Is it just me or has the angst level risen noticeably around here recently? There's a thread on CDs being reviled the world over, another on being locked in the closet by society, another on aborting a child if we had advance knowledge they would be TG, etc. Maybe it's just pre-Halloween jitters, but I find it troubling.
As a group I believe we tend to mischaracterize society's willingness to accept CDing as well as as the motives of those who don't immediately welcome us with open arms. We call folks bigots, say they are narrow-minded, or deride them for their religious beliefs. I think the answer is much simpler than that. Humans are communal creatures. We find comfort amongst those who are most like us and become uncomfortable around those who stray very far beyond the boundaries of the group. We don't KNOW them and so we are unsure of whether it's safe to let them in. That's not bigotry, stupidity, or narrow-mindedness; it's just simple human nature. Everyone reading this post behaves in the same way. Isn't that why we find comfort in this forum? Aren't those the very same reasons we fear letting other's in our secret?
Let's give society a bit of a break and face the fact that we are, in fact, a bit weird. People are going to stare and not understand, but how are they ever going to understand if they don't have the opportunity to interact with one of us who is willing to smile and have the grace to answer a few questions? Society is not some crazed, monolithic machine determined to grind us to dust. It's made up of people just like us who are simply trying to earn a living, take care of their families, and derive a little pleasure from life. The overwhelming majority of people are perfectly willing to accept differences once they have the opportunity to gain understanding of those differences and how they are going to affect the comfortable spot they have carved out in the world.
The bottom line is that I am out in society 4 - 6 days a week en femme (in a small town in West Virginia, no less) and I simply do not recognize the world that is so often portrayed in TG forums. In a bad week maybe 2% of the people I encounter are overtly disapproving. A small percentage are fascinated and ask questions. The rest treat me the same as if I were en drab and we go about our lives. There are plenty of others here who have similar positive experiences.
This isn't a call to come out of the closet and jeopardize your family, job, etc. Make an informed choice that is right for your situation. However, please know that, should you decide to step outside of that closet, society is not quite the bully we so often think it to be.