a response...

[5150 Girl]

On a MASH fan forum, I made a comont liking Frank Burns to JE Hoover in the parania dpt, then told the story (as outlined in my thread about hoover) about going to class en-fem. I've been open about my TG-ness on teh forum, my handle is Klinger even) Anyway, somone made a comment about "I wish I could have seen you, however, CD'ers are kind of shocking to me" (That was gist anyway) So I poste the pic of me on campus, and they replied with the folowing....
"Now you look quite good! The guy I saw was a mess, pearl stud earrings, black tights, floral shorts over the tights, really tall..... he just looked soooo wrong, he should take a lesson from you!"
I have a ball park idea of how I want to respond to this, (I'm trying to outline 3 key points in my head) and I think I know what you all are going to say, but I would like some help organising my thoughts. I guess I'm just not sure how to put it in balck and white...

[AllieSF]

I would say that personal expression come in all shapes, sizes and decoration. Some want to make a statement and get noticed, and others just want to be themselves. I strongly recommend that you do not negatively comment on how the other was dressed. There should be no discrimination toward anyone regardless how they dress. It does not mean that anyone has to like or enjoy how another presents themselves. Just need to recognize that it is their right and no one should infringe upon that right, nor mistreat anyone because of how they present.

[TGMarla]

See now, this person isn't ready for androgyny. Let's sic Pythos on him. Or Butterfly Bill. Or Intertwined. He's okay seeing feminine attire on a man who's trying to emulate a woman, but is not ready to see it on a guy. At first glance, many of us look like women, so they don't tweak about it so much. But if someone is obvously bending the gender roles, they freak out about it a bit. He's probably trying to be open-minded, but is still a victem of his gender programming from way back. Did he think that by trashing the person he saw while complimenting you, that you'd agree with him and trash the other person as well? It show how little he knows about the transgendered/crossdressing community.

[DonnaT]

I'd just say "thanks", and leave it at that.

[5150 Girl]

I would say that personal expression come in all shapes, sizes and decoration. Some want to make a statement and get noticed, and others just want to be themselves. I strongly recommend that you do not negatively comment on how the other was dressed. There should be no discrimination toward anyone regardless how they dress. It does not mean that anyone has to like or enjoy how another presents themselves. Just need to recognize that it is their right and no one should infringe upon that right, nor mistreat anyone because of how they present.

The hihlihgted portion I stole word for word, as it is exactly the point I wanted to make, put in to the nice tidy simple little nutshel I wanted.