As a homosexual do you feel you should also support the trans community?

Question

I have a number of trans friends that I have made since becoming quite active in the queer comunity and I was wondering how other homosexuals and bisexuals feel about transeuxals?
Do you feel a kinship with the T of LGBT ? Do you support them when you can?
Or do you feel greatly uneducated? Don't know any? or don't know how to help out with their rights as well as your own?
Or does it simply not bother you?

I'm just curious of other peoples opinions, transexuality has been a rather big issue in the queer community in my country and new legislation is looking to be put foward soon for them to recieve more regonition. We had a transgender MP which I think did huge things for visability. I was wondering if other gay/queer communities are as concerned as me and mine?

Answer 1

Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for asking the hard questions.
My own experience has been that the vast majority of the LGB community talk a good game but are NOT welcoming to the trans community.
I have personally heard a gay man tell a female-to-male "Fuc* it. If I’d wanted a woman I'd still be married.
Each year here in Michigan we hold The Woman's Music Festival, up in the Upper Peninsula... This is a gathering begun by lesbians and although now attended by some hetero women... it has from inception maintained a NO M2Fs allowed, [F2Ms are allowed so long as they are willing to present as a butch dyke.]
Even NOW as I type this there are LGB... T political action groups that ARE debiting in the net whether to "Push there luck" and chance a backlash among the voting public of there state, by including transgender rights in there legislation. In some ways I can understand there argument. IF the point of your legislation is to gain the right to marry why muck it up with whether an M2F can wed a woman?
And the transsexuals NEED so much more that JUST marriage rights.
I PERSONALY know THREE Male-to-Females that after years of trying to find medical help ended up castrating themselves with hobby knifes (Exacto blades) for lack of even the most basic medical care in most of Michigan for the trans community. So WHAY muck up a shot at gay mirage for proper medical care?
It is MY opinion that the ONLY good thing about the treatment of the transgender community by the LGB community is that they aren’t killing trannies like the heteros are.
Don’t ask the hard questions if you can’t deal with the hard answers.
Hugs,
PennyAnn

Even Rose, above, can't bring herself to call a M2F "she".
Point made i think.

Answer 2

Over the years I have known several transgendered persons. Each had different but compelling reasons for their transexuality. As for education on the subject --- that is really not the question. The real questions is treating all persons regardless of their various minority status's as human beings deserving of the respect and consideration that all should be provided. This is more than a simple acceptance of the persons or a group of people. It is basic to the very core values of our society.

The real question is does everybody have truly equal rights in our society and if not how do we solve the inequality.

The answer is that in our "free society" the laws of the land must be made transparent to every single culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc, etc, etc. Presently our laws are not transparent at all, they have built-in prejudice by imposing religious principles and traditions. By the imposition of religious principles and traditions and hence prejudices into the laws, the members of society are "led" to basic conclusions about people who do not "fit" into those preconceived and conditioned predjudices.

It will be some time before our society and culture become transparent and tolerent enough for all to participate in our society on equal footing and with individual dignity.

Answer 3

As a member of the LGBT community I support the L, G, B and T.
I think transexuals are very brave because most of them have gone through a lot before they become the person they have always wanted to be, including overcoming challenges and dealing with a lot of prejudice, specially when comes to getting a job.

Answer 4

Well, I'm transsexual AND lesbian, so of course I do.

Quite a lot of transsexual people are homosexual; around 40% of transsexual women, and around 20% of transsexual men, according to the last statistics I read (No, I don't know why there are more transsexual lesbians than gay transsexual men, either).

The 'T' of LGB&T, though, is for 'transgender', not 'transsexual'. Although I have several transgender friends, I can't honestly say that I feel any 'kinship' with them other than that friendship; but they're part of our community now, so I'll support them on that basis.

Answer 5

I am M2F. First thank you to the ones above tha support us. However I have not experienced that in my life. I have been basically scorned in gay bars. (I'm passable usually) One gay bar I have been to keeps the women's restroom locked so guys don't go in there for whatever they want to do. A male (Gay) bartender knew I'm Trans and refused to give me the key. I had a friend that's Gay and has been in a relationship with his partner for 25 years. When I was in the very early stages of transition I needed someone to talk to, a long term relationship had just ended, I was in a pretty deep depression and just needed to talk to someone that I thought would understand. I was told that I'm whining, to stop acting like a woman. We haven't spoken sense. So while several say they do support us I haven't found that to really be the case. Sorry.

Answer 6

Being a m/f one myself, in the process. I have a lot of gay friends that except us. If a gay male help me on the track of finding people that could help me. I also, have attend different groups that included gays. lesbians. and t/g's. I never had a problem in that case. Usually with the people who believe that it is wrong socially and morally, are the ones that refuse to help or even care. I believe that a person is what they are in heart, mind and soul. Sometimes, life takes a wrong turn, but, we try.
I was born into the wrong sex. So many that I know take it to heart to help one another. It doesn't matter if gay, lesbian, or else. They all have helped, with the exeption of only a few!

Answer 7

YES!!!!

I DO!

with all my heart I do and it makes me sick, sick and more sick to see them looked down upon within our community!

I met the most amazing woman one time and she was so awesome and she suffered some of the worst hatred and you would not believe what some gay men said to her

one guy said "sooo do I call you she or he or better yet, it?"

I admired her because she had some much stregnth and if you bothered to know her

she was a beautiful person inside, just amazing.

but no, nobody could get past her outside

and how she took it all in yet still had a certain sense of pride about her

she friggin rocked and it broke my heart to watch her be trampled on


AND for those who say it is not your responsibility to support transgenders as a homosexual, you could not be more wrong. why should we abandon someone else because they are different than us...isn't that what society has done to us homosexuals!?!?!

If you are a homosexual who does not support trans genders then you are a hypocrite!

Answer 8

I don't have a particular kinship, I've personally never met a T in the LGBT. I don't see why LGBT people wouldn't support transexuals. We're all in the same boat.

Answer 9

Yes I do. The Trans community is as much a part of the Gay Community as the rest of us. We're all in this together and despite differences, we're all working for a common goal of acceptance and equality. If we start fragmenting off this group and that group then we're cutting off pieces of our own Rainbow. It's boring with only one colour and I like lots of colours.

Answer 10

I think there has been a lot of interaction and intermingling of the LGB and T communities to the point that we've become one very large and very diverse bunch and I think we're better off sticking together, at least for the simple fact that humans are social beings.