Quote from: Kristyn on June 10, 2010, 08:37:42 PM
Being trans, I think we will always be relegated to riding the back of the bus.

My theory of why trans don't have such mass representation in these pride events is because that most trans people themselves aren't as open as gays.
For example, most gay people want to be open about their sexuality and date the same gender out in the open with safety. However, most trans people don't want others to know about their status and would prefer to live as a man or woman, not a transman or transwoman. Many trans people live in stealth to make sure they have a genuine experience living as their preferred gender, but for gays, it seems more healthy to express their sexuality. This may reflect upon the fact that pride events have much more LGB representation than T representation.

Quote from: mL on June 30, 2010, 02:37:15 PM
My theory of why trans don't have such mass representation in these pride events is because that most trans people themselves aren't as open as gays.
For example, most gay people want to be open about their sexuality and date the same gender out in the open with safety. However, most trans people don't want others to know about their status and would prefer to live as a man or woman, not a transman or transwoman. Many trans people live in stealth to make sure they have a genuine experience living as their preferred gender, but for gays, it seems more healthy to express their sexuality. This may reflect upon the fact that pride events have much more LGB representation than T representation.

I disagree. Sure, a lot of people are to some degree stealth but there are a lot of people that are somewhere outside the gender binary. I think why many trans folks don't go to pride is because there aren't always trans-friendly/trans-aware people at pride. I mean, in my past I've been see as a lesbian at pride as opposed to trans. I've had lesbian and bisexual friends severely mistreat trans people. Heck, I knew a woman who was the most transphobic person I've met and she was bisexual/married to a woman. Her cousin came out as trans and it was just...bad.

The trans march was strictly trans people and allies/supporters so it's a safe place and nobody will use the wrong pronoun (a lot of people that are unsure will ask what pronoun you prefer).

That's interesting Nygeel, I wonder why she would be transphobic, and she is in a homosexual relationship....a marriage yet! She's really not one to talk. Do you know why she acted this way?

Mind you, I new of a transwoman who was homophobic, so there is no doubt animosity between the various GLB, and T groups. Another reason why they should not be lumped together in an umbrella term, as we have been discussing.

Chrissi

She just doesn't get it. She had a cousin that came out as MTF who was cut off completely from the family for transitioning. She thinks it's fine to be MTF but if you get surgery then it's not okay, people should learn how to deal with the cards they are dealt, etc. She also said that all trans people are gay people that are so homophic and want to be seen as straight that they get a sex change. She also said something about how her cousin looks like a man in a dress with implants that "he" is not allowed around her son (from a previous marriage to a guy) because it's "damaging."

Since she assumed all trans peoples are straight (gay from her view) I decided to show her the website of a very out trans person that I know of (not necessarily Buck Angel but somebody similar). This person I showed her was a bisexual/queer trans man. His profile said how much he loved men. I told her that he was trans and she started using the wrong pronouns and said "no she isn't, she likes guys!"

It's a big fat facepalm and well...I haven't talked to her in a long time and don't really intend on doing so. I tried to explain everything to her but she decided it's better to keep the same view she's always had.

I personally thing LGBT should be collective because many LGB people are in some ways "T." Masculine women, feminine men...they can identify somewhere in the non-binary "gray" area. Everything just kind of overlaps. It could also be said that transgender community shouldn't exist on its own because there are plenty of transsexual women and men that dislike gender non-conforming types. There's elitism in nearly every oppressed group.

Nygeel,

I am not going to argue with people.  My answer to you, is my answer to everybody.

We are way different.  Gay men and lesbians are about Gender-Preference, and we are about Gender-Identity.  But we have in common that we are out of the mainstream.  Pride celebrates that.

We are not ashamed that the cisgender and cissexual world thinks we should be ashamed of ourselves, individually and collectively.  We are all proud of what we have done to be who we are.

We're here.  We're queer.  Get used to it.  That's what Pride celebrates.

Even though we have fractures in the LGBTPAA community, we are all queer, as measured against the average, the median, the mathematical normal.  We have big problems as a community: bias, identity politics, sexism, hierarchies, sellouts, money-grubbers....

But Pride is one time that we transcend the fractures and come together.  10 years ago, the local lesbian bar tried to get me to stop using the Ladies' Room, because too many people complained.  Two years ago, and last year, they invited me to ride in the parade float with their staff.

Times change, but people only change if we change them.  You go to Pride, and march with Pride, and hang out with Pride.  And if anybody, gay or straight, gives you any shyt, you answer them with Pride.  And I guarantee you that, at least during Pride; you will get support you never expected, and the wrong-doers will be chastised.