emulation ....

[GG Vanya]

I am a word hobbyist, they are my passion. So, I decided to go on a little mental mission. While knowing exactly what the following words meant prior to my search, I wanted to look up the exact definitions.

EMULATE


Main Entry: 1em·u·late
Pronunciation: 'em-y&-"lAt, -yü-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -lat·ed; -lat·ing
Etymology: Latin aemulatus, past participle of aemulari, from aemulus rivaling
1 a : to strive to equal or excel b : IMITATE; especially : to imitate by means of an emulator
2 : to equal or approach equality with


When I first heard it said that CD's strive to emulate us GG's I was humbled and flattered. Then I decided I'd look up the word just out of curiosity and stumped my toe at that word "excel".

So, I looked up the word excel:

Main Entry: ex·cel
Pronunciation: ik-'sel
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): ex·celled; ex·cel·ling
Etymology: Middle English excellen, from Latin excellere, from ex- + -cellere to rise, project; akin to Latin collis hill -- more at HILL
transitive verb : to be superior to : surpass in accomplishment or achievement
intransitive verb : to be distinguishable by superiority : surpass others <excel in sports> <excelled at lipreading>
synonym see EXCEED


I am no longer all that humbled or flattered, TBH.

So my question is, how many of you CDs use the word emulate in the complimentary form? How many of you use it in the more negative (in my opinion) form emplying that you strive to be superior to GG's?

Perhaps this is the root source of so many CDs' condemnation of the GG's who don't dress to the nines every day of the week??

Keep in mind, I'm *asking* questions, not making *judgements*. Do you strive to be "like" us, or is your quest to be "superior" to us?

[Shelly Preston]

This reminds me of why sometimes messages get relayed wrongly if not passed on properly

The English language has lots of different ways of saying things and very few definitions are exact

So when you take a definition of a word and get it's definition things change

So you logic is flawed in saying we may feel superior

The majority of us understand why most women do not dress to the nines every day.
Unfortunately some GG's get comdemend when it is not justified.

[GG Vanya]

Shelly,

To begin with, it's not *my* logic. I'm making no pre discussion conclusions here.

I had always equated emulation with imitation:

Main Entry: im&#183;i&#183;tate
Pronunciation: 'i-m&-"tAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -tat&#183;ed; -tat&#183;ing
Etymology: Latin imitatus, past participle of imitari -- more at IMAGE
1 : to follow as a pattern, model, or example
2 : to be or appear like : RESEMBLE
3 : to produce a copy of : REPRODUCE
4 : MIMIC, COUNTERFEIT <can imitate his father's booming voice>
synonym see COPY
- im&#183;i&#183;ta&#183;tor /-"tA-t&r/ noun

and in looking up this word, I see even it has negative connotations.

When I went on this mental safari last night, I'll admit that when I saw superiority I was baffled. I asked Trudi about how she felt and, even knowing in my heart the answer, if she ever entertained the idea of striving to be superior to GGs. Ummmm I got laughed at. :rolleyes: :o

At any rate, I think I'll cease using the word emulate and use imitate instead. As they say: Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

[Sky]

Who cares what the dictionary says? We are what we are. We love dressing for a thousand different reasons, and I seriously doubt anybody cares whether her behavior matches a certain dictionary entry or not.

[Dixie Darling]

Vanya,

My personal opinion is that most of us (and I DEFINITELY include myself here) use the word more in the sense or definiton of IMITATING women. I would think that the majority of us here would agree that it's not possible to emulate a woman in the respect that we would consider ourselves to be superior to any GG. After all is said and done we're NOT the 'real thing', but we do enjoy imitating GG's.

Dixie -- http://www.geocities.com/senorita_cd

[Billijo49504]

Dat tis watt I doooz. Watt mi wifey dooze, i two doo's:tongueout ..BJ

[Christina Nicole]

Words have multiple meanings in English. Nature of the beast. One usually deduces the appropriate meaning of a word by the context where it is applied. To put it more concretely, if a crossdresser says he emulates his wife by trying to look as good as she does, his meaning is pretty clear. He does not mean superior to her. On the other hand, if a crossdresser who tries to emulate women states that, in his opinion, women don't dress femininely enough, then you probably have the case of one who feels superior or attempts to be superior in his emulation.

Warm regards,
Christina Nicole

P.S.

In my case, Vanya, the emulation is sincere.
--CN

[DonnaT]

I don't use the word at all, when describing my CDing. I am simply, ME.

[Sharon]

Dictionaries are not always conducive to finding the meaning behind a user's use of a word. It is the thought behind the word that matters, not what a book says it means. It may or may not be correct, but it is usually understood.

Just look how far down a page you need to go to find the proper meaning of a word I randomly chose to look up:

troll1 (trōl)

v., trolled, troll·ing, trolls.

v.tr.

