I got thinking(almost always leads to trouble of some sort), after reading a post on another ts website. It started out with "ts people are some of the weirdest people I've come across", which of course sounds offesive at face value, but their actual point was rather to point out that we have hardly anything in common other than being ts/tg & all that entails. I didn't find this idea surprising, I'd just never gave it any thought. However after pondering it for a moment I found it rather refreshing & inspiring. We really can't be pigeon holed. We're as vastly diverse, if not more so than any kind of grouping of people. In such an obvious way that I can easily understand why I've never seen this brought umongst ourselves even in passing.

Of course there is a diversity among us.  Each of us have lived in our birth gender for a time, trying to conform.  And the longer we have tried to conform the more we have learned.  We are a blending of both genders and we have to relearn how to be our true genders.

We have been bikers, truckers, auto mechanics, racers, Moms and Dads.  And with those backgrounds it is hard sometimes to find common ground other than being TS.

JMHO,
Janet

That's really the way it goes with any community defined in a singular fashion.

I remember being astonished at the diversity amongst one online community in which I took part who only shared a fondness for a web comic. Sure, there were some similar hobbies, but as far walks of life were concerned, every individual was just that, an individual.

Kind of like the group of people who have ever broken an arm in some way are really diverse

There isn't a type of person this is more or less likely to happen to (as far as we know) so we're just a random subset of the entire world.  I don't think you can read too much into it beyond that.

I think that the trans community or even subgroups within it are diverse in a way many others aren't. Of course, there's a huge part of it that is just the random chance of being born trans, so that it's much like the community of type-1 diabetics. In fact, it's a lot like that: a bunch of people whose endocrine systems are seriously messed up, and who must look to medicine and pharmeceutical companies in order to get by, but otherwise, totally uncorrelated with anything else.

The other side of it is that being trans forces you to think about gender, and with it some very deep questions about identity and society. And people come to very different conclusions, because the experience itself seems to be rather different from person to person.

I think that the gay and lesbian communities would be similar, but they are so much more cohesive -- when you are gay, you want to hang around other gay people, but trans people don't have any particular reason to be friends.

So trans people have little holding us together, have much more significantly similar yet extremely diverse experiences that define our community, and are as inherently deverse as any randomly selected group. There aren't a lot of groups that have those attributes. The only ones I can think of are tragic.

I have seen gender dysphoria claim every walk of life from the rocket scientist to the drug dealer. GD respects no social class.

...You do realize that this diversity also exists in the regular population, right?

Check out your high school

There isn't just "boys" and "girls". We're broken up into other social groups, friend cliquies, IQ(to a point, honors vs. regular vs. special ed)

Alyssa has a point about the lgbt too. I'm straight (as a guy), but I know one girl, who after she can transition will be a lesbian, and a guy in the opposite situation.
I know gay guys who you'd never guess just talking to them. I also know some of the campiest guys on the planet. Everyone has their own personality, likes/dislikes, family ect.

There are people of any type(big/small/tall/short), any class, any race, any income bracket, in any community

I've found more in common with the people at the local book club than the TG group, they also have better social skills.

Quote from: Janet Lynn on November 09, 2009, 12:39:49 PM
Of course there is a diversity among us.  Each of us have lived in our birth gender for a time, trying to conform.  And the longer we have tried to conform the more we have learned.  We are a blending of both genders and we have to relearn how to be our true genders.

We have been bikers, truckers, auto mechanics, racers, Moms and Dads.  And with those backgrounds it is hard sometimes to find common ground other than being TS.

JMHO,
Janet

You say, We have been bikers, truckers, auto mechanics, racers, Moms and Dads? I'd just like to point out that I have NOT been any of the above! I have never had children, never had a motor bike, never been a trucker, never worked on cars, never raced cars.....

please don't pigeon hole us all with your own hyper masculine past experiences Janet!

Quote from: Bellaon7 on November 09, 2009, 12:23:59 PM
I got thinking(almost always leads to trouble of some sort), after reading a post on another ts website. It started out with "ts people are some of the weirdest people I've come across", which of course sounds offesive at face value, but their actual point was rather to point out that we have hardly anything in common other than being ts/tg & all that entails. I didn't find this idea surprising, I'd just never gave it any thought. However after pondering it for a moment I found it rather refreshing & inspiring. We really can't be pigeon holed. We're as vastly diverse, if not more so than any kind of grouping of people. In such an obvious way that I can easily understand why I've never seen this brought umongst ourselves even in passing.

I do sometimes tire of the fact that people think we are all the same because we are unfortunite enough to fall into the GD bracket. You are right we can't be pigeon holed and we all have a different story as to how we arrived at this point and place in time.

I wasn't pigeon-holing anyone, NB.  And quit assuming that my opinion isn't as worthy as your lofty opinion of yourself.

Many of us have had those uber-masculine past experiences.  Yes, I drove truck, rode motorcycles and worked as an  auto mechanic.  I also have four children.  I was pointing out that many have tried all sort of things to avoid the inevitable.

You bring your own experiences to the table that adds to the diversity of our community.


