Where are your photos guys?

With one or two exceptions the majority of TA’s I have come across neither post a photo or talk very much in the chat room. Of course, it’s up to you whether you want to or not, I just find it rather strange, a bit like walking in a room with a bag on your head and not saying anything.

Please don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t mean to be offensive here. I’m just curious. I understand why some people, TG’s included, don’t want to put their pictures up but it does seems more prevalent with TA’s. I know it can be difficult, it takes a lot for some of us to put our pictures on line too. And you might worry about being recognised, but so what? It’s nothing illegal and if someone sees you then they must have been here too so how can they say anything?

This isn’t a moan, I just find it hard to talk to someone who stays hidden both visually and verbally, and I think that is a real shame since I’ve met some nice TA’s here. So come on guys, if we can put ourselves out there for you all to see, surely you can do the same?

Nikki

Nikki is right ya'know,
It is most difficult to post a picture of our better half. The best I have done is my urnotalone pic. Guys are just not the photogenic kinda people though and I understand that being I am one most of the time (darn it). Letting everyone see the real me is difficult, and I want to put my best face forward (I know it's vain) and I am like alot of guys my age as I am technically challenged. Again, I understand. This seems like a much safer place to post a pic weather your a T or and A (Geez, it's not like it sounds). Making a suitable picture is not as easy as so many of you make it seem, even though I know it isn't easy for all the girls that have either. This is the funnest, safest place on the web I have found for a girl like me and I really want to try to do better at communicating with all here, even with TA's(just don't get all worked up about it though, I'm not that kinda girl).
HeatherS

Thankyou for the reply Matt, and no, it doesn't make them any less welcome, just harder to get to know. Ultimately, whether they realise it or not, it makes it harder for them to get to know us too, since we like to see who we are talking too.

You are the exception and always have a picture and plenty to say in chat, I wish the other TA's would follow your example.

Nikki

Some TAs when they get chatting like to email their photos, so i hear!

That's true Penny so why not not post them on TW in the first place?

Nikki

Well I know I'm a fine one to talk, as I have no picture avatar right now, but I tend to agree with Nikki on this one. Being a TA in this environment usually means overcoming mistrust and a certain degree of scepticism - and the easiest way of doing that is to be completely open and honest about who you are - then if you do meet someone you like (as I have done, many times), then you're not then having to explain a lie or information omission.

So, a pic and a name that is true to yourself would help the cause a great deal.

K

Nikki,

If I were to venture a guess, perhaps they're concerned (quite justifiably) that their mates (spouses, girlfriends, or drinking buddies) might discover their proclivity for trannies.

I don't post my photo because I've transitioned, I'd like to stay reasonably stealth, no one needs to know that I have a past life as a guy.

Nicole

Contrarywise Knikol, what are 'their mates (spouses, girlfriends, or drinking buddies)' doing here anyway?
And, making a dangerous assumption, what are those with partners up to? If they are just seeking friends, why can't they do so openly?

T&E has a valid point when talking about openess - those T/A's who have been open and honest have generally been accepted into our community more readily.

Due to the inherent and often necessarily secretive nature of the average T-girl, and the way we are often treated by others, we are distrustful and naturally suspicious of anyone who appears to be hiding something. This of course also applies to some of the girls here, but this is not the place to discuss it.

Stealth mode for those who have transitioned is a different issue altogether, totally understood and accepted, and the reasons for doing so are not really relevant in this particular thread.

I can understand your point about being secretive and also about being shunned by the girls entirely Matt, which is part of my original point. You're more likely to be accepted by us if we know who we're dealing with. You are a good example of that I believe.

Sue made a good point about openess and honesty and she's right. I could still be 'discovered' here by someone who doesn't yet know about me, but I would still rather have my profile picture up and deal with any consequences that may arise than just hide away. I wasted too much of my doing that already.

I just think it's a shame because they are potentially missing out on so much more.

Nikki

I suppose you could also talk about motives for being here (and chat). Why do people come here... And the comments applied to TAs (or TFs as we called 'em in my day) could equally apply to so many others...

K

Of course they could keef, but I welcome all new members to the site and 99.9% of TA's don't post a picture. Shame, because I think they would find it easier to make friends if they were less secretive.

I know some TA's will send photos to individuals who they trust or want to get to know better, and yes, there are girls here who don't post photos. One of the big reasons for that is because they don't feel they can look as good as they want to, I definately fall into that category but I bit the bullet anyway.

I am glad that some of you guys here took the time to reply to this thread, since it was your viewpoint I was looking for.

Nikki

Hey!

I appreciate I'm in the TA sector but the point of the thread applies to me too. I don't have my photo up and my avatar bears no relation to me! lol

My reason for appearing coy is simply technical. I'm on ye olde dial-up and it just takes too long to upload - but I'll be 21st century broadband in a month or so! Yahoo!

