L, G & B vs T?

Question

Why do the transgendered try and distant themselves from the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community?

Answer 1

many times gays and lesbians do not understand us any better than straight people. I've heard gay people call me sick, or just not understand, and it hurt, especially when I expected them to be supportive since they know how it is to be discriminated against. Also many, maybe most transsexuals are straight, and feel that they aren't really a part of the gay community, that isn't to say they do not support gay rights, or would feel awkward around a gay friend... but if they are now living in the identity they are inside, they may not feel they are apart of that community...

personally I'm trans AND i'm bi, and it feels good to be accepted as part of ANY community.

Answer 2

It's fair to say that gender issues and sexual orientation are not interchangeable.
A straight man who goes into a gay bar dressed as a woman might still be straight in his sexual preference. Gay bars (and the whole LGBT community in general) tend to be much more tolerant. And the people are usually nicer. There is a certain percentage of straight people who frequent gay bars, not cruising for tail, but just enjoying the friendlier ambiance.
And if you do so in drag, you probably won't be hit on by men (exceptions are the tranny chasers). I wouldn't say that it is trying to distance yourself, but gender issues are not the same thing as sexual orientation.
The LGBT community is the really the only group that will tolerate trannys, and even that is not universal. They know exactly the direct effects of discrimination and hatred and can at the very least sympathize to what a tranny goes through.

Answer 3

I'm not TG, so I can only guess, and what I guess is that it's for the same reason some bisexuals distance ourselves from the "community". Sadly - and ironically - there's a lot of discrimination that goes on within the "community" itself; particularly gays and lesbians discriminating against bisexuals, essentially demanding (as do countless heteros) that we "pick a horse and stick with it". I've been the target of that, myself. We start feeling like outcasts within a "community" that should really know better. I can only assume that there are TG's that feel the same way.

Answer 4

Hmmmm. i have never tried to distance myself, and in some respects there are similarities. i have a wife and kids and a very happy life as a straight, but feminized male. my wife and i both like how i look and that is really all there is to it for us. i cannot change the fact that i am genetically a male (well, i am not willing to spend the money it would take), so i do what is reasonably practical. Since i would prefer to be a woman, we sometimes talk about the fact that we would be lesbians if circumstances were different. i have a lot of empathy for L, G, B because like them, i am often considered "abnormal" by "society". i don't know who says that we distance ourselves from the gay and bi community, but i do not.

Answer 5

Because for lesbians, gays, and bisexuals, the focus is on sexuality. For transgender people, the focus is on gender.
Homosexuality or bisexuality is, in my opinion, outwardly focused. It tends to revolve around the OTHER person..the person you are attracted to.
For trans people it's more an internal thing. It's how we see ourselves and are perceived as by others. It really has nothing to do with our sexuality.

We bond with gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the "community" if you will for the other "bigger picture" issues which is that we all face discrimination and harassment for who we are and how we express certain aspects of ourselves, whether it be our gender, our sexuality, or our fight for equality. Other than being lumped in the GLBT community because we share those common issues of harassment, neglect, being a minority group, looked down upon, ect...we really don't have many other commonalities. The only other thing is that in the trans community, we've seen or heard or read about people who have been victims of hate crimes and killed because of their PRESUMED sexual orientation, when in reality, it was their gender expression. That's where we blend. Society equates sexual orientation with gender identity and expression and sadly..many people STILL don't know the difference.

But I can give you MY personal opinion on why we distance ourselves. For example..I'm part of two different GLBT student organizations on my campus. One's more social, and one's more political, like fighting for equality and such. Now, I have a very heavy class load. I take 15 hours a semester and 8 classes (I'm a lab science major so all my classes have labs). In my spare time, I did everything I could to help my groups. I helped with moving equipment, decorations, flyers, planning activities, ect. All the "fun" stuff, the "social" stuff.
But, when things got REAL, and we wanted to circulate a petition around campus to get the phrase "gender identity and expression" included in our campus anti-discrimination policy, none of the GLB people in my group could be depended on to help. Why? because it didn't benefit THEM in any way, it wasn't in their own personal agenda, and they simply didn't want to expend any real effort.
I put my efforts into helping EVERYONE, but why should I continue to support a community that can't support me?

Answer 6

LGB is sexuality, T is gender.

We share a similar history in terms of prejudice. The same bigots who attack LGB people, also attack Trans people.

People think it is the same thing, but Trans people have to go through a period when everyone knows what they are doing. LGB people can walk down the street and look like everyone else, Trans people can't always do this.

Also many Trans go through a period of questioning their sexuality as well. It can often change during transitioning. Many identify as heterosexual, but many also identify as either G, L or B.

Answer 7

Because gender and sexuality don't have much to do with each other.

I don't think that they try to distance themselves, I think that perhaps they realize it is a whole different subject and they want the rest of the world to realize that as well.

But I am just a lesbian. Wait for a TG to answer, and then you will have the truth. :-)

Answer 8

the only reasons that transgendered people have been put in the "gay category" is becasue they, like gay people, do not fit eh norm for their physical gender, and becasue many of them come out as gay before they come out as trans. but really they are two separate condtions requireing separate categories.

Answer 9

They become the opposite sex because they feel like they were the wrong sex. That feeling never goes away. And in an attempt to live a normal hetero life they distance their self from it.