Why is it so taboo?

[sometimes_miss]

Most societies throughout history depended upon men for the protection and defense of their existence. Before projectile arms, females were simply considered weaker in battle, as well as submissive; as nurturers, they were also seen as less likely to finish off an injured enemy. A male exhibiting female behavior in any way would be suspect to submitting to an enemy quicker than a 'normal' male, so he would be considered a weak link in the chain of protection that society, and as such, wouldn't be considered useful for anything, but using up food and shelter resources. Women see feminine men as potentially not willing to defend those women from attack. So women don't see us as potential mates to have children. Then of course the sexual desire is gone, so they have no use for us either. Hence the propensity for our societies to consider mtf behavior a taboo.

[Brittany CD]

Look at it this way; do we generally approve of others who are actively trying to make themselves look like other people? Do we like people who go out and trick others into believing that they are a different individual? Now imagine you meet a girl one day and it turns out that's not only the person you thought she was, but she's really a guy. As much as I love dressing as a girl, I can see why people don't like it

[Donna St. Marten]

I agree with Brittany. Crossdressing has a unique deceptive aspect to it, which others might not appreciate. Except for magic shows, people really don't like being fooled.

[Jaymees22]

Sometimes the taboo part makes it more exciting. People are generally uncomfortable talking about gender and sex. They don't seem to understand that they are two different things.

Old joke "How many children do you have? We have 3, one of each."

[Katey888]

I've thought long and hard before responding to this... the theme is a central one to why we are all here and not just getting on with life however we please...

What is a taboo anyway? To paraphrase a wiki definition: 'A strong prohibition relating to any area of human activity or custom that is sacred or forbidden based on moral judgment and religious beliefs' - to break a taboo is considered objectionable by society in general...

So simply, the oppression of one minority by another minority who harness the voting power of the silent majority who harbour no real wish to understand or accommodate 'weird' minorities like us.

I don't think we are subject to a 'real' taboo by society... Those would be actions such as incest or cannibalism, for example - both supported by a very strong practical and moral rationale. A number of folk have touched on why it is taboo here - in my mind, principally that gender issues are misunderstood and will remain so by academics and therefore lawmakers and voters. The reason behind this is simpler: there is no pressing economic reason why we need to be recognised by society at large - nobody cares, because the real impact of transgenderism is small. That's not a judgement on those TG/TS folk that genuinely need help; but it's no difference to the thousands of people who may suffer a debilitating disease but it will never be researched because the economics just don't work out. To the outside world, we could simply get on with what we want to do today - most of us... If we choose to...

Is this taboo more in our heads than in reality...? I think perhaps it is.

Is the bigger taboo perhaps the more damaging impact our families and loved ones would experience because of the anticipated humiliation and sense of shame that they would feel about any public outing of ourselves? I think so as well.

Another thought provoking one - and another good reason to crack that bottle of cabernet again...

Thanks Christen (working on behalf of Aussie wine consumption again...)

Katey x

[Annaliese2010]

The public unacceptability of M2F transgendered behavior by normal gendered males and females is ingrained i.e. genetic, in a general overall sense. I mean to the extent average human thinking and behavior is genetically influenced - which it is alot IMO.

Why? Well we have to go back in time to find out. Climb in and I'll pull the control stick back ~~~(time machine mechanism whirring n whooshing~~~~~~~~~~

The emergence of self-aware behaviorally modern humans occurred ~45,000 years ago. Throughout the many millennia that have come and gone since then, our very survival as a species depended on traditional male qualities like brute strength, power, aggression, risk taking and the will to dominate. Watch that tribe over there hunting down that enormous Woolly Mammoth! OMG! ~~~ now look at the males in that other tribe fighting off a Saber Tooth Tiger, protecting their women and little children (aww?). So yeah these genetic traits were necessary and had obvious evolutionary importance. Strong males survived and propagated. Their gene pool concentrated and amplified in time. Males that were weak by comparison, such as those who by their nature did not possess these qualities and certainly those who exhibited behaviors that are more female-like such as conflict avoidance, submissiveness and nurturing were much less likely to survive and pass on their genes.

So the way I see it, to answer your question, it's like...there is a natural inborn tude against us because we deviate so much from the male norm. The standard normal patterns of male (and female) thought and behavior that have become ingrained over vast periods of time make it very difficult for them to understand let alone accept us for who we are by our differing genetic makeup.

Only very recently, on an evolutionary time scale, have things changed in such a way that allows M2F transgendered girls to survive and thrive. Why? Well it's because...like beginning with the Rise of Civilization to the Middle Ages; the Age of Discovery to the Age of Enlightenment; the Industrial Revolution to the Scientific Revolution, right up to and including the modern age of science and technology, our society has advanced to the point where those traditional male qualities once so important to our survival as a species have become decidedly less important now.

In fact by the passage and enforcement of the multitude of laws and regulations common to most advanced societies today there is a decided de-emphasis of previously valued traditional male-like behaviors such as risk-taking, extreme assertiveness, aggression and forcefulness. In spite of this welcomed new standard for acceptable male behavior parochial attitudes regarding gender issues lag behind, haven't changed much and will probably persist for a very long time.

That plus how the average GG woman still privately values and needs the sense of security provided by a male who, underneath his tempered, toned-down, held-in-check forceful self, there is a "real man". They need to know he has the strength, power and willingness to throw down and unleash hell to protect her (and the kids) and jealously defend her from harm if needs be must. Generally speaking, a M2F transgender identified male whose more girl than man is assumed very unlikely to satisfy such a need.

Sigh...

[Tina_gm]

That plus how the average GG woman still privately values and needs the sense of security provided by a male who, underneath his tempered, toned-down, held-in-check forceful self, there is a "real man". They need to know he has the strength, power and willingness to throw down and unleash hell to protect her (and the kids) and jealously defend her from harm if needs be must. Generally speaking, a M2F transgender identified male whose more girl than man is assumed very unlikely to satisfy such a need.

Fight or flight? For many GG's, the reaction would be flight, unless that option was unavailable. For most men, their 1st reaction would be to fight. Perhaps most GG's want a man who can offer the fight option as it (if and when successful) eliminates the problem and the need to flight. So, when their "man" is portraying anything feminine, the underling thought is , the man is not able to provide the security and now the only option is flight, which he along with her will do. flight doesn't eliminate the problem entirely as fight does. It doesn't truly end it. Flight offers survival until the fight option that the "man" provides becomes available. When the fight option is perceived to be never available, or at least less available, the problem then continues on, perceived to be never ending, or often not readily available.

[lovetobedani]

I think that M2F crossdressing is concidered weird or unacceptable because most of thnoes who don't do it cannot understand it. Most of us don't understand why we do it either and just need to accept that we are who we are. I've often asked myself why. I have no clue but it feels liberating and natural to me. There are many threads here that ask the same question. Why and how.

I have an even better question.........Why do alot of GG's accept gay men as freinds but call us strange??