Equal????

[deebra]

Are males that cross dress and present themselves wearing any amount of female clothing or fully dressed and presenting as a woman accepted and treated just as good or equal as lesbian women and gay males are? Are CD's still not accepted as much and the gap is not closing? If John Q. Public passed a lesbian woman, gay male and CD male in a skirt, heels, and D boobs on the side walk wouldn't the lesbian and gay be accepted by John but not the CD? WHY??? Your opinion please.

[Linda E. Woodworth]

I've got a couple of comments on your general question.

First off how would John Q Public know they've passed a lesbian or gay man? I could go on about this but I think you get my point.

At the same time many crossdressers don't pass and that is what catches the eye of the general public. You, yourself mentioned "D" size breasts. That in itself on a smaller frame individual would elicit notice and probable comment by many of the public.

Those that blend in or do pass (lucky them) aren't given a second glance.

[phili]

Being from a place where thousands of tourists come to see all of the above, as well as 750,000 JQPs already here, I believe the reaction is based mostly on the amount of emotion stirred by the presentation- which in turn is proportional mostly to the amount of previous exposure, and any personally unresolved issues.

It was unthinkable for a gay man to be swishy in the 50s except in very safe enclaves- now it is a sitcom staple and on the street- 'Oh there's a swishy type gay man- did you see that Martha?" Mannish women were sort of accepted back in the day with hushed and bewildered wondering about sexuality- and now dykes on bikes are everywhere on TV, as are luscious lesbian femmes a staple of soft porn in the movies. Caitlin blew the doors off TG as a sort of calm public fact- as she was modest in her underwear styling. If she had chosen VS exotica, it wouldn't have gone over as well, since it would have triggered too many pavlovian responses from men who didn't want to feel that way towards a [even former] guy. The TG thing is in uproar now over kids and bathrooms, and so 'acceptance' is not simple.

Teen genderqueers are everywhere, and cause no reaction beyond what any other type of experimental presentation. For adult and graying genderqueers like me on the street, there is a little more emotional tension in the faces, since I am causing people to have mixed reactions, as I am too old to be experimenting- so … they probably wonder why I have no friends with me.



For CDs, who are just walking around minding their own business, and conforming to female looks as best they can, my observation is that JQPs regard them as freaks who are harmless- generally avoid interacting but are not alarmed. Progressives make an effort to be polite or friendly if there is some natural reason for the exchange.

That aloneness that we find ourselves in seems to me to be the signal for more alarm- whenever there is anything about you that signals 'strange'- and that could be gay or TG or very tall or short, etc. Dense and diverse urban spaces like waterfront shopping areas or downtowns, and 'Gay' sections of town like the Castro here are more comfy then because there are more of us in diversity, and that increases acceptance by newcomers to the area.

[char GG]

I don’t know what would make the groups you described not be considered equal. People are people and are all equal.

Sometimes a person’s own fears (or actions) cause them to feel they are being judged which is not always the case.

[Robertacd]

Fact is many JQP's just don't know how to take us. As Linda said how can you tell a GG you just passed is gay? You can't really unless they are projecting a common stereotype.

Also according to my Lesbian sister, the typical "Butch" Lesbian is not really any more accepted than a non-passing crossdresser.

[Micki_Finn]

1) CDs ARE becoming more accepted. It’s a slow process and doesn’t happen overnight. 2) The major apples/oranges difference is that you don’t really know if a person is gay/lesbian just by looking at them.

[Patience]

On the list of things JQP should be better educated about, cross dressing does not (and never will) rank very high.

And, point of fact, gay people still endure a great deal of discrimination. When was the last time a baker refused to make a wedding cake for a crossdresser? Does someone feel like testing the theory? (Not it.)

Xox,

Tina

[Pat]

I'm going to close this right here and cite the "Rights of Content" rule (https://www.crossdressers.com/forums/faq.php?faq=main_rules#faq_content ) which forbids ridiculing members/non-members for their expression, since this thread necessarily attracts stereotyping and judgmental expression.