To fish for by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat.
To fish in by trailing a baited line: troll the lake for bass.
To trail (a baited line) in fishing.
Slang. To patrol (an area) in search for someone or something: “[Criminals] troll bus stations for young runaways” (Pete Axthelm).
Music.
To sing in succession the parts of (a round, for example).
To sing heartily: troll a carol.
To roll or revolve.
v.intr.
To fish by trailing a line, as from a moving boat.

To wander about; ramble.
Slang. To patrol an area in search for someone or something.
Music. To sing heartily or gaily.
To roll or spin around.
n.

The act of trolling for fish.
A lure, such as a spoon or spinner, that is used for trolling.
Music. A vocal composition in successive parts; a round.
[Middle English trollen, to wander about, from Old French troller, of Germanic origin.]

troller troll'er n.
troll2 (trōl)
n.
A supernatural creature of Scandinavian folklore, variously portrayed as a friendly or mischievous dwarf or as a giant, that lives in caves, in the hills, or under bridges.

[Old Norse.]




Technology
Directory > Science > Technology trolling

Surfing, or browsing, the Web.

Posting derogatory messages about sensitive subjects on newsgroups and chat rooms to bait users into responding.

Hanging around in a chat room without saying anything, like a "peeping tom."

Find the latest news, features and reviews relating to "trolling" from CMP's TechSearch.




Hacker Slang
Directory > Science > Hacker Slang troll

1. v.,n. [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames; or, the post itself. Derives from the phrase “trolling for newbies” which in turn comes from mainstream “trolling”, a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it. See also YHBT.
2. n. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, “Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll.” Compare kook.

3. n. [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job for CS students. Duties include helping newbies and ensuring that lab policies are followed. Probably so-called because it involves lurking in dark cavelike corners.

Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a narrower category than flame bait, that a troll is categorized by containing some assertion that is wrong but not overtly controversial. See also Troll-O-Meter.

The use of ‘troll’ in any of these senses is a live metaphor that readily produces elaborations and combining forms. For example, one not infrequently sees the warning “Do not feed the troll” as part of a followup to troll postings.

[EricaCD]

Leaving aside the simple fact that most people do not consult a dictionary before using every word....

I would venture to guess that people overwhelmingly use "emulate" in the sense of a hybrid between defined meanings 1a and 1b.: imitation as a means to strive to equal or excel. By the way, you would really need to torture the syntax of definition 1a to incorporate the transitive meaning of "excel" into the phrase "to strive to equal or excel". If the drafters of this dictionary had intended to implicate the transitive form of "excel", they could have used either of the verbs "exceed" or "surpass" to clearer effect.

I have never heard any common usage of "emulate" that was intended to connote "to exceed, esp. by imitation". Indeed, to my mind the general connotation of emulate is "to get as close as you can, recognizing that you cannot equal or surpass."

Besides the fact that modern usage of "imitation" generally implies a condescending attitude (cf. "imitation ingredients"), the word "imitate" does not connote an aspirational aspect quite as clearly as "emulate" does. I accordingly use the latter term advisedly. As I said, I would guess that most people share this sense of the term; you need not cease being humbled or flattered; and we can all go on using this word.

Erica

PS: I like Sharon's answer better. Shame on me for not consulting HER dictionary...

[Susan Johnson]

I try without much hope of success to copy the appearance of a normal woman.
The disadvantage is that most women can and do look good without having to use powder and paint while us males who seek to emulate (which I take to be 'copy' rather than 'out do') have to use powder and paint to hide the male appearance and enable us to appear as an acceptable rather than an exceptional woman.
Some of the ladies who post their photographs make very convincing women, some of the others are not quite so convincing, unfortunately I am a member of the second group. :sad:
Susan

[Brianna Lovely]

Oh my, Vanya, if we were emulating most women today, we'd all be wearing pants, ugg.
Fashion Alert!
I just saw bib coveralls in the women's section of Wally World, eeeekkk!

[Kate Simmons]

Never said I was superior to anyone Vanya and never will. As far as emulation, we are all equal(as people) as far as I'm concerned.:happy: Ericka/Rich

[Kimberly]

Don't get me started on language. Language and syntax doesn't carry half as much meaning in it as the speaker/writer intends... think of all the literature in all forms throughout the world - they all have many infinite interpretations because of the recipient, their experiences and their view of the world.

Artaud gave the sentiment that language doesn't communicate. Let's take the example of a song lyric that jumps to mind:

"A distant motorcade, and suddenly there's joy"
For my own personal subconcious reasons, the feel I get from this song is not that of joy, or prosperity, or happiness. I visualise JFK, for some reason, when the word "motorcade" comes up - and so, "joy" to me, implies the movements of the individuals and the general scene -- the intensity of the movement I visualise, or I imagine happened just after the shooting. And the magic is, no one will understand this as completely as I will. :)

So, by saying emulation, it might not mean to excel in some, it may from other people's point of view. To emulate what is genetically female is a severely warped statement and ideal -- and is just that, an ideal of self-actualisation. What is spoken by the many in the TG community ("I want to be a woman,") can be interpreted in infinitely different ways, depending on the recipient, like I said.

