The following article fascinated me as I had lived in 'stealth' mode for over 30 years:-
http://transformationministry.org/2012/04/14/going-stealth/
My reasons were mainly two fold:-
1. I had fought hard to become the person I am (a normal everyday woman) and my past was nobody else's business other than my own.
2. I have run two successful businesses, which provided me with the wherewithall to pay my mortgage, put food on my table and to provide life's little luxuries - and both of them depended heavily on me just being accepted by society as just another ordinary woman.
Recently though, I have become more active in the trans community (I am now semi-retired and my mortgage has been paid off etc) and I have come out to some very close and dear friends. Another friend asked me once about why I was doing this (see http://caroluren.blogspot.co.uk/p/why-i-created-this-blog.html ) as she thought people might view it as a second transitition - from woman to transsexual and the reasons why I was doing it are explained in that blog.
I would be interested in your views though on how people regard going in 'stealth' mode in this more modern and liberated society.
Thanks for replying Nell - and I can appreciate the difficulties that you must face. Things were much more difficult when I transitioned many years ago (no support networks, noo computers, no internet etc) and even many doctors knew very little about the subject - but were easier in many ways also as very few people had made the change back then, so we were more of a rareity that not many people knew even existed, let alone met on the high street. On the other hand, God help you if the newspapaers ever discovered you as you would have been instant front page news and the subject of a very 'juicey' story on the front page.
However, I was quite lucky in that I was small (for a man) at just 5'6" tall and a size 12 dress size (in those days) and small hands and feet so was able to merge successfully into the background.
Oh dear Carol I hope I wasn't coming across as moaning that I have difficulties. Despite being 6' and slim (12 to 14) the shall we say zeitgeist today means that I don't see these as difficulties. If anything they've been liberating - I realised this quite early on after coming out and came to the conclusion that I can truly be who I want to be and not worry about being read. For me the real heroines are women like yourself who stood up decades ago and got the medical establishment to help. The fact that I could go into my GP and get a diagnosis for gender dysphoria and then a referral to a GIC so easily is down to all those who have had the corage to go before me and I for one acknowledge that that is a debt of gratitude I owe. So to return to your original post I can't see me ever seeing stealth as something which is necessary today. And by the way thanks for all the good work you do on the site. I've not posted much yet but have read a lot and your views are always thought provoking, balanced and wise. Best wishes, Nell