Janet

Quote from: Janet Lynn on November 14, 2009, 11:29:22 AM
I wasn't pigeon-holing anyone, NB.  And quit assuming that my opinion isn't as worthy as your lofty opinion of yourself.

Many of us have had those uber-masculine past experiences.  Yes, I drove truck, rode motorcycles and worked as an  auto mechanic.  I also have four children.  I was pointing out that many have tried all sort of things to avoid the inevitable.

You bring your own experiences to the table that adds to the diversity of our community.


Janet

Gurl, you are even more feirce without the terrible two, you rock!

Quote from: naturally blondeYou say. We have been bikers, truckers, auto mechanics, racers, Moms and Dads? I'd just like to point out that I have NOT been any of the above! I have never had children, never had a motor bike, never been a trucker, never worked on cars, never raced cars.....

hahaha well said! people born transsexual are also computer forensic analysts, ballet dancers, interior designers, nurses, supermodels, makeup artists, teachers, musicians, etc

And I would wonder if NB was any of those.  Thank you Natasha for underscoring my point. 


Janet

Quote from: Natasha on November 15, 2009, 01:11:11 PM
hahaha well said! people born transsexual are also computer forensic analysts, ballet dancers, interior designers, nurses, supermodels, makeup artists, teachers, musicians, etc

thank you Natasha for your sensitivity and understanding! x

Quote from: Janet Lynn on November 15, 2009, 01:32:07 PM
And I would wonder if NB was any of those.  Thank you Natasha for underscoring my point. 

Janet

Yes two of the above...nurse and musician..

Quote from: Janet Lynn on November 14, 2009, 11:29:22 AM
I wasn't pigeon-holing anyone, NB.  And quit assuming that my opinion isn't as worthy as your lofty opinion of yourself.

Many of us have had those uber-masculine past experiences.  Yes, I drove truck, rode motorcycles and worked as an  auto mechanic.  I also have four children.  I was pointing out that many have tried all sort of things to avoid the inevitable.

Janet

I do NOT have a lofty opinion of myself just because I didn't have the same background as you have had with your bikes, trucks and cars..

I didn't have those interests or aversions and I should not be knocked because I lived a more feminine based lifestyle during my younger years.

I also did not get married or have children because I was fully aware of my GD situation and the trama it would bring to that sinario. I also did not want to marry a woman because I felt I was one.

Ya'll so cute with your either or stuff.  Lots of people are both.  Best makeup artist in the City rides a huge BMW and has gone around the world on it.  I know a guy - straight - who did ballet, and he got more girls than a rock star (fans and other dancers). I know lots of women who drive semis, Danica Patrick is going to race NASCAR next year it looks like.

None of which has anything to do with the topic, which is 'some of the weirdest people' which also might be true.  No doubt there are many people on these boards (and others) who have some mighty problems aside from the GID.

Well put Tekla!
Yes everyone seems to have there problems, however lets all just use this for our slogan
"there are never problems, only solutions" That should be our creed to one another, no matter what branch in the tree your on.

Kisses
Suzy

Quote from: tekla on November 16, 2009, 10:11:23 AM
Ya'll so cute with your either or stuff.  Lots of people are both.  Best makeup artist in the City rides a huge BMW and has gone around the world on it.  I know a guy - straight - who did ballet, and he got more girls than a rock star (fans and other dancers). I know lots of women who drive semis, Danica Patrick is going to race NASCAR next year it looks like.

None of which has anything to do with the topic, which is 'some of the weirdest people' which also might be true.  No doubt there are many people on these boards (and others) who have some mighty problems aside from the GID.

Thank you, Kat.  I have missed your wit and commentary.  And I did not know that Danica was going to NASCAR.  Who is her sponsor?
Welcome back, Hon.


Janet

JR Motorsports (for you non-race fans, they are one of the top NASCAR owners) was talking with her, thought maybe it would help old Jr. there to have someone else on the team who gets great PR and can't win a race.  Since NASCAR is no longer about winning, but more about just making 'the chase' and sponsorships (and no doubt DP brings some major money with her and having her in a NASCAR will generate even more sponsors) so we'll see.  The hang up seems to be that she does not want to give up open wheel (Indy/CART) and NASCAR takes a full time commitment.  Granted that really either Sara Fisher or Crissy Wallace are going to in the end no doubt be the first 'great' female NASCAR drivers, DP is very marketable, no doubt about that.

It would be interesting if she went with Hendrick's.  That would make an interesting team.  Martin, Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt and Patrick.  HUUUMMMMM...........


Janet

No contracts have been signed that I know of, its just the talk - and I wonder more if its a way for Hendrick to start to move away from NASCAR and get into IRL/CART.  NASCAR has had declining money the last 8 years straight.  I saw HUGE amounts of empty seats at races this last season.  So perhaps its a way of diversifying the Hendrick team too.

Not that all of the big three are not sucking a bit of late.  All (IRL/CART + NASCAR + Formula 1) have huge problems that are making the races, well, not really races anymore.  They all spring from different reasons, but the end result is the same. Boring.