[Samantha Rogers]

Kim I agree with you completely. I am sure it will happen eventually, but to date, in the variety of outings I have had, I have not had one unpleasant encounter with the vanilla world. Rather, I have had a variety of encounters where I was treated respectfully and without any indication that I was anything other than a woman. I may be wrong, but I believe attitudes are changing.

[kimdl93]

What I really appreciate is that this is happening now, and I'm so very happy that I was able to step out past my threshold into a world that has proved much more accepting than I allowed myself to imagine.

[Missed Miss]

So I am typing this on my phone...forgive me if there are spelling errors.
As we all know, the world generally takes a dim view in many cases of TG individuals, ranging from humiliating remarks and laughter to outright disgust and hatred. It has always been my belief that the best way to change the world is by changing the person next to you. There are lots of "girls" I know who will not venture out in the company of any other girl that is not 100% passable, for fear of being "made" by extension. Well, I don't know if I am passable or not, nor do I really care. Not that I go around in garish makeup or fetish gear. I make every effort I can to pass. But it has never bothered me to be with other girls who could not pass. If we are to change attitudes I think we must do so not by hiding better but by communicating the concept that we are not perverse, sex fiend freaks, but simply human beings with all the same rights, cares, pros and cons as anyone else, and nothing to be afraid of nor ridiculed nor made fun of. I think that the gay world made huge strides by coming out publicly. It is much harder to hate a group once someone close to you whom you love or like identifies as belonging to that group. So, whenever I am out, I try to be open, pleasant, friendly and willing to engage in conversation with anyone.
Well, today, a good friend of mine is going a step further. She is a career military officer in the Canadian Army, with some serious operation time under her belt. She is the kind that jumps out of airplanes and puts herself in harms way repeatedly, and has endured her share of black depression as a result. She is also a CD and one of the sweetest, bravest most intelligent and caring people I know, and I am super proud to call her a close friend.
Today she is going onto her base, fully dressed, and participating with full military approval, in a meeting to begin adjusting the policies of the Canadian Army toward dress standards not only for full on TS soldiers but also for those who are CD or somewhere in the middle.
The respect she earned in battle has placed her in this unique position of opportunity, to be able to address these issues in front of superior officers free from disrespect and disdain, and she has not shrunk from the task but embraced it. Her success will impact the lives of countless TG people serving in Canadian military branches. And what the Canadian military does may have impact on the US services. God, I am so proud of her. (And she is pretty, too! Lol)

But my thinking is this....obviously we cannot all have such an impact. But we can change the person next to us. There are so many TG people out there...hiding, closeted, unwilling to reveal, afraid...but if each of us, even in drab, began to seriously take issue, poltely of course, whenever any of us was subject to scorn or derision, I just think the world would change that much faster. It has already changed so much just in my lifetime. Heck...last weekend eight of us ventured into a public restaurant in Grand Rapids, several girls barely passable, and ate dinner and no one laughed or pointed and there was no animousity at all. Later we all trooped into a mainstream five floor singles bar and mingled and danced, again with nothing but acceptance. In both places as opportunities presented themselves, I made conversation with lots of "vanilla" people, and I am sure for some it may well have been the first time they ever spoke to a transwoman. It was awesome.

Day by day. You may not change the world, but you can change the person next to you.

Where was she born? I have trans-friend, Carla Beck (nee Carl) who was born & raised in Youngstown. I wonder if these two are related?