All Along The TG Watchtower

http://ts-si.org/guest-columns/29065-all-along-the-tg-watchtower
2/28/11
kelly M.

So there I was: a married woman living and working in a large northwestern city in the United States, living a particularly unspectacular life.

Then and now I support my local community, pay my monthly mortgage and utility bills, complain about the cost of gasoline, bake cookies, clean house, enjoy gardening, recycle ... in other words, living a pretty normal life.

I suspect most corrected transsexuals can say just about the very same about their lives.

I've been a keen observer of people most of my life and, although this may seem biased, from what I've observed I would describe myself as a mainstream American woman; that is to say my habits, patterns, social interactions and personal friendships, my likes and dislikes, my home life and work, my beliefs, all seem to conform to what is generally considered normal for women my age in our American society. And that's exactly how I want it.

QuoteSo it makes me feel really anxious when I see transsexuals portrayed as sexed-up, flamboyant, and/or grotesque caricatures of women (or men). It has been my experience in the real world that we are not like that. I don't know a single transsexual who even comes close to that stereotype. And yet it remains.

Why? Why do we end up being portrayed that way?

I suggest, because for most people, the only time they notice a transexual is when they see someone who so obviously is.

Hopefully, in time, society can accept that people should dress in whatever way they feel comfortable, rather than according to a stereotype.