Evolution of Society

[Sarah-RT]

Hey all!

Just thought I'd share that Ireland which had a referendum on making marriage equal to same sex couples has passed by majority vote.

While obviously we are the T of lgbt and it does not directly affect any of us in terms of the T, I'm glad to see that society is becoming more acceptable and tolerant of differences to the "norm"

A great day for the LGBT community

Sarah x

[Ineke Vashon]

It has made the news here in the US as well. Congratulations :thumbup:. Perhaps LGBTCD in the future? Plenty of consonants left :D.

Ineke

[BobbiD33]

I'd like to buy a vowel.

[Lauri K]

Yes very good news today from Ireland, it may not directly affect the T today or tomorrow, but I am suspecting that indirectly it will lead to support for the T and CD communities in the end. (which cannot happen soon enough for us)

I would love to see the day come that CD gets added onto the LGBT acronym (LGBT / CD), but whether it does or does not happen I will continue to be a strong supporter of equality for everyone.

I just feel that the CD community needs a bigger voice is my point, we are people too and have hurdles in society that need to be accepted.

Lauri K.

[PaulaQ]

Hi. All of you CDs are included in "T". Just so you know. For that matter, so are drag queens, stone butches, gender queer, gender fluid, agender, and a number of others.

And marriage equality affects you if you transition, and are barred from marrying the person you love thanks to the very dysfunctional cisgender legal system, as applied to transgender people. An example: I'm MtF. My boyfriend is FtM. And yet, even though you could argue that since one of us as an "M" on our birth certificate and the other has an "F" on it, it is quite possible, depending on who handles the matter that we couldn't marry in Texas, because of genetic issues. Because both of us have a "Y" chromosome. Yes, this is obviously screwed up, and eliminating this crap from marriage laws helps us all to some extent.

(We'll ignore for a moment that I probably shouldn't marry anyone, and will undoubtedly destroy this poor man's life if we stay together!)

If it makes you feel better, big gay inc. spent $300M on marriage equality alone, compared with $5M spent on all other trans issues. So you better hope this is your big game changer, because if not, well whatever other trifling little concerns we might have had obviously aren't very important, are they?

For some reason, gay people get angry with me when I point out that statistic.

[Alex!]

Ireland, a traditionally very strong bastion of Catholicism, came through in an impressive way. I think many countries will follow suit. The U.S. is complicated because of the dramatic diversity. This is a very good thing, but can produce conditions in which social evolution is slower than many would like. Solidarity in a diverse democracy seems always on the verge of collapse - ask ten Americans what it means to be American, and you'll get ten different answers :)

[LucyNewport]

Rock on Sarah! You should be proud of your country folk today. It is big news, especially considering Ireland's rep as "the most Catholic nation". Times are changing.

And yes, CDs are included under the T. If our needs are overlooked the fault lies squarely on our own shoulders. We are generally disorganized, apolitical and largely closeted. The L & G's have been fighting this fight for decades. They have earned every victory.

Every time you disclose your identity, you open someone's mind (maybe). It take millions of small steps like that to affect real change in the world. It doesn't happen on its own.

[Launa]

I just heard about this an hour ago and all I can say is yahoo!!

As far as Cd'ers are concerned they might fit under the LGBT umbrella somewhere but they, we will generally be on the sidelines hiding as usual from society so that will make us always advance slower than our other brothers and sisters.

[Sarah-RT]

Yeah it really is wonderful to see such a change of attitudes in society, with that said, i also read many of the comments on facebook posts from people from different backgrounds but heavily religious and the rubbish that comes out of their mouths is shocking, and they think we are degenerates?

Paula you are right, I forgot about that altogether, Before the referendum any transsexuals would have been considered in some cases as same sex and void of marriage, even if they were already married and then underwent transition. Thankfully that is no longer a problem.

I just also wanted to add in that I had a conversation with an old college friend of mine from the first time i did a course. She came out as a lesbian a few years ago so I was congratulating her on the referendum result. I told her a few months ago about myself which she thought was great. so we were chatting away discussing online shopping and all the rest when she suggested that we can be shopping buddies now as well as if I pick up the courage to head out to the city to the LGBT bars that she would love to come. Great result for me :D

Sarah x

[Beverley Sims]

The vote may have shown a support for the G side but I still think there is less tolerance for the T side and I doubt if it has changed over the last five years.

[Teresa]

Sarah,
I was surprised by the outcome considering the Catholic church view, I would say they will have to do some soul searching and consider policy changes, they need customers like any other enterprise !

It is great news that the community voted in support of the rights of LGBT community, it might be a shrewd move by the government knowing the income that may be generated by accepting the outcome and the possible influx of a whole new community to Southern Ireland !

[MonicaMarie]

I understand why the "T" is included in LGBT, but it is a bit of a misnomer that I would like to see eventually separated from the LGB. Lesbian, gay and bisexual are terms that describe sexual identity, and transgender is a term that describes gender identity. We share a common struggle with the gay community, though many of us are not lesbian, gay or bisexual. I happen to be some that belongs to both groups, but ultimately this could lead to confusion among those outside these spectrums. The struggle is for acceptance and tolerance, so for now it's a good thing. But eventually acceptance in the mainstream will be more widespread and marriage equality and gay rights will be a non-issue. At that point, I think a break away from the sexual identities will be needed in order to further awareness and acceptance of the transgender community, which I believe should, and does, include crossdressers.

[jackie_p]

What's this human fascination with labels? I hate labels because they serve to identify our differences. Of course as individuals we are all different but as a race we are all the same and should be treated that way.

[Teresa]

Jackie.
Like them or not we're stuck with them, our whole society is governed and run by them ! We may not like some of our labels but happily accept others when it suits us, labels and boxes are traits of human nature we'd probably be lost if we had none !

[Kristy 56]

That really was big news coming from very conservative Ireland. Whoever would have thought. :)

[KittyD]

I am super pleased about this :D
All you need is LOVE, LOVE is all you need and of course "A referendum on making marriage equal to same sex couples" :D

Hugs
Kate :)

[Rogina B]

I just heard about this an hour ago and all I can say is yahoo!!

As far as Cd'ers are concerned they might fit under the LGBT umbrella somewhere but they, we will generally be on the sidelines hiding as usual from society so that will make us always advance slower than our other brothers and sisters.

"T" covers a huge spectrum of people ! From "panty thrillers" to the transitioned girls living a stealthy life.....It is only those girls that have a need to publicly express their true gender that "society's rules" matter..The best way to change the viewpoint of those that "don't get it"[regarding gender] is to be a fully out woman and show them that you are proud and confident. Don't flinch or back down..You have the right to be you.. This applies in every situation..from your home life to the gas station to the TSA checker at the airport to the Doctor to the bartender or storekeeper...If you want to change minds for the positive,you have to put yourself out there.

[Rhanda]

I don't know what the Irish Constitution says about religion but I do know what the United States Constitution says. "Congress shall make no laws regulating religion" (This is a paraphrase) This means that they have no right to either agree or disagree with any church on controversial issues. Marriage therefore is not an issue that the state has any right to regulate. This doesn't mean that the state feels like it can't regulate religion in this way.

This also doesn't give religious bigots the right to discriminate by law.

When CD's decide to organize like the Gay's and Lesbian's have, it will finally be accepted in society. So far, at least there are no laws in the western nations that forbid the act of dressing in either gender as long it doesn't result in indecent exposure.


Congratulation to Ireland. It is great news.

Rhanda