(February 3, 2019 at 11:57 am)Jehanne Wrote:

(February 3, 2019 at 11:00 am)bennyboy Wrote: Any time someone falls out of the bell curve in a psychological sense, you have to wonder if there's something else there as well. 

Homosexuality, once upon a time, was listed on the DSM as being a mental illness; ditto for cross-dressing and being a trans.  No longer.

And, so, who are you to judge?  And, by what authority??

I feel like you didn't read my whole post.  Point form: 
(1) people get creeped out by "other";  
(2) exposure in media is changing that by making people more familiar, even though they are unlikely to meet many trans or non-binary people in their daily lives; 
(3) I can relate to you more than you think

As for DSM, part of the trick is that mental disorders are very much determined by one's inability to function normally in life-- but we can see that a big part of that isn't just how YOU are, but how other people cope with interacting with you.

Not worth the huff, but huff away if you like it. I asked some serious questions about trans thinking, but you really shut me out by just going with a one-line rage instead of engaging with me.

Not all people are creeped out by 'other'.

Everyone is 'other' to someone.

(February 3, 2019 at 12:55 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: Not all people are creeped out by 'other'.

Everyone is 'other' to someone.

I think all people ARE creeped out by "other."  But maybe not the same other.  The idea of exposure on the internet is to make people familiar with gay, trans or whatever, and then people won't really see them as "other," but as a subgroup of "us."

Speaking as a child of the 70s and 80s, and with parents who knew very many gay men (well, maybe half a dozen, but that was a big % of their real friendship pool), I saw that automatic "ick" factor turn into beatings-- and it was pretty obviously from a real visceral dislike or mistrust.  But I don't think that many people feel that way any more.

Other can be interesting.

That's why I like people watching. Other can be fascinating. Because I don't understand or relate to the other doesn't mean I am creeped out by it.

You really can't speak for all people being anything...you can maybe speak for you and your circle but not for everyone.

Does being a child of the 70s and 80s make you special? I am a child of the 60s and 70s...do I win?

(February 3, 2019 at 1:21 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: You really can't speak for all people being anything...you can maybe speak for you and your circle but not for everyone.

Does being a child of the 70s and 80s make you special?  I am a child of the 60s and 70s...do I win?

What's with these constant appeals to authority?

Yes, being a child of that era makes me special.

I've seen homosexuality going from being automatically despised by almost everybody, to being almost totally accepted by almost everybody, at least publicly.  I think the AIDS epidemic, Freddie Mercury, Boy George, Poison in drag, some movies like the Crying Game and a lot of other media and social issues were really a big period in acceptance of homosexuality (though obviously the Crying Game came after the 80s).

Your generation. . . hey, it was a great start.  But in my generation, it was a defining issue.

So, you are special. Duly noted.

(February 3, 2019 at 2:01 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: So, you are special.  Duly noted.

I'm a special snowflake.  Don't flame me, I might melt!

(February 3, 2019 at 12:53 pm)bennyboy Wrote:

(February 3, 2019 at 11:57 am)Jehanne Wrote: Homosexuality, once upon a time, was listed on the DSM as being a mental illness; ditto for cross-dressing and being a trans.  No longer.

And, so, who are you to judge?  And, by what authority??

...but how other people cope with interacting with you.

Other than my immediate family, how others "cope" with me is their problem, not mine.

(February 3, 2019 at 2:52 pm)Jehanne Wrote:

(February 3, 2019 at 12:53 pm)bennyboy Wrote: ...but how other people cope with interacting with you.

Other than my immediate family, how others "cope" with me is their problem, not mine.

I'm sorry, but each part of that sentence seems wrong to me.

(1)  Why should your immediate family have to "cope"?  Aren't they they ones who should most easily accept you for who you are?
(2)  Others DO have to cope with what you are, and I think you know that from real life, unless people are much kinder than I think they are.

See, I'm not just pulling opinions out of my ass, here.  I've been around people, and the things I'm saying about how people are seem pretty apparent to me.

(February 3, 2019 at 6:15 pm)bennyboy Wrote:

(February 3, 2019 at 2:52 pm)Jehanne Wrote: Other than my immediate family, how others "cope" with me is their problem, not mine.

I'm sorry, but each part of that sentence seems wrong to me.

(1)  Why should your immediate family have to "cope"?  Aren't they they ones who should most easily accept you for who you are?
(2)  Others DO have to cope with what you are, and I think you know that from real life, unless people are much kinder than I think they are.

See, I'm not just pulling opinions out of my ass, here.  I've been around people, and the things I'm saying about how people are seem pretty apparent to me.

I don't care what strangers think, or, even friends or coworkers. My family is different, and my non-surgical transition has been difficult on them, my spouse, especially, but such has brought me some inner peace, and I am unwilling to part with that.