Thanks everyone.
That was my picture taken from my first pride march ever..
II was in a GBLT group for folks struggling with mental illness..
There are very few of this type of group in the country, that combine gblt issues and support for stuff like depression PSTD,or schizoprenia.
I think maybe there are so few groups like this is because being queer trans or gay was once labeled a mental illness and so the confusion and stigma of your identity being labeled a 'problem' when there is no problem ,might get people to deny other problems for fear of queer becoming an illness all over again.
But what happens if say ,you are gay and bipolar? Or if you have a trauma history(like me) and you really ARE transgender? There has to be a place to seperate real psych problems from issues that are not a problem from the perspective of the person handing both issues themselves don'tcha think?
When you have a mental history there's even more hoops to go through to PROVE you are who you are,if you need SRS than someone with no psych history or past trauma seems to have to deal with . There are so many easy cop outs when a transperson has a psych issue a scared therapist could use as an excuse ..an aspect or dissociated part of consiousness,a pyschotic episode that does not relate to gender at all..All of it can become the convienent excuse a litigation fearing shrink exploits to avoid dealing with the need for SRS and save himself risk.And for this "professional"ignorance you get to suffer and bang your head on a wall.
And doctors who know it all really hate being told when they don't know crap.. That's what groups like H&E are great for helping with.
I have had plenty of shrinks assume my genderqueerness was from childhood abuse..But I know it wasen't. I'm a genderqueer who was abused..not an abused person who became genderqueer.
That's something our culture because of that binary gender hang up can't grok and therapists who can grock past what most people on the street can't it's maddening when they can't grok it either....
The idea someone can be born grow up and be genderqueer because it's who they are. People can't be made by persuation or abuse to be gay,transgender or genderqueer.And that nastly lie about my and others right to be who we are is made into some game..it's what makes me hisspit mad when fundamentalists mouth off about"the gay agenda".
This idea people cannot be pegged into a galton gestalt,or they might be different fior reasons unknown and uncontrollable scares alot of'social engineers' dreaming of some great society. It upsets people ignorant or oblivious fortunate enough to easily fit in to norms people who've invested too much in the social status quo because they fit into it...The idea that people are just whatever they say they are,and nothing 'causes' it .The"agents of normalicy" have no hope of controlling creative or different identified people and making society fir thier fantasies of a 'great society' When normal is seen a a big lie.Than all hope for an authority controlling people,controlling change and keeping a nice binary gender world intact ..is gonna implode into freedom not seen since the dawn of "the state" itself.
And that's what these rigid insecure incompetant bullies among us fear the most,losing power to control and dominate others that they don't like.
Here are the pics..
This is the whole outfit, For the curious the other person in the edge of the picture is a transwoman freind of mine roxy.I was trying to take another picture and someone who was taking one of me,while I taking one of them and rox was goofing around.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y152/UPanthera/menroxsm.jpgThis is all of us in the parade. I made the banners,and yes,they are glittery..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y152/UPanthera/frontparadesm.jpgSitting on the back of an open convertable is really hard on the rear end.I was limping a little when the parade was over for awhile..*Smirk*
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y152/UPanthera/hepride2sm.jpgThere's another GBLT group for mental gays in New york that has a name that cracks me up...Fruit and Nuts.They gave us the idea to throw mixed nuts in the shell out to the crowds during the parade.
