Quote from: Sandy on September 07, 2009, 08:37:30 PM
Actually I did write an outline for a story called "The Day the Last Lesbian Died" where in a future where LGBT tendencies were eliminated from birth.  But one of the sources of creativity are also anchored in the region of the brain where gay and lesbian tendencies arise.  As a result as the gay was bred out of the human race, it became less and less creative.  Too late it was discovered but by then there wasn't anyone who was creative enough to re-ignite the creative spirit and by time the last lesbian died, the human race started to whither and die.

-Sandy

that sounds like a really interesting story Sandy, you should finish it!

Quote from: FairyGirl on September 07, 2009, 09:11:42 PM
that sounds like a really interesting story Sandy, you should finish it!

Thanks.  I wrote it in one of my darker moods just prior to coming out of denial and when then Prez Bushed was yet again proclaiming that embryonic stem cell research held no scientific worth and was restructuring the EPA to give away more land to big oil for drilling.

I was pretty cynical about the viability of the human race when the most powerful person on the planet could not connect the dots between verb noun and adjective.

I'm still not really convinced though, because even though a Harvard constitutional scholar now occupies the west wing, the hate and invectives against him because of his race gives me little hope that we don't already occupy that dystopian future.

-Sandy

Unfortunately, too many people think everyone should be like them, seemingly unaware that others who think that way - that everyone should be like them - are different.   (Me, no me, no me!)  So who's right?  They don't realize it is the richness of variety that give life meaning and staying power.  If all trees were the same we wouldn't have trees.  That's why the idea of a pill to "cure" GID is repugnant to many of us.  Yes we want the pain to go away, but not at the cost of our essential being, what makes us who we are deep down, our soul if you will.

Have faith, Sandy.  We have worked our way into a bad place, but the human race is pretty resilient.  If we don't manage to destroy ourselves we have a good chance of a brighter future eventually.  These cycles happen.  I get terribly discouraged, but I've learned that in order to live I need to do what I can to fight the haters and bigots and then hope for the best.

*hugs*
Kate

I used to have a pessimistic view of humanity's future, but lately it seems like things are turning around for us.  Especially the past few years, with the green initiative and one global community zeitgeist, it makes me think that humanity may be moving away from a dominator, hierarchical society toward a partnership model.  I get more of a feeling of live and let live, than live and let die.  The individual is seen as an important member - not for productivity's sake, but as a specialized cell in the greater organism.  I see good things in store for us.

Put me down as a proof reader if you finish "The Day the Last Lesbian Died", Sandy!  I love that cynical stuff.  Kurt Vonnegut is my fave.

Quote from: calliope on September 08, 2009, 08:51:23 PM
I used to have a pessimistic view of humanity's future, but lately it seems like things are turning around for us.  Especially the past few years, with the green initiative and one global community zeitgeist, it makes me think that humanity may be moving away from a dominator, hierarchical society toward a partnership model.  I get more of a feeling of live and let live, than live and let die.

I hope you are right but I don't see it. there are a LOT of thuggish governments still out there around the world and still a lot of the "advanced" nations without the will to spread their civilized thinking beyond their own borders.

Optimism about the civilization level of some western nations? Absolutely. Humanity as a whole? Not so much, in my view.

No,  I wouldn't want a g.i.d pill......I wouldn't have my children and grandchildren, or my past (yes, I'm one of a few who look back on that part of my life, and actually enjoyed much of it.  Confusing?  Not for me). 
I would be someone else, have a different past, and have a different woman as a life partner.
I'm happy in my own new skin.  It's a lot like being taken out of pain, and analyzing the time you spent in pain.  I just enjoy the pain-free-ness of the present. 

"Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero"

                           similarly,

"eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die"

Bev

"advanced" nations without the will to spread their civilized thinking beyond their own borders

Since that has always been accomplished, from almost time immortal, is to go into those places and say "Get civilized or we will kill you" I'm somewhat at a loss at to how that is really done, outside of the Peace Corps.

Quote from: Laura Hope on September 09, 2009, 05:49:56 PM
Optimism about the civilization level of some western nations? Absolutely. Humanity as a whole? Not so much, in my view.

Good point!  My observations are restricted to American culture.  I couldn't begin to guess at what the general feeling is like in other parts of the world.  I can imagine that Europe is moving in a similar direction.  China and the Soviets - probably not so much.  And who knows about South America - they're as fathomable as an alien planet.

I don't think it's the job of advanced countries to spread anything.  I like the idea of maybe guiding a developing nation out of the traditional dominator model and into a partnership society, but it has to be the people of that nation that want it.  Otherwise, it's just more dominator methodology and counter productive.

I wouldn't take the "pill" – We all know that we were born with a birth defect and why would we want to change who we really are?

I've been fighting my desires for 40 + years – I've gone through hell because of it – I've made choices in my life that were not what I wanted, but "what I was expected to be" – isn't that enough?  Do I have to start rethinking 40+ years for a "pill" that would make me feel "right" over a birth defect?

No way!!!  Tried, been there, done that!!!

Steph

I've fallen in love with a certain TV show, "The Listener" (the star, Craig Olejnik, is totally hawt omg). The show featured an episode about a young FTM which was touching, sensitive, and very poignant. There is a scene in which the young boy's mother finds him and begs for her daughter Lisa (who is now the young boy, Daniel) to come back home- "What have you done to yourself?" she says, "Maybe they can find a drug." It's enough to send shivers down your spine.

You can see highlights of the episode if you live in the U.S. on the NBC website, which shows the scene I just described:

http://www.

nbc.com/the-listener/video/clips/lisa-says/1132157/

(the full episode and the entire season is also available to watch online)

Here's why I wouldn't take the hypothetical pill:  I'm not particularly good at being male, regardless of GID.  So if it's a choice between potential happiness as a girl and certified mediocrity as a guy, then that's no choice at all.

Transitioning sucks. I'd rather not have to go through it. So a lot of the time I'd love to have that pill. But that's magical thinking -- not much different from when I was eight years old and asking the Magic 8-Ball whether I would grow up to be a woman, and asking again when it gave a negative answer. So, yeah.

But mostly I'm just annoyed at how much of a pain transitioning is. And I don't mean the medical stuff or the therapy or gatekeeper issues or any of that, but the social part, how hard it is to deal with family, bigots, people who say incredibly offensive things about trans people, and so on.

I'd prefer a pill to make people stop being so stupid.

Quote from: Laura Hope on September 09, 2009, 05:49:56 PMOptimism about the civilization level of some western nations? Absolutely.

I agree with Ghandi: Western civilization would be a good idea.

Quote from: Alyssa M. on September 11, 2009, 02:21:44 AM
Transitioning sucks. I'd rather not have to go through it. So a lot of the time I'd love to have that pill. But that's magical thinking -- not much different from when I was eight years old and asking the Magic 8-Ball whether I would grow up to be a woman, and asking again when it gave a negative answer. So, yeah.

But mostly I'm just annoyed at how much of a pain transitioning is. And I don't mean the medical stuff or the therapy or gatekeeper issues or any of that, but the social part, how hard it is to deal with family, bigots, people who say incredibly offensive things about trans people, and so on.

I'd prefer a pill to make people stop being so stupid.

I agree with Ghandi: Western civilization would be a good idea.

I agree. If I looked like a babe transitioning wouldn't be a problem. I think I would have had more success if I started at 13 when I still looked very feminine. But circumstances were that I was 24 before I first took HRT and in my 30's before I started transitioning.

Now I am aware of the true limitations of transition I would probably go for a pill to eradicate my GID.