I don't know about the rest of you, But I am not really new to this life, I came out just before CHAZ B.
I just got used to being called a freak or folks laughing at me, I was out in the CA. st. prison system, so i have a thick skin emotionally. I don't want/need the ATTENTION!

How about you? Again your opinions please. Peace, Clear.

I would like enough attention to educate people about who we are, why we do what we do, and what we need. You can't do that without attention.

If people really understood us, I think there would be a whole lot less laughing at us and calling us freaks.

It's difficult.

It's a question of whether we're content to live with the way things are, or willing to go through additional discomfort/danger to get to a better place. Complicating that is the possibility that we may be the ones making the risk while others get the benefit. Worse yet, those of us who decide to be visible will likely make life more difficult for those who are not - so there's a question of non-consensual risk.

I'm aware that my visibility has negative consequences for people who do not consent to those consequences. I'm also aware that invisibility has consequences for others. My hope is that my choice will, in the long run, be better for transgender people as a whole, yet I wish there was a way to insulate people from the negative consequences they didn't sign up for.

It's not an easy choice either way.

In general I think much of the attention surrounding Caitlyn Jenner's public transition has been negative.

I think Laverne Cox, Janet Mock and others have been positive.

Don't know why. Maybe because Cait is older, married and is associated with the Kardashians. Plus the older generation knows her from her athletic endeavors whereas nobody really knew about Laverne and Janet until after they transitioned.

So it has been a mix.

I think that people knowing about us is inevitable, whether or not it leads to acceptance.

Look, even something as natural as a woman having a period is viewed upon as nasty by some people. So imagine a "man" wanting to "become a woman!" Oh no!!! Yes, WE know it's natural but to some it's just another lifestyle choice. That is how some people think.

I agree that Caitlin was already famous, so people have a strong picture of her before transition.

Laverne Cox and Janet Mock also did not transition in the public eye.

We see Caitlin's early struggles with presentation.

And we see Caitlin's early stages in understanding what it's like to be transgender in the USA in 2015. There are a lot of things she doesn't know, a lot of things she will experience because of her fame, and a lot of things she won't experience because of her privilege.

The public sees a "Caitlin in process," which is a lot messier than what people have seen in others - even as far back as Renee Richards (the person in the news when I first found a name for what I was going through).