[Adrian]

Since this topic has burst back into life.. perhaps I could add a postlude – it has been 13 months since Genni logged into TgR. After the outburst last year Genni seems to have moved on. I guess TgR and the opinions of some of the members were not to her liking. At the end of the month Genni will automatically be purged from the website as being inactive.

[Adrian]

Kristyana wrote:

Eventually the disruption resigned after causing maximum damage.

Kristyana,

A sad outcome but not an entirely unexpected one.

The history of attempts to unify the community and represent transgender issues is littered with personality fireworks like the one that has clearly derailed the ANZPATH initiative. The length to which people have discussed topics such as “are we a community?” and “have we a voice?” in these forums demonstrates the challenges to achieving consensus.

Maybe I’m being over-generous, but I sense that the intentions of those involved in transgender advocacy are honorable and they do want to contribute to the common good. But often their ideas of the common good are narrow and based on their individual experiences and gender expression.

Over the years I have got fed up of being attacked by “gender warriors” for disagreeing with their restricted (e.g. transexual, health, marriage… ) focus. So I steer clear of any political activism now.

But I do detect a trend where those who preach from a narrow platform are becoming more aware their views are incomplete and discriminatory. In this context maybe the time is favourable for an all-embracing initiative like the one I understand was proposed at ANZPATH.

So hang in there Kristyana! Listen to the issues we all have, build a broad platform, and there is some hope going forward!

[Adrian]

Carol wrote:

From my experience on other sites it seems very difficult to keep an active group of partners involved but good luck.

I also think it would take work to add value to the experience partners get on the site. But from my perspective I would rather be able to say “you are welcome to join”. In some ways this is the same challenge as building a community of TransMen on the site. But the first step clearly has to be embracing them as members.

[Adrian]

Laura_J wrote:

Test doesn’t seem to work for me

Same here – I tried two browsers but the test only allowed me to do the first part.
The test has been archived – perhaps they did that because it was broken and they didn’t have the resources to fix it.

[Adrian]

Ok – I’ll go ahead and implement a partners membership type.

At this stage I propose to block partner access to the forums discussing HRT / Surgery etc but leave all the other forums wide open to Partners. I’ll monitor what actually happens if/when we have active partners onboard – and adjust forum access as necessary.

[Adrian]

Tickets will go on sale late Jan or early Feb. No need to rsvp – just buy a ticket when they go on sale.

Ticket prices should be similar or the same as last year. But this will be finalised next year when we have a better idea of costs.

[Adrian]

jordan wrote:

If we do make a section that is tg people only then maybe we should consider a partners only section?

I’m confused… isn’t this the same thing?

Adrian wrote:

PROPOSAL: We could add a new membership class “Partner”.
– The partner class would have no joining fee, but would be linked to an active existing member.
– A single forum would added that is visible only to partners (and moderators).
– Some other existing forums would be hidden from partners and/or made read only – depending on members views
– Partners would not have access to the chat room

[Adrian]

There is a dark side to the decriminalization of transgender Muslims. According to some authors the Qur’an explicitly recognises that there are some people who are neither male nor female. Verses 42:49-42:50 are translated by these authors as: “To God belongs the dominion over the heavens and the earth. It creates what it wills. It prepares for whom it wills females, and it prepares for whom it wills males. Or it marries together the males and the females, and it makes those whom it wills to be ineffectual (barren)”.

Even though the word “homosexuality” does not exist in the Qur’an. It is widely believed in Muslim societies that homosexuality is forbidden in Islam. This perception is also embodied in Muslim laws to the extent that in some countries homosexuality is a crime punishable by death (by stoning).

The growing acceptance of sex change surgery in Muslim societies whilst at the same time retaining the belief that being gay or lesbian is punishable by death inevitably produces some strange outcomes.

Read this article from the BBC about “diagnosed transexuals” in Iran.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7259057.stm

It is hard to see that the current situation in these countries is “healthy”. They have so far to go before their citizens share the sexual and gender freedom that we enjoy.

[Adrian]

Suzzanne wrote:

Ironic isnt it ? Society’s acceptance has increased greatly which has led to the demise of the old tranny meeting places …

I have spent time recently thinking about a number of issues that confront the gender diverse community here in Australia – and it seems that good change so often carries unwanted side effects.

In the case of “Tranny Friendly” venues I think the sad part is we are loosing the opportunities to go out and socialise with the intent of meeting others who are also gender diverse. No matter how “normal” we consider ourselves, and how “normal” the social life we choose to enjoy – the fact is that it is healthy to have close friends who are diverse. The sort of friends who just understand what you are going through and don’t need an explanation of what is going on inside our heads.

So instead of asking about “Tranny Friendly” places in Sydney – which we all know is a bottomless list – we are perhaps asking about “Tranny Frequented” places. And there are very few of those. It is a need that drives attendance I think at regular cafe nights (like Glebe and Newcastle), and a need that can only be satisfied only for a very few by groups like Seahorse.

Caroline wrote:

Maybe it could develop into a place where it wouldnt be unusual to meet a few others

I guess the only way this happens if people take upon themselves the task of organising opportunities to meet others. It isn’t going to happen by chance in a place as big as Sydney. Someone has to nominate a place to go, choose when, and be there to ensure that the place actually is “T Frequented”.

So don’t look for things happening – make them happen yourself!

[Adrian]

Glenda & Nicola,
Thanks for offering to help.
I’ve added you to the working group forum.
You should have an invite in your email.

[Adrian]

Michelle

Thanks for the offer of help.
I’ve added you into the working group forum.

I’ve started a couple of threads in the working group looking for input from those who have expressed an interest in helping. Hopefully we can ramp up the level of activity on the survey…

[Adrian]

Halloween Night – there were no tricks – just a nice treat for those attending the Glebe cafe!

[Adrian]

Kate,

Years and years ago when I felt I had need of padding I went to The Foam Booth. I told them I was making theatrical costumes and wanted some foam to pad out an outfit. What they sold me was pretty perfect for the job – though the first time I ordered too thin a sheet. As Catherine says you sculpt it (and your fingers) with a craft knife blade – so starting too thick doesn’t make any real difference.

[Adrian]

I have set up a group on the forums to allow discussion about the detail of a survey without it cluttering up the main discussion areas.

Everyone who has expressed an interest in helping so far should have received an invite to the group.

Anyone else who wants to contribute in any way… please put your hand up in this thread … and I’ll put you in the group.

But feel free to continue to post in this thread any general questions and ideas about doing a 2015 survey.

[Adrian]

Martina,
Personally, “the what happens to the report” after- story was the big disappointment of the previous survey. We took a lot of time writing a professional report – and I assumed that because the data was interesting others would naturally show interest. But that didn’t happen. We invited plenty of external groups to the survey report launch but none turned up. To be honest we were all exhausted after doing the analysis/report writing/presentation and no one stepped forward to present it to the media. A video was shot of the presentation – but it never saw the light of day.

So I don’t know where the survey went or how many people have downloaded the report. Personally I justify the effort for the help it gives existing and future TgR members in understanding the diversity of the community and the issues we collectively face.

If others want to focus more specifically on the after-story this time they will be very very welcome. But realistically those working on the project have to feel it is justified without the interest or support of people outside TgR. There remains scant evidence of a global supportive community working for the collective common good.