Hi guys and girls,

I'm just driving home right now and thinking, and an interesting question has occurred to me. How many of you started out identifying as an ally? In other words, how many of you under the transgender spectrum started out supportive of the LGBT community, but were unaware that you yourself were part of it at first?

Speaking for myself, I was gathering information for years without realizing what that actually meant to me. I thought I was just curious and empathetic, as I tend to be a curious and empathetic person. I truly thought I was just an ally. It took a long time for things to click, and once they did a lot of things suddenly made sense. Am I weird? Am I alone in this?

Tell me about your experience.

Cheers,
Teg

I started being an ally about 1990, when I asked a lesbian friend to teach me about "gay culture". I come from a Christian background, and although I knew most Christians (at the time) were anti-gay, I understood that the Old Testament reference ("...both shall be stoned to death...") was definitely not applicable.

I also knew that I knew nothing about anything LGBT. She took me out to a couple gay bars, AIDS benefits, etc and I saw that LGBT people were....well, people. And they didn't harm anyone.

Ok, cool. So then I was an ally, even after I left Christianity and went...umm...far right in my views, but kept the LGBT = OK view, much to the disparagement of those I associated with. Oh well, I try my damnedest to speak and stand by what I believe to be the Truth, and if ya'all don't like it...

Anyway.

Yeah. That's that.

I spend a lot of years assuming my interest in LGBT stuff was due to my being an ally. I even began sponsoring my school's gay/straight alliance long before I started facing my gender issues. A few times I found myself asking "why am I not gay" given the number of ways I wasn't traditionally male.

Ditto, here! Ally before realization that I could claim two of the LGBTQ alphabet for myself!

Chris


edited for typos

Not me. I don't even associate with the GLBT community outside of the internet.

I got there via some social justice instinct or something, where I started asking "why can't we all just be treated the same?" This started in the late 60s when things were pretty grim on the LGBT front. Hell, things were pretty grim on the feminist front too. And the racial front. I knew I was different but just didn't have the paradigm to define my difference (tried to convince myself that I was gay, since that's the only bucket that existed, but ran afoul of the problem that I'm not attracted to guys), and I honestly never thought I'd express this part of myself, so I guess that made me an ally instead of an interested party.

I do think it's delightful and gigglishious to now realize I'm a transwoman and a lesbian and thus score two of those letters. Yay!

I'm ashamed to say that until recently I was actually transphobic and a much longer time ago I was homophobic as well. I've considered myself an LGB Ally for about 12 years. However I was transphobic until I came out to myself about 6 months ago. Being transphobic just meant I was indifferent I would have never actively worked against people like us. It did mean that I didn't like the idea of being near any though. However I've never actually met any trans people until recently. I used to be homophobic as well, but I always supported LGBT rights. I felt the same way about gay people that I felt about transgender people. It was a leave me alone and I'll leave you alone type of arrangement. I've always supported gay marriage, but I didn't want to have anything to do with one.

The homophobia changed after I actually met someone about 12 years ago. I suspect if I had met transgender people before coming out to myself I would have changed my mind as well. The one thing that has shocked me is I thought being in Alabama I was going to watch everyone turn against me far worse than I had ever been, but nope everyone has been great here.

Funny you ask.  Currently I don't have any friends that are gay but i have in the past.  but as log as i can remember have always supported them. Even now i believe they have the right to marry just as much as anyone else.   Why should i have a choice in who others can and cannot marry.  I have never been gay or bi.  I thought of it here and there and just said it is not for me but more power to them.   Now since these changes in my head and i listen to them.  I do wonder where do i fit in.  As a male i consider myself straight.  But as a transgender if i go on and start to live as a woman.  Will i still be attractive to woman I hope so.   But then would that make me gay then.  Not really sure and to be honest don't really care as that is just a word in my book.   All i would say is are they happy.   so i guess i would have to say what ever makes me happy then.   So yes i am a ally and now i guess i am also part of the family.


Vicky
MtF

I actually have been a huge LGBT advocate my entire life...I've never felt homophobia towards anyone gay or lesbian.  The big push for me was working in youth ministry with a friend who was gay.  Even though during the time he was not sexually active and was dedicating himself to God and to ministry, he still kept his "gay" mannerisms because he felt God made him who he was, which led to much discrimination and hate from other church members.  Seeing a man who loved people and loved God so much be judged pushed me over the edge, so i really took up for Gay people that would come upon the church i would be at at the time.  I have also DJed in pride events as a straight friend of the scene

That was me exactly! You're definitely not alone.

Edited to say I didn't notice this was in the MTF forum! Oops! Don't mind me, ladies.

Quote from: Gothic Dandy Luca on December 05, 2014, 02:55:34 PM
That was me exactly! You're definitely not alone.

Edited to say I didn't notice this was in the MTF forum! Oops! Don't mind me, ladies.

Don't mind at all, Dandy! The more the merrier.

And perhaps I should've posted this on the general forums. I may have unintentionally left off half the voices on this site, which I didn't mean at all.

It's interesting but not at all surprising to me that many of us started down this path convinced that we were simply being supportive of a group, and in the end we turned out to be members of said group. Life is an exploration, and I suppose that some of us just need a bit more time to discover ourselves.

Cheers,
Teg

I was transphobic and homophobic. I guess you could say that was part of self hating as well.