I feel I have learned a great deal since I began my transition nearly 6 years ago. First and foremost is that most of the fears I faced were baseless. Just as the media tends to go by the principle "If it bleeds, it leads." we seem to want to believe the worst in all the what if scenarios we come up against. It just isn't so. Most of society has been accepting and if anything, curious when they learn about my transition.
I have also learned that gays and lesbians have been very accepting of me. I initially had heard the stories and we have discussed it somewhat here, that gays and lesbians don't like us primarily because they are into men and women of their own gender and see us as something else. The gay guys treat me like a lady, never hinting of any desires beyond being a friend. The lesbians likewise treat me as a friend and have even asked if I plan on being lesbian after my surgery, lol.
Not such a good thing as the two items above, I have learned there is division in the community where you would least expect it. I have recently learned that this same division goes on in the gay and lesbian communities. I'm not talking about conflicting ideas such as political views and laws. I'm talking about a division between the haves and the have nots. This has nothing to do with finances or possessions, but instead, who's life is going well and who's is not. To be told you need to tone it down about the good things going on in your life because there happens to be others around who are not doing so well and it hurts their feelings is beyond comprehension to me. We talk about how we are a supportive community, then how is it we are suppose to give hope to newcomers if we only discuss the suffering in our community?
Hugs,
Marsha