acceptance based on culture, or country, do you think their is a difference.

[mykell]

Seeing all the members here from different countries made me think about acceptance in other areas of the world, Ive never traveled anywhere else, sooo what do you think,

[Helen_Highwater]

Mikell,
My response has to be, yes there are if only because there are differences to be found as you move around your own country/state/county or even local area. We all know there are places we wouldn't go dressed that are not too far from where we live or even where we live. There is such a thing as small town mentality, a more conservative view of the world. Belief systems play their part dictating a response to the behavior of others.

That's not to say that there are places that are definitely more accepting. Thailand is renown for it's acceptance of transgendered people. From what little traveling I've done around Europe I think there's a background level of acceptance fairly common in most large cities, with the proviso that you pick your area. Every town has a wrong side of the tracks.

[julia marie]

Yup, big differences and not all of them good. There have been reports of cross dressers being arrested on sight and jailed for months or years in some countries, including some in the middle east.

[Stephy]

From my experience, Australia (particularly Sydney) is far more accepting than South Africa - so there is definitely a difference between different cultures and countries. Going out in South Africa, I would get stares, laughter and rude comments, whereas in Australia I have not experienced anywhere near the same level of rudeness.

[Rachelakld]

We have lots of Pacific Islanders here, they have their own word for transgender, and the girl boys have always been treated the same as GGs (chores, dancing etc).
From here, lots travel to Sydney for operations, entertaining at Kings Cross etc, one of our firsts came back to NZ and became a very good Politian in our Parliament, and a Mayor. She died earlier this year.

For us Europeans, people generally just assume we are crazy (whatever floats their boat).

The youth are more tolerant in general as these issues are taught at school, and with anti-bullying laws, making it bad to pick on someone for any reason.

[linny_aggy]

interesting observation Mikell..well i hail from the sub continent & in India tho' TG/TS/TV r alien here (as particularly in the western world) ..surprisingly there is a traditional sect of ppl called 'hijras'..just as 'Khusras' in Pakistan who tho not very well-treated is accepted in society ...marriages & births r where they r seen to churn out a living tho a sizeable number of them indulge as sex workers. Those of u new to this cud try typing these 2 words in YouTube and see some fascinating clips..
As for me, i remain one simple closeted CD !!

[Joanne f]

I think that it could possibly be a mixture of both and it will all depend on which country you are in and which is the main religion or the altitude of the ruling party when it come to the East and Far East and Eastern Europe, and then in the Western world where it is multicultural it will come down to geographical location to the point where it will be different from town to town .

[linda allen]

Even in the USA, acceptance will vary from one area to the next. It seems that on the west coast, most anything goes while the central area and east coast is more traditional. But, there are pockets in any part of the country where anything goes, usually in the entertainment district of a large city.

Each of us posts based on our own experience so I might have a completely different view of acceptance than my neighbor down the street.

[Joanne f]

[QUOTE=linda allen;3354881

Each of us posts based on our own experience so I might have a completely different view of acceptance than my neighbor down the street.[/QUOTE]

Yes I agree with this as it would not be wise for me to go out in our town yet just a few miles away almost anything go's and I have quite often seen CDs or a man wearing a skirt there .

[I Am Paula]

Even as close as your neighbors to the north, Canada, things seem to be very different. We are a country founded by rogues, conmen, rum runners, fortune hunters, adventurers, and lots of folks escaping religious persecution. Canada has always had a laissez faire attitude about those who choose, or thru' circumstance, are different. We also led the way on certain rights. We have gay/trans marriage rights, coast to coast. In general, our gender is that which we choose (Say you're a girl...you're a girl...who are we to argue?). Bathroom policy has never been an issue. If it walks like a duck, it uses the duck's washroom. Canadians are also known worldwide as the polite people. As a nationality, we probably say 'Excuse me' more than any other country. It is almost embarrassing to stand at an open door, saying 'You first, please', 'No, you first please', Mais non 'You must go first', until it looks like a Monty Python skit. Nobody wants to offend anybody else, so the trans, gay, handicapped, or just plain weird, fly under the radar.
Sure, there have been instances of trans and gay bashing, but they're rare. Look hard enough, you'll find a narrow minded, bigoted person anywhere. As a whole, it's a pretty fine place to be different.

Socialized medicine doesn't hurt either. So far my transition has cost about two hundred bucks!

[NicoleScott]

Yes, I agree that acceptance varies across different cultures, but so do a lot of other things. My wife is from another country and culture, and we have far different palate differences because of the food we grew up with. We have different preferences and prejudices. She has trouble pronouncing the "th" sound, because that sound is not in her native language. For the same reason, I cannot roll my r's. Some people believe that honesty is relative rather than absolute. We bring to adulthood many things we were born into, but those things can change as we think about them, make sense of them, and are introduced to new ideas. Imagine in the 1950's the best basketball player on the planet wearing a huge diamond earring.

[Karren H]

Yeah.... like 50 shades of unacceptance....

[robindee36]

No doubt different cultures have different levels of acceptance of 'different' things. Like CD's for example. Doesn't make any of them better or worse, only different. Even within the limited confines of the good old US we find pockets of great acceptance and great animosity toward we Trans folk.

