Serious Question: Why are so Many People Afraid/Unaccepting of Transgender People?

a reply to: interupt42

We can go in circles here all day. Much of transgenders' unhappiness has to do with society's treatment of them. A drug addict's life is a struggle because their brain and bodies are dying from the drugs. You CANNOT compare the two-- at all.

a reply to: kaylaluv

Happiness comes from within. Period. If you understood that, you could own your own emotions, and the OP become totally irrelevant.

But nope, we are all responsible for the way you feel. Right....

a reply to: ketsuko

All I choose for my child is that she be happy and loved.

I teach my child that people like homosexuals and transgenders exist and are just as worthy and just as human as anyone else. I do not hide my child from homosexuals and transgenders as if they didn't exist, just like I don't hide her from black people or Hispanic people, or anyone else who is different from us. I teach my child that she will encounter people throughout her life who will be very different from her, and as long as they aren't hurting anyone else, she should treat them with kindness and respect.

a reply to: ISawItFirst

You (and I and everyone else) are responsible for how we treat others. Or do you raise your child that it's okay to treat other kids badly because it's not his responsibility to be nice?

a reply to: ISawItFirst

a reply to: kaylaluv

We can go in circles here all day.

Agreed

Much of transgenders' unhappiness has to do with society's treatment of them..

Partly, some have to do with internal unhappiness or other struggles.

I have met people that society considers normal and approves of that are unhappy.

A drug addict's life is a struggle because their brain and bodies are dying from the drugs. You CANNOT compare the two-- at all

Not true, but you are the one who is incorrectly comparing them. It has nothing todo with drugs or brain. The comparison again for the third time , has todo with the fact that a drug user and transgender will both likely have difficult life filled with struggle.

originally posted by: interupt42

The comparison again for the third time , has todo with the fact that a drug user and transgender will both likely have difficult life filled with struggle.

For completely different reasons. I've never met a happy healthy drug addict. I do know a happy healthy transsexual who has a strong support system with a loving accepting family and friends. It is totally possible to be a happy transsexual. It is not possible for a person addicted to heroin to be happy, no matter how much someone loves them.

a reply to: honested3

Probably something to do with an innate feeling of being somehow hoodwinked, or at least attempted deception.

To explain, subconsciously we identify 'like us' hundreds of times a minute..we can't help it, it's an evolutionary / genetic survival trait hardwired into our primitive or primordial brain that our higher brain mostly disregards until it is dragged into the game by something that the primitive brain finds disturbing.

When we see TG people, something clicks in our primitive brain that all is not as it seems to be...we are being deceived which could very well mean we're in or could be in danger or peril.

Of course, there is no danger from TG people just being TG people, but it's the primitive brain we're talking about here, and it is almost always on 'autopilot' and functions as it does without our having a choice in the matter.

We see a Woman or a Man in front of us...but then we don't see a Woman or a Man, we see something else entirely...neither one nor the other. This creates an alarm response in the primitive part of our brains, similar to the irrational fears that we have of the dark, of harmless bugs, of all of those things that we know in our higher functioning brain won't harm us, yet we still feel that sense of unease, that hair on the back of the neck standing up, the feeling that something is just not right...that is then passed on to our higher brain for closer examination and conscious assessment.

This all happens in the blink of an eye of course (be pretty useless as a survival tool if it took an hour to identify a threat!) and our higher functioning brain will normally dismiss the irrational fear alarm as not worth bothering about, yet the feeling of disquiet remains for a short while, until something else distracts us and we move along with other thoughts and actions in our normal day.

It's this strange, innate threat assessment routine that is the cause of a hell of a lot of strife in our lives, both personal (as in the OP's case) and on larger scales, such as national levels.

Racism, sexism, ageism...and probably just about all of the 'isms' can be traced back to this lower, primitive brain defence throwback in my view.

It's something you'll have to live with and accept as being part of your life i'm afraid, as although there are many who can recognise and then suppress the irrational fear response, many don't even know they are doing it, and as we cannot separate out our primitive brain from our higher one..all of those 'isms' will be with us for some time to come.

Op..you say your happily married, live a normal life, have a job you enjoy and so on...you're lucky. Many don't have that kind of life, TG, gay or straight.

Enjoy the time you have, it'll be over before we know it...don't waste it worrying about others.

a reply to: honested3

My experience is the complete opposite. If I put on a frock, pretty girls talk to me more, men are after kisses, and BJs, etc.

I'm not really into it that much, but if I was, I'm sure I'd be more popular.

What do you look like? Maybe people find it creepy if you look more like a girl than a dude in a dress?

originally posted by: kaylaluv

originally posted by: interupt42

The comparison again for the third time , has todo with the fact that a drug user and transgender will both likely have difficult life filled with struggle.

For completely different reasons. I've never met a happy healthy drug addict. I do know a happy healthy transsexual who has a strong support system with a loving accepting family and friends. It is totally possible to be a happy transsexual. It is not possible for a person addicted to heroin to be happy, no matter how much someone loves them.

So you are than suggesting there is no problem? So you are suggesting that transgender are known for being happy and live a easy good life so why change it? Its such an easy life as a transgender that they have a high suicide rate?

You are grasping at straws. You know that being a transgender is not an easy life regardless the reason behind it, eitherwise this wouldn't be an issue.

lets break down the drug user comparison with transgenders for the 4th time for you:

1. Do drug addicts have an easy and good life: NO
2. Do transgenders have an easy and good life: NO

See the comparison, neither one have an easy life.

