First off I have to express my biases. I believe that myself as well as crossdressers as a whole have benefited from association with gays and lesbians. The first place I ever went dressed was a bar which is considered gay/lesbian oriented. Why? Because I heard that I would find acceptance there. Latter I begin attending support groups that were originally started and ran from a center established to help and assist gays/lesbians and latter transgender. I came to realize what makeup could do by observing drag queens perform. I also realize that many people will view me as gay because of the fact that I crossdress and I accept that and have no problem with that. Where it gets interesting to me is when people feel they need to assert immediately that they are not gay or are worried others will think they are gay. I can see where that may be important if you are married and coming out to your wife or a girlfriend but otherwise, what is the issue? Yes you may get hit on if you are at a gay/lesgian oriented bar, well duuuuh! (Saying that tongue in cheek) You are in some ways setting yourself up for that. I mean if you are sitting in Mcdonalds most people wont assume you are a vegetarian. I know about assumptions. Im just wondering how honest people are about there fears/ concerns even prejudices. It truly is a hard thing to look inward and see the dark places- heck Ive been there. hope this doesnt turn ugly but wanted to bring up some issues that I feel our important to our community.