It's all very well for people to say that they hate labels but sometimes there is a real need for them. In this two-dimensional world that comes to you through your computer monitor, people need to know who they are talking to or reading about.
That's why when we introduce ourselves we say who we are, where we are from and what we do.
As the focus of this community is transgender, it is only right and polite that we should also tell people how we fit into the transgender world.
So, genetic men and women who have a liking for transgender people need to be called something.
I'm afraid the drop-down list is very necessary to force people to use the same term - the term that is closest to how they feel. A free for all would never work because we need one single term that everyone can understand.
Imagine, if everyone had their own word for carrots and some folk called them 'wibbles' and others called them 'sliggs' and others called them 'biffypops' and so on. You get the idea - it would be utter chaos. That's why we need to find a single term that most people will be happy with, that doesn't sound creepy (as perhaps admirer does) and then stick to it.
And if our new title doesn't quite ring true for you, then you can always add more detail in your description if you want. It's the same for transsexuals. Some want it to be known that they are pre or post op, others don't. We leave the decision of whether or not to display that information to the world, to each individual user.
However, I agree that the word "admirer" has become somewhat tarnished in recent years and may even sound a little pervy now.
So, let's start again. If not "admirer", then what would you prefer?
Remember that not all admirers are guys. Also, whatever term you suggest will need to be descriptive enough to let everyone know you mean admirer but without upsetting the bearer of the title.
Maybe it's time for us to make up an entirely new word that has never been used before. Let's see if we can get it into the Oxford English Dictionary. You can't use 'biffypops' though because that means carrots!
Hugs,
Katie x
Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next without any loss of enthusiasm!