We learn to function within our own little spheres and that's perfectly OK. However, every now and then, its good to get a wider perspective as our little island is different. Not good or bad, just different.

Hugs, Robin

[Beverley Sims]

Having traveled to a few places around the country side I would say they all have an air of un acceptability.
The Netherlands sells pot over the counter so maybe they are more accepting.
I find San Francisco very comfortable.

[Dianne S]

Different places have very different levels of acceptibility. Usually, but not always, homophobic cultures are also against crossdressing, so I would expect that Russia, most of Africa and most Muslim countries would not be good places to crossdress. There are also large pockets in relatively liberal countries like the US and Canada where the culture would be transphobic.

[Leslie Langford]

Even as close as your neighbors to the north, Canada, things seem to be very different. We are a country founded by rogues, conmen, rum runners, fortune hunters, adventurers, and lots of folks escaping religious persecution. Canada has always had a laissez faire attitude about those who choose, or thru' circumstance, are different. We also led the way on certain rights. We have gay/trans marriage rights, coast to coast. In general, our gender is that which we choose (Say you're a girl...you're a girl...who are we to argue?). Bathroom policy has never been an issue. If it walks like a duck, it uses the duck's washroom. Canadians are also known worldwide as the polite people. As a nationality, we probably say 'Excuse me' more than any other country. It is almost embarrassing to stand at an open door, saying 'You first, please', 'No, you first please', Mais non 'You must go first', until it looks like a Monty Python skit. Nobody wants to offend anybody else, so the trans, gay, handicapped, or just plain weird, fly under the radar.
Sure, there have been instances of trans and gay bashing, but they're rare. Look hard enough, you'll find a narrow minded, bigoted person anywhere. As a whole, it's a pretty fine place to be different.

Socialized medicine doesn't hurt either. So far my transition has cost about two hundred bucks!

Well, Paula, we Canadians are certainly shattering all those time-honoured "nice guy" stereotypes with the antics of that drunken, crack-smoking one-man wrecking crew by the name of Toronto Mayor Rod Ford, who has since gained world-wide notoriety and put a massive sh*t-stain not just on that city, but on the country as a whole.

He may yet get his come-uppance by finally being turfed from office via special legislation tabled by none other than our respected Ontario Provincial Premier who - to your point - is an openly "out" lesbian in a same-sex relationship. The delicious irony of someone like her eventually having to pull the plug on this ignorant, out-of control bully, thug, and all-around boor who makes no bones about his racism and homophobia will be another landmark moment for the LGBT community as a whole.

That would certainly be in keeping with the gains that our community has made as it moves inexorably forward not only in terms of mainstream acceptance, but also in increasingly being recognized as valued members of society who make very positive contributions in every sphere of life shared with the majority "straight" populace.

And while your synopsis of our cultural heritage of tolerance and the embracing of diversity is accurate regarding that part of the population steeped in the Anglo-Saxon traditions of freedom of speech and expression, religious tolerance, and parliamentary democracy, this was not always the path followed in the French-speaking parts of the country, and most notably in the province of Quebec.

Almost from its inception as a French colony, it was held in the iron grip of a rigid and reactionary Catholic church that dictated all aspects of daily life, including the imposition of its ingrained prejudices. Equally true, the "Quiet Revolution" of the 1960's and the ensuing advent of the Quebec separatist/sovereignist movement did ultimitely represent a massive rejection and repudiation of that type of religious domination, where the lines between church and state had become blurred.

But at the same time, it also replaced a religion-driven ideology and culture with an inward-looking, almost tribal type of nationalism which resulted not only in the infamous language laws starting in the 1970's which largely banished English from public life, but also on the current attempts to forcibly integrate the non-European "ethnic" (read "visible minority") immigrant population into the fold. These currently include such measures as the proposed legislation to ban the wearing of "religious" symbols such as Sikh turbans and Muslin hijabs, burqas, and chadors, particularly by members of the public service.

So far, the LGBT community is flying under the radar in all this, but who knows what the future will hold? Hopefully, what is happening in Russia these days will not become a model to be emulated by the current separatist government in Quebec as a way of diverting attention away from the real i.e. economic problems of the day.

Two "Solitudes" indeed in our country, and it has ever been thus...

[Zylia]

The Netherlands sells pot over the counter so maybe they are more accepting.
It's a virtuous circle really of pot being sold over the counter because the Dutch are so accepting and the Dutch becoming more accepting because they smoke so much pot.

Liberal drug laws, marriage laws and cycling laws aside, I do think that the Netherlands still has a long way to go when it comes to transgender emancipation. The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries in the world, but there are plenty of other sources of bigotry, fear of the 'unknown', etc.

[Jaylyn]

Well I don't usually get out of Texas but I can just within this State there are as many different type of acceptances as there is world wide. Even within the small towns anymore there is a varying degree of acceptance. I love all the diversity of our culture. I don't like any culture though trying to force its values on another culture. Lol Why can't the whole world get together and realize every culture has its own quirks. I try to have an open mind but for the life of me if every one would see the world as I see it every one would be at peace with each other..... Love your neighbor as yourself.