Also I have very very few photo's and no camera anyway. I know that in the fullness of time that will change and I have a couple of old photo's on my myspace site so people can see I'm 'real'.

Other than that, I know absolutely nothing about TA's which is why I'm reading this thread! I just think that anyone who understands and supports us is a God send.

So much love to you all.

Rae xx

i have always where possible to have my pic posted i have been a member of so many sites i cannot remember a time when i did'nt. to me it gives a good impression and curteous.
some of the girls are also able to recognise me and a handful will know me from other places etc.
so come on guys show yourselves after all your able to view all these wonderful ladies here let them see you

here here,its about time someone spoke up about this subject

Hi Nikki I have had a photo up since day one. I stop by the chat room now and then I used to stop by more often than I do these days. Seems lately I spend more time on YIM talking one on one than in the chat rooms although i do still find time to RM on another site and do still visit the room here. Belive it or not I use my real honest to goodness life name here and everywhere else I chat I really dont give a tinkers damn who knows I have any interest in a T/G woman I have no guilty feelings about it and nothing to hide. Want the girls to trust you? The simple answer is don't lie don't hide be yourself and don't sneak around likeing a nice sweet decent T/G woman is not something to be ashamed of. Keith

Full marks for that post Keith!

You're absolutely right, guys should just be themselves, after all, that's all we are doing and if we aren't ashamed to post our picture............

More honesty would be nice, especially from those who want a 'passable TG girl who will be very discreet'. Okay, what they want there is sex with someone who looks like a porn star but they don't want the 'shame' of being seen in public with them!

To end on a pleasant note though, there are some very nice guys here, some of whom I have met, others I chat to on YIM regularly and I have always found them to be exactly what they say they are.

Nikki

Mmmmm more like Keith Adams would be a bonus, lol, sesative and in male mode a real hunk, god sometimes wish I was into TA's Keith would be top of my wanna jump you list. AND the fact we both share the same religion of shoe worship, lol.

I figgure that if anyone recognizes a T A and they say that they saw it here , then hummmm........... maybe they're

up to something naughty themselves ,NO?

O K boys I wasn't born yesterday either . In fact someone told me just the other day how I should come out of the "Watermelon Patch.......................Ellen S

mmm.

I'll speak in absolute ignorance here. But, hey, that'll not be a first!

Its come to my attention that I've recently approached the first anniversary of TW membership. It seems so much longer than that.

Why do I mention that? Well, it's because Keith Schneider came across all human. And caring. And real. Cristine reminded us of Keith Adams - whatever happened to him??? Is he ok???? And yes I would. But he probably would'nt if he has any sense. :/

And, trying to think back over the year - and this thread - there has only been maybe a half dozen guys who genuinely seemed to be there for us. And I'm being generous in that figure. So, Keith S, if you meet a little cynicism, don't be put off. I'm sure this is just the foot in the door. Give it another generation or two and we'll be so mainstream as to be mediocre.

Aw shucks, sometimes I feel I was born too late and other times way too early!

Much love to you all.

Rae xx

I'm still around. Buried in work and available (briefly) on Facebook.

I've promised myself to get stuck in here again, and will try my hardest - as I do miss my friends here - but being in media just take 110 per cent of every waking hour...

Love you all!

/K

I do not like to post a face photo for a couple of reasons. One I use to be well known and do not want to embarrass neither myself or anyone else by being recognized. And two, years ago I had put pic of myself online and it was abused. So I only do the "from the neck down" approach now.
Hope that helps you understand at least why I do it anyhow.

Nikki,
The phrase "Tranny admirer" gives me the creeps.
It conjours up thoughts of a girl being watched from afar.
Stalkers?

Hiya Keef! Hugs, good to see you again!x

Janis,

I agree! And for the same reasons as you. But then I hate labels (unless they're attached to expensive shoes).

Perhaps it could be that from now on, TAs are simply known as 'blokes' :-)

/K

P.S., Penny great to see you, too - love and hugs x

Made my day, HUNK is back big droooool

Cristine

Nice to see you, too, Cris

/K
x

Hi Keef,
I agree with you about labels.
But scratch a "bloke" and you never know there might be a real "Lady in waiting".

Janis,

Been there, done that, bought the blouse

And rarely does it fit.

/K

Why not buy a "Big girls blouse?"

WB Keef.

Ok, so as we're no longer Trannyweb maybe we need a new improved whiter than white label to replace 'Tranny Admirer', on our site at least...

Rae x

Where we lead, others will follow

/K
x

Keef - welcome back, it's been waaay too long.

Janis - I have never met anyone who does like the 'admirer' label, like 'tranny' it is more often used in a negative sense these days but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what they are called, they are who they are. Some of them here are very nice too, fortunately on this site we don't get many of the wrong sort, and when we do, they don't stick around for very long. With the name change, I would expect even less of the degenerates and more of the 'Keef''s.