Let me know if you need me to draw it with pictures in order for you to comprehend that comparison.

a reply to: interupt42



Is it possible for drug addicts to ever have an easy life? No

Is it possible for black people to have a hard life? Yes

Is it possible for black people to have an easy life? Yes

Is it possible for transgenders to have a hard life? Yes

Is it possible for transgenders to have an easy life? Yes

Are there transgenders who are happy? Yes, I know one personally. They have a strong family and lots of good friends. Why couldn't that person be in a movie?

originally posted by: Poppcocked
When you are able to carry and birth a child, then i will accept you.

No, you won't. You'll just move the goalposts again. I guess we will find out soon enough since science is headed that direction.

Also, good job invalidating all the women out there who can't have children for medical reasons. You just told them they don't count either.

a reply to: Cuervo

Just as all the Men who cannot become a Father are not actually men i suppose?

You make a good point.

originally posted by: kaylaluv
a reply to: ISawItFirst

You (and I and everyone else) are responsible for how we treat others. Or do you raise your child that it's okay to treat other kids badly because it's not his responsibility to be nice?

Here is your coded language calling me a bigot. This is totally immaterial. I teach my children to love each person as they love themselves.

Nice doesn't come into it. You want people to approve of your lifestyle. I respect your right to it, and I love you, truly, but I do not and will not approve of your lifestyle.

If it makes you feel any better, as a smoker, I don't approve of my own lifestyle either. I've been to a pride parade. It is all about shoving it in people's faces to force them to approve.

This thread is the same thing. It's approval seeking behavior. It's worse than that because you want to be able to call people names who disagree.

I don't think that is very nice. It seems changing your gender has not given you the self satisfaction or actualization that you were hoping for. That's what life is for, there are no shortcuts.

It is neither fear nor unnacceptance. If it makes you happy, I celebrate it, but I still do not approve.

Love ya. -isif

originally posted by: kaylaluv
a reply to: interupt42

Is it possible for drug addicts to ever have an easy life? No

Not true, ask Charlie Sheen. He has a much easier life than many non drug users. However, that is not typical or the norm.

Are there transgenders who are happy? Yes, I know one personally. They have a strong family and lots of good friends. Why couldn't that person be in a movie?

That is not the norm, just because your friend is happy and living a normal life doesn't mean that most transgenders don't have a difficult life . Hence the OP created this thread.

If it was an easy life as a transgender than why change society?

It's fear and religion.

Treat all people with respect.

I love the people that say things like stop pushing it down their throats. I don't think they realize how much discrimination and hate towards transgendered people there is and how hard it is to fight for just equal rights.

Great thread. Keep fighting. I've got your back.

originally posted by: amazing
It's fear and religion.

Treat all people with respect.

I love the people that say things like stop pushing it down their throats. I don't think they realize how much discrimination and hate towards transgendered people there is and how hard it is to fight for just equal rights.

Great thread. Keep fighting. I've got your back.

Your equal rights involve changing the valid emotions of other conscious individuals against their will.

You don't want equal rights, you have them. You just want everyone to like you. No one has that luxury.

originally posted by: interupt42



If it was an easy life as a transgender than why change society?

Because changing society will make a transgender's life much easier. How could you not see that? A happy transgender could then be the norm.

Look, your original argument was that you didn't want your child to see a happy transgender. You seem to have some fear that if your child sees a happy transgender that it will make him want to be one. That is a silly fear. But I can think of no other reason.

originally posted by: ISawItFirst

originally posted by: amazing
It's fear and religion.

Treat all people with respect.

I love the people that say things like stop pushing it down their throats. I don't think they realize how much discrimination and hate towards transgendered people there is and how hard it is to fight for just equal rights.

Great thread. Keep fighting. I've got your back.

Your equal rights involve changing the valid emotions of other conscious individuals against their will.

You don't want equal rights, you have them. You just want everyone to like you. No one has that luxury.

Wait, what does your reply even mean?

I said treat everyone with respect. You don't have to like a transgendered person or me, but you have to respect them and treat them equally. That's it. How is that changing your valid emotions? And are you saying that you dislike me or transgendered people? Why? By the way, I'm not transgendered.

originally posted by: amazing

originally posted by: ISawItFirst

originally posted by: amazing
It's fear and religion.

Treat all people with respect.

I love the people that say things like stop pushing it down their throats. I don't think they realize how much discrimination and hate towards transgendered people there is and how hard it is to fight for just equal rights.

Great thread. Keep fighting. I've got your back.

Your equal rights involve changing the valid emotions of other conscious individuals against their will.

You don't want equal rights, you have them. You just want everyone to like you. No one has that luxury.

Wait, what does your reply even mean?

I said treat everyone with respect. You don't have to like a transgendered person or me, but you have to respect them and treat them equally. That's it. How is that changing your valid emotions? And are you saying that you dislike me or transgendered people? Why? By the way, I'm not transgendered.

I don't dislike anyone. We are being told we need to change society for the feelings of a few people.

I don't treat anyone differently. In that I am honest in the way I conduct myself. I didn't say they were my emotions.

Nobody treats everyone the same. Nobody invites the drunk rowdy guy to the bbq. Everyone I know limits their social circle cross over. I'm just honest about it.

What is it you want. All I see is we want equal rights. What rights do I have that you do not? That question always breaks down into people don't like me.

They just want to be liked. No problem. In fact I love them.

I'm not into legislating protected classes of people. Or changing society to have protected classes. That is not equal rights.