnic group just because of their bias's based on their own morbid ignorance, otherwise we'd be no different and just as bigoted. We do much better standing above all that!
^ I don't think its bigotry to state that certain religious leaders from certain religions are perpetuating bigotry. Is it bigotry to state that the Mormon Church is against the LGBT community and paid for ads to have gay marriage ended in California? It's certainly not the whole religion of course, mainly right wing, conservative religious leaders, and especially including the fundamentalists. I'm just simply stating the reason that such bigotry is in the United States. There are certainly many liberal Churches as well, including the Unitarian, United Church of Christ, Episcopal, Metropolitan Community Church, as well as various Roman Catholic and Lutheran Churches (especially in big cities.)
I used to be a regular on Yahoo Answers and would post well-thought out replies to any transgender questions I came across.
However, once I noticed that the majority of the people I'd tried to help either continued posting the same question over and over with just a few variations in details and/or would pick some bigoted, transphobic answer as best with a reply along the lines of "lol i kno rite? f--ing ->-bleeped-<-s". There are few trolls that can actually make me feel sad. :(
Quote from: Katelyn on January 29, 2012, 01:54:03 AM
^ I don't think its bigotry to state that certain religious leaders from certain religions are perpetuating bigotry.
Ah, but that's not what you said the first time. You said
religion encourages bigotry, not
how some people interpret religion. Not to mince words, but there's a difference. I agree with the latter, not the former.
Anyway, about yahoo: I agree that the transpeople who look to yahoo answers need a better source of information and support, and cispeople who ask trans-related questions also need a more reliable source of info, but how could that situation be improved? Presumably they could be referred to forums such as this one, but would that just encourage the yahoo trolls to permeate these "safe zones" as well?