Nikki

I have no problem with the TA label. As with all labels it immediately describes the general persona and bounds of the characteristics. The individual could find me interesting and likewise. Upon initial contact it is a matter of spending time in finding out what each other are like and the relative compatibility.

There is something that could improve the TA label as I have found out there seems to be 2 general types of TA. Maybe the following could supersede the TA label...

SC - Social Companion - This type of TA might try to force you to go to a restaurant or cinema and talk about your feelings and the difficulties you have to face as a transgendered person. This type of TA will accompany you on shopping trips, days out to the coast, walks in the park and wildlife trips so be prepared to tolerate whinges of being tired and bored after long walks lol. It can sometimes get frustrating when you want them to make some decisions and all they say is "What ever you want!" but this can be cured by a simple toss of a coin.

DL - Discreet Lover - This type of TA is the discerning individual who would be in and out in 5 minutes and be very discreet saving you from any embarrassment. You wouldn’t have to meet any of their friends or family and you could live happy being anonymous whilst waiting by the phone for their call for when they are feeling frisky. This is a great relationship because it is not hindered by talking about the day-to-day difficulties you have to deal with as a transgendered person resulting with no chance of any emotional baggage spoiling the relationship.

I hope you found my post entertaining.
Love
Penny
x

Good point, Nikki. A lot of trannies don’t like the term “tranny” so I’m sure a lot of admirers don’t like the term “tranny admirer” either.
I like Keith’s suggestion for the term “bloke” to replace TA, seems to say it all. Or for female admirers, um….
Suggestions please?!
xx

I'm going to go out on a limb here..............how about 'men' and 'women' for our respective admirers? lol

Why reinvent the wheel?

Nikki

Within the comunity I don't mind the word Tranny, all encompassing and quite an affectionate term. I also like the term Tranny Admirer, it signifys to me a male that has empathy with us girls and admires us for what we have achieved and what we are. Unfortunately some men call themselves admirers and all they realy are are tranny fkrs. Creeps.

Cristine.

I don’t really mind the term TA either, and I certainly don’t associate it with creepy pervs. But I don’t wish people to call me a tranny while I’m out in public, and therefore don’t wish to overly encourage its use.
As for “men” and “women” as alternatives: a bit too simplistic perhaps? Hoping I don’t sound like a snooty TS in denial, I prefer to be called a woman in day to day society. But here I’m transsexual and obviously I’m not going to make a fuss about it because I’m here to discuss trans issues. But some TS’s would choose woman over TS as their label, and the labels will become meaningless; we might as well all have the same label – “human”. Though that may not be appropriate for some of the less savoury members we’ve had here in the past…
I’m sure there are those who hate labels and think we should do away with them altogether, but I like them and like to know who (and yes – “what”) a person is and why they are here.
And I like people who admire me, or my type, or whatever. If they’re creeps I will ignore them, but most of the time they are just nice people, and I’d like to encourage nice people to be members of this site.
xx

Well, I'm easy, as long as you're happy with me being here.

Penny, I liked your breakdown of types. Can't I just flip between the two?

/k

I have no problems with TA's if they don't have a picture on their profile.
It doesn't mean I would meet them in person in a place that was not "fully Public"
A gal can usually figure out where the Guy is "coming from" after a few minutes - over a nice glass of wine.
If he's genuine, and he is prepared to treat me "as a woman" - I'm prepared to treat him "as a man"

Keef, i wasnt trying to make rules huni you can be anything you want, in fact, I have a special label just for you, it says £3.50

So much gets said here that you would think it is probably pretty common for TA's to meetup with TG's. However, real life experiences that I am aware of show the exact opposite. Instead of meetups, it is more likely to be stood up. I think I know enough about Matt and Keef to know they are true gentlemen and honestly care about the TG individuals they have personally dealt with in their lives, but what about everyone else, have you TA's ever really met up with a TG even if you did or did not advance to sex? Or are you just interested in meeting up with one but for whatever reason, have not?

Hugs,
Marsha

Hiya Matt, whilst i was, for a bit of jest, polarising two common stereotypes im sure there are individuals that cover the whole spectrum as well as individuals that include additional genre. It would be really interesting to know what you have been thinking about.
Penny
x

Matt asked the question to Penny..."How would you phrase a mix of the two types? "

why ...."Homo-Genius".... of course!! ... That's our Penny!!

That's excellent!

/K
Xx

Hmmm - HG just means Head Gasket to me...

That's the problem with TLAs (Two Letter Acronyms).

/K

But we're not all the same... and for my gender, I apologise!

/K

I’m glad both Matt and Keef say they are somewhere in between the stereotypes. Stereotypes are common traits so that must mean Matt and Keef are special!x