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I had a dream…but what do we mean by cooperation?
There seems to be general agreement that as a community we don’t function very well.
People regularly say to me
Quote:“There is no need for{{insert organisational name of choice}} and TgR to compete with each other – they should co-operate more”But in the past I (and others) have tried this “co-operation” thing with surprisingly few results.
Why should “cooperation” be so tricky?Thinking about it, I’ve become convinced our failure to build a functional community is because none of us has a clear idea what cooperation is, and how it would manifest itself.
It’s a case of “it sounds good so it must be good whatever it is”.That isn’t to say that people cannot articulate what is wrong… we point the fingure of blame at other organisations with words like rivalry, competition, ego, defensiveness…..
But this is all negative stuff… it tells us we don’t like the current situation, but provides no clues at all as to where we might want to go.
So I want to start a thread talking about the POSITIVES.
What is co-operation?
How would it benefit the gender diverse community?
How would it affect TgR?
I’m keen to hear your suggestions, but please note..
Quote:DO NOT write things like “cooperation is not competing with each other”…instead write what it means to not compete.
Any post that mentions a negative reason for what is wrong is automatically off-topic.
We have heard that story too often. Focus instead on the vision…
what a co-operating community would look like..If we know where we want to go then perhaps we can all take small steps to get there…
I had a dream….. -
5 Replies
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OK – the challenge is on!
We probably all have several key things in common, most notably that virtually all of us are positioned somewhere across the gender spectrum – that is, our brains are out of alignment to varying degrees with what was declared at the time we all came kicking and screaming into the world. And, most likely, we have a whole lot of similar experiences of the consequences of forging our way in the world while living and coping with the discordance within us.
But it’s not one size fits all – the extent of the dissonance in each of us varies hugely. This simple fact alone means that there is tremendous diversity within the TG community. And it’s probably fair to say that only the most remarkable of organisations could adequately cater for all our differences.
So, it is perhaps no surprise that that there are so many groups – they have evolved, or budded out, in response to a broad range of needs.
Recognition and acceptance of the diversity may well be an essential starting point. After that, it may be possible to think of effective ways to link groups so that useful synergies begin to evolve.
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Cooperation: Could start with the postings of other Organizations events to their own respective members – I know TgR does this for other groups now, but having it reciprocal might be a first step.
How this would benefit the Community – Well many groups members here in Queensland seem not to access the internet – so having events published in a hard copy Newsletter would inform those members of firstly the existence of TgR and the possibly of meeting up in real and communicating with new people other than their own organizations members.
How would this affect TgR – this is a tricky one – Perhaps there is not much benefit for TgR in general, so its more of a community service (like the Events Calendar we have now)There has been talk of perhaps exploring the possibility of allowing members from one group to attend events of another group, when in that town. This becomes tricky with TgR as anyone can apply to come to events already, so its not for TgR but rather for say a member of a QLD group when visiting a different area being able to attend a local groups event. The difficulties here are – confirming the person is a member of ‘said’ group I guess. This is something the groups would have to work out. Except for those organizations that have ‘secret’ meetings however the case maybe moot as many other groups allow non members attend events already…
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I don’t wish to become homogenised, or be part of an organisation which expects conformity. TgR promotes networking, individuals can develop social supports & friendships. The different organised groups do not need to be mutually exclusive.
I personally don’t believe there’s much wrong with TgR. It’s a living organism, so will continue to evolve to meet the needs & wants of the the community it supports.
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Hi Sophia here
good to hear a discussion commencing on the subject of cooperation. I for one just new to the community early this year. However I wanted to see what is out there so joined Seahorse NSW/Vic, CTN and TgR. I have found all these organizations have hardworking volunteer committee/office bearers with passion to support all on the trans gender journey. One may pick one organization over another for their own need.
I cherish the diversity of the organizations and the many wonderful people in them.
Maybe we need a forum for all to meet up and discuss the need for cooperation for when it doesn’t happen between organizations it just leaves negative energy that stifles the growth to learn and accept.
cheers Sophia -
It appears to me that all of he organisations in this country have one thing in common, providing support and information to their respective members. This is the one positive thing that they all do, and indeed is the very reason most of these organisations started in the first place.
I feel that the nature of a large percentage of the membership, needs a certain amount of secrecy. To the best of my knowledge all of the current organisations provide this as well.
I guess the best way to support all of the members of the TG community, would be to provide a diverse program of events A program that not only reflect the needs of the individual group, but also the needs of members of other groups as well.
This of course raises the matter of identifying the membership status of people who wish to attend a particular function, which has already been mentioned. I am sure noone wants to carry a membership card, if they are so deep in the closet that anything like this poses a risk of being found out. So perhaps an on-line list of members that only executive staff from other organisations can access would help people attend functions as sister group members. A little like the NMRA and RACV etc.
Even though we are a minority we still have the same diversity of people as any other population group in the world. This of course means that we have to be diverse when dealing with members needs and desires.
Hugs Pamela!
