There's a forum I'm a member of that's an offshoot of a now defunct Mac firum. I've known most of the people there for close to 16 years so I figured it'd be a safe place to test the waters of coming out as trans. I'm happy to say that the respone was overwhelmingly positive. It also caused two other members of that forum to come out; one publicly and one via PM.

QuoteCongratulations on getting stuff sorted out.

QuoteWe love you for you - the adorable pet pictures don't hurt.

QuoteAnyway, our school GSA just gave a presentation to the faculty about how to not make LGBTQ(etc.) kids feel uncomfortable in class. A few things that struck me were that (a) you have to be damn brave to be a kid and present on that topic to the entire faculty, and (b), it never ceases to amaze me how complex gender identity is. I can't say I really "get" all of it, but I don't see the harm in letting people do what they need to in order to feel happy/whole/like who they were meant to be/etc. And I'm glad this topic is becoming more of a public discussion.

QuoteCongrats! Um...sorry that your situation made this necessary.

(crap! I never know what to say in these situations)

I'll hope that your parents will just continue to treat you as THEIR child despite any of their prejudices.

QuoteIf you're happy, I'm happy.

QuoteBest Wishes and Good Luck!

QuoteYeah, I'm happy for you too. I hope it all works out, especially with your folks.

QuoteTake care.

Quoteyou know, i really hope neither of you feels any anger at yourselves for the struggles you've gone through over the years ... in terms of society, we don't exactly equip people to explore, discuss or comprehend anything related to gender

everything is so damn binary, and it's still an insult to question someone's identity (my family-in-law for example are super quick to label guys "not a man" as a nightmarish insult)

i have zero advice to offer ... although the last few years i have really done some major soul-searching about gender as a concept, and exactly how it relates to me (i now accept that i only partly fit the generally defined identity of "man"), i've never really had to hide who i am from myself

it must be hard, and i know there must be people who are judging like crazy ... but if it means anything, i for one think it's beautiful to see your journeys unfold and wish you nothing but happiness and completeness

and if i can ever help somehow, please let me know

Validating, isn't it!

And the fact it made two other people feel safe enough, or gave them enough courage, to also come out, even if just to one other person, is probably a big thing for them as well.

So congrats for making the world a better place, just by openly being you

Have you started considering what your next move is gonna be?

Not going to rush things. I'll probably come out to a few close friends on Facebook next.

Right! Boil the frog slooooowly. That seems to be the trick with all this stuff.