The right to mis-define oneself

[bennyboy]

I'm pretty sure most transgender people are more scared of us than you are of their bits.

Context here, trans people are questioned, gossiped about, oggled, fetishized, harassed, sexually assaulted, beaten up and murdered. The murder rate for transgender people is an absolute disgrace. This isn't The Hangover, this is real life, trans people are not going to trust anyone they've just met to invite back to their place for a quickie. I imagine it's a life of being contantly on the look out for danger.

In short, they're waaaay more worried about what you might do to them, than you are about what's in their pants.

I'm sympathetic to the social issues surrounding transexuals.  Nobody should be hated for what they are, or belittled for not conforming to stereotyped roles.  Nobody should be in physical danger because they are different.  My argument is not with the people-- it's with the process of definition, and the implications that process has on acceptable behaviors.  I don't think it's okay for a white woman to lie to pretend she's back, and then engage in a career in black studies under that pretense.