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What have you done for your Community today?
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Quote:Being cohesive doesn’t have to be about being political.
It can be about just being there for each other, and making people feel good, and making people laugh, and having a laugh yourself.What about a trans theatre group?
Or some kind of other activity where other t girls and or partners or significant others can actively participate?
And have fun.I think that in many ways, that’s what we’re achieving with the cafe nights in Newcastle at least. There is a group in Brisbane and less frequent groups in Sydney and Wollongong. I’d like to think that over time we’ll find a few girls in all of the bigger cities who are able to do the same.
Sooner or later, I’m sure that I’ll talk my son into coming along with me on a Tuesday night.
Alice
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Quote:You are hoping to take your son to a Cafe night? That seems a very cool thing to me.
At least you are in a better position to support your son through his gender enquiry.
:OT :OT :OT :OT
LOL. My son is 5yo and has known about my crossdressing pretty much since birth. It doesn’t bother him much, but he obviously knows that it’s unusual because, even though he likes the restaurant that we go to, he won’t go with me as Alice and without his mother. All in good time.
Looking at his behaviour and general disposition, I doubt that he has any gender confusion.
Alice
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Hi Girls,
I think Alice correctly draws the distinction of passing in your local community as female and decieving a partner into thinking you are genetically female. I know of a girl totally living stealth (including her work) and she is totally happy about it. She has told me that being treated as female is totally different from being treated as a trans female. Her partner certainly knows she is a transwoman though.
I sort of live in both worlds. I pass well enough so that I don’t get hassled but I remained in my old neighbourhood and workplace so everyone in those places knows me as a trans woman, or has I heard it beautifully expressed, a woman of transexual experience.
I don’t see anything wrong with women who take the stealth path as I don’t se anything wrong with those that don’t. We all have to follow our own paths as we see it.
Take care
Gwen -
Jade_Starr wrote:
Quote:There are endless GLBT websites always looking for people to sing a petition, there are volunteer groups like helping people with HIV an hour a week to volunteering time to somewhere like the gender centre helping others with make up, passing etc.I was once a regular at the Gender Center when it was at Morgan Street. I started going there in 2003, seeing the Counsellor and attending group sessions. Later saw me attending Wednesday night dinner drop-in, progressing to assisting the case workers with menu planning and meal preparation and general helping around the place. Numbers attending grew rapidly, which was a great validation to me
With Rick, a then caseworker, we planned and proposed a peer support service, which was unfortunately not to come to fruition due to ‘funding limitations’. We were disappointed that it would supposedly cost too much when it was to be all done on a voluntary basis with only minimal oversight by Gender Center management. The proposal was to provide a ‘mentor’ that the person in need could contact to ask the questions we all need to ask at sometime without feeling silly or foolish. The mentors were to be screened by the caseworker so that the Center could feel safe referring someone to them, after having received some training in peer support and elementary crisis management.
With Sean I continued assisting there as I could, while also residing within one of the Gender Centers’ houses. After Sean left, my cooking services were deemed no longer required, the then caseworkers preferring to bring in pre-cooked food(Woolworths chicken, oven fries and prepacked salads) for drop-ins instead, I soon discontinued attending, as did many others(sadly).
While doing a great job of fulfilling its charter of providing housing options to transpeople in need, the GC unfortunately cannot provide for the transgender community at large in all its flavors.
Dont get me wrong, I am thankful the Gender Center was there when I was in crisis, but it isnt the be-all and end-all in tranny support services. If you want to volunteer, more power to you, just dont expect too much, ok?
Why my speil here? Can anyone suggest concepts and ideas to possibly assist in the planning and possible birth of some sort of peer support service for our community, something that has been in the back of my mind for a few years now.
Your help would be appreciated.
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Have a look at the Bfriend program in Adelaide. Karen Poulten is a trans worker there and is currently setting up a peer support network for tg people along the lines you are discussing. I will be attending their training sessions next week and will know more about it then
Regards
Sandy
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Dear Mari
Yes I can agree with the need for a gender support service, so many new girls have got heaps of small and big questions. Most / almost all of us did not grow up as the world seeing us as a gilr and we missed out on so many thing growing up, then we are expected to get it all right first time, like make up etc.
I also belive a CD can make every ones elses life hell if they get it all wrong out there …. just putting a dress on and going out does not mean you are a girl …. giving other people the wrong impression about what we are all about.
So I am showing my support as I can see how much it can help our TS/TG/CD comunity …. too many of us dont make it cos it can be too confronting.
(Sorry for any poor spelling .. having a day of it)
Kelly Jones
ps this is not here to affend any one its just my thoughts
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Understanding and Education are the only real way that any advancement is going to happen. Every little thing that we do in public is in some way a help.
We are asking the world to let us be us. Yet by the same token we ask ourselves to stay shut away until we reach a certain standard. I see a slight problem here. Please don’t anyone take this as a shot at them this is just a very tired observation.
I feel within myself that I will never pass as a GG in any way shape or form. However I intend to continue my journey to it’s conclusion. So the way that I feel that I could best do it was to take my workplace with me. So the day I made my decision to transition I put in an order for female uniform. I felt that it best if my workmates and customers followed my journey from the start. I drive a bus.
Education can’t happen if things are hidden and to be honset with you I can’t be asked to hide.
I’m gender queer I’m here deal with it
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Malla said…
Quote:We are asking the world to let us be us. Yet by the same token we ask ourselves to stay shut away until we reach a certain standard. I see a slight problem here. Please don’t anyone take this as a shot at them this is just a very tired observation.Thank you Malla for putting the problem so succintly, I wish I could have done so well myself.
Quote:I feel within myself that I will never pass as a GG in any way shape or form. However I intend to continue my journey to it’s conclusion. So the way that I feel that I could best do it was to take my workplace with me. So the day I made my decision to transition I put in an order for female uniform. I felt that it best if my workmates and customers followed my journey from the start. I drive a bus.A bigger thank you to you for the having the courage to do this act of bravery, I know it couldnt have been easy. Transitioning the world around us truly is the only way we are really going to effect the change we need to live in a world where we arent sideshow freaks, ripe for the choosing as victims of discrimination, violence and death by those who really do seem to know no better, weilding ignorance like a reapers’ scythe through our community.
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Thank you for the compliment Mari but I don’t see what I’m doing as brave. I see it as being completely honest with myself, for the first time in over thirty years. The situation that I was in growing up forced me to hide behind walls of lies and bravado. The last of those walls finally collapsed last week in a most frightening way. Not on the road thank god.
From here I grow, with two things that I heard said on the Denton show. Both these sayings have affected my out look towards my open transition. The first was from a living book Trans girl who said ” Be yourself everybody else is already taken. ” And from a post op girl who had realized it was a mistake too late. When Denton asked how she planned to live her life her answer was ” as a happy hermaphrodite “.
As I said in my previous post I do not believe that I will ever pass as a genetic female. I do feel more than happy to pass as a happy me. That is what I take into the community around me.
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hi.. For me there is no were to hid i am as most of you all know we jos & i live in our community of 3500 people most know me both as a male & a transfemale or a women. timaru has 33000 people so i am known there . oamaru has about 16000 . i am known there as well plus other places in the south isl . now jos comes with me most of the time . & yes its hard for her yet. still comes i am in a mainly womens group called the edwardan heritage group we get dressed up in the 1900 to 1910 time our g kid does as well we do fashion nights we are a part of that so i am in front of a lot of people all the time so for me i am doing this to show those of us who can are there … now i know there are many who can not do what i can do i dont expect them to do it. they are not like me so we have to remember we are not all the same i have been accepted for who i am that is why i can do & meet so many people now we have another fashion show comming up again on the 26 july so we as a group do lots of things. & its so neat . i know some of you would like to do things . it just takes a lot of time to come to a place to be able to do it . if not hey thats not a problem …noeleena…
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I found this forum in the beginning had some interesting points to make, the whole idea of just giving out and doing small things within the community was quite a simple and smart one too. No need to hold a large placard screaming for understanding from the everyday community but to get out and live life.
Investing our time back into our community by going to a cafe night, a club meeting or just going out with your friends is the start of the grass roots campaign and that is changing our own ideas of community.
I started my journey by meeting of the girls in venues that have no connection to the public. And now I find myself going off to very public venues such as cafes, restaurants and the occasional theatre outing. It doesn’t sound like much, but like a small pebble popped into a pond with small ripples affect everything.
So the idea of what have you done to your community is still valid point, no matter how small you think your involvement within the community is, if enough of us are doing small things it must have an effect on how greatest society looks at us. As long as what we are doing positive things it can only do us good, to paraphrase John F. Kennedy “don’t ask what your community can do to you but what can you do to your community”
Penny
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Hi.
Well its been a year or two since i wrote about our community, & how its going & as Penny has come in . ill add some more.
the new groupsim amember of ,
Renassiance 1400 to 1700,
The S C A world wide & yes there are some groups in Austraila as well. we have had last xmas 210 people at a camp for a week men & women . & children.
,we had such a neat time ill be back again , as im an Archer we have about 40 people involved with that plus all the other happenings going on ,I’v just joined our womens institute or womens federation again world wide, we have some new members & starting a new group.
& apart from meeting many new people its still about being accepted for who you are, & i get to help at our Museum building of cause .
Im allso working with our St Johns & looking at being a paramedic,
As Penny has said can you or will you be a part of the community where you live,, i think we can ,
…noeleena…
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Hello ladies ,
I helped start a support group called Freedom ,Promoting the welfare of gender diverse individuals, their families, friends and allies, in Queensland !! We meet 3 rd saturday of month . Membership is open too everyone and is only $10 to join or a Gold coin if on a pension . We are incorperated ,have received a goverment grant and are in the process of getting charitable status . Freedom has been invited to participate on goverment committies and were invited too Womens Day lunch with the Premier of Queensland .The group have recently voted me too be President !
Cheers Ella – Kristine -
Hello ladies ,
I helped start a support group called Freedom ,Promoting the welfare of gender diverse individuals, their families, friends and allies, in Queensland !! We meet 3 rd saturday of month . Membership is open too everyone and is only $10 to join or a Gold coin if on a pension . We are incorperated ,have received a goverment grant and are in the process of getting charitable status . Freedom has been invited to participate on goverment committies and were invited too Womens Day lunch with the Premier of Queensland .The group have recently voted me too be President !
Cheers Ella – Kristine
