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Acceptance
ACCEPTANCE
This was a topic for Q&A at Transformal last weekend and I regret not being able to attend the session . I wish it was available on podcast or a transcript as I think it is fascinating topic and applicable to all of us no matter where we are situated on the TG Spectrum.
So what do we regard as Acceptance ? Depending on which dictionary you have on your bookshelf it can mean , amongst other things (i) the act of taking or receiving something offered (ii) favourable reception (iii) the act of assenting or believing as in acceptance of a theory (iv) the act or state of being accepted or acceptable .
Perhaps ACCEPTANCE comes from better UNDERSTANDING and how can we improve that for ourselves and the rest of Society?
If you attended the Q&A session or even if you didn’t I would love to hear your opinions on the subject .
I’ve often thought about this word as it relates to being transgender and come to the conclusion that widespread acceptance of Transgendered people by the general community, although a noble aspiration for us , is a bit like expecting to be able to travel to Alpha Centauri by the end of next year. I’m not being pessimistic just reflecting reality as I see it.
It was wonderful though to experience the IDAHOT celebrations on Sunday at Katoomba. It clearly showed through the speeches that there are Civic leaders and others representative of The LGBTI who just want society to relax their views somewhat and regard us as fellow human beings deserving of the same rights as everyone else.
I hope, like many others, that one day ,widespread acceptance is achieved for all but in the meantime I just wish that society would at least “tolerate” gender diversity more than it currently seems to do. The recent high profile cases of people coming out as TG certainly do help in elevating the topic for discussion butlets face it there are a lot of ignorant people with hostile views to be wary of.
Welcome your thoughts.
Caroline
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2 Replies
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I think this issue is at the heart of what we are about Caroline. I too was blown away by the attitude of the civic leaders who spoke at IDAHOT. In my own life my close relatives are struggling to understand but I believe they would find it so much easier if the general community was on side. I’ll keep working on the issues at home but don’t give up on Alpha Centauri, that is where victory lies.
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Although I wasn’t able to attend the weekend I do think that we are much closer to alpha centuri than you think. Particularly now with the Bruce Jenner saga. Because of his/her high profile exposure this is promoting awareness. That awareness is then generating discussion which does create more awareness and in most cases generally ends up as acceptance. This is probably true for mostly the people who still submit to a binary way of thinking about gender. If that is your goal then I’d totally agree we have a long way but as for regular transgender and transitioning etc. I think it’s a little closer (think manned Mars mission maybe).