It is my belief that people of the transgendered community have a warped, almost pantomime view of a woman. They should be, this, that, the other... a clich&#233;; more importantly, not an individual - not a person - a thing: a woman. What I see in many is not a feeling of wanting to be "themselves", but an idealised self, that on an incredibly rare occassion can be obtained, but only in the rarest of cases. That's why I occupy my time with wanting to express myself how I want.

I often say to my friends, when they tell me I look better in a dress than they do, "But I will never look better than you in a dress. You are a woman, with the design of the clothing atuned to your anatomy and your shape." I am a warped ideal in a dress - always; never anything else.

ugh... long post xx

[Jennaie]

I do not try to emulate anyone. I try to express myself with the feelings that are inside me. I have no need to "be" a female. I do have a desire to feel a certain way. If it is female or not I do not know. I do know thiis, I have no need to be a female who questions every mans feminine traits.

[cindybarnes]

Here in the South we have our own dickshunary, but I use the word emulate as a nicer form of the word imitate. Imitate just sounds so fake you know ? :)
Cindy

[GG Vanya]

LOL True Cindy...

Here in the south we refer to words like emulate as "2 dolluh words". :happy:

I do appreciate all of you who have responded to this thread. I admit sometimes I over analyze things and should more often just take things at face value.

I've heard it said that the English language is the hardest to learn, partially because of the following examples: two, too, to and would, wood, etc.

As I said originally, this delving somewhat set me back on my heels, to think that CDs would be attempting to be superior to us. This would especially be upsetting to myself, and I'd assume other SOs who are supportive, to know that I would perhaps be enabling this mind set in the man that I love and support beyond words.

Maybe I need to use more "two bit" words instead of the "two dolluh" ones huh Cindy? :D

[Billijo49504]

GG Vanya, I don't think you have to worry about any of us trying to be superior to you GG's. Most of us that have a SO that try to understand us and help us, we worship the water you can walk on. Tonight I was trying to put on my shadow with my crippled arm, my DW said let me do that for you. What a lady. Her only fault is, she doesn't like being on the computer, and doesn't want anything to do with it. And that I can live with. She is the one that told the Dr that I would get better and be home, when the Dr said I would be in a nursing home for the rest of my life, if I got out of the hospital. She gave me a reason to live and I dearly love her for that...BJ

[Mary Morgan]

GGVanya, I find your question intriguing and I find the thought of CD superiority to be somewhat ironic. In my life there have been five of the most incredible people. They were my late wife, my current wife, my mother, and my two grandmothers. I would be flattered to even be considered worthy of inclusion in this group let alone attempt to place myself above them. They are my heroes, the ones I want to be like in mind and in body. They were and are loving and compassionate beyond any reasonable expectation. I would be proud to attain even a small degree of their seemingly endless capacity for loving and caring, and foregiving. I aspire to emulate them, but I know that it can never be. Louise

[JulieCDorlando]

hello,
Your question has made me think of how I use the word "emulate". I have often used that word enough to feel I am merely imitating in the best and humblest way I possibly could. In my own opinion, I have never thought that I could ever be superior to GG's in my crossdressing, no matter how I went about it, or how ever long I am into crossdressing. After all, I still fall way way short of who and what GG's are in the fact that I could never be one biologically. CD's are just "stepping" into your world for a period or brief duration of time. Yes, there are some that will go to the extreme with living as a woman 24/7, GRS, hormones etc, but still in the long run, they can not be superior to GG's. They may become an equal, but never superior to your gender. You have emotions we can not possible have. Your thought process is different in alot of ways, and above all that, you GG's give birth. CD's can not match any of those qualities.
So when I do use the word emulate, my meaning of the use of that word has been strictly to imitate as close as possible. I do admire GG's very much in everything that they do, and in all that they are. Even as a male, I never once put myself above them. As a CD, I could certainly not even imagine that I would even consider myself superior to GG's in any way shape or form. Just voicing my :2c:

[GG Vanya]

GGVanya, I find your question intriguing and I find the thought of CD superiority to be somewhat ironic. In my life there have been five of the most incredible people. They were my late wife, my current wife, my mother, and my two grandmothers. I would be flattered to even be considered worthy of inclusion in this group let alone attempt to place myself above them. They are my heroes, the ones I want to be like in mind and in body. They were and are loving and compassionate beyond any reasonable expectation. I would be proud to attain even a small degree of their seemingly endless capacity for loving and caring, and foregiving. I aspire to emulate them, but I know that it can never be. Louise

Louise,

With your words, you prove to me that to the extent genetically possible, you indeed "have" attained those traits.

And BTW, I absolutely adore your avatar pic!

[GG Vanya]

I again wish to thank all of you for receiving this post with the spirit in which I posted it. It was not my intent to be inciteful, and your responses have been so very uplifting and encouraging for me, and hopefully for other SOs here.

This is how I *hoped* the word emulate was being used.

[thea]

As I was reading this thread, I was thinking facetiously, "Yeah, we'll do the male thing and show that we can even be better women than GGs." That's why it's facetious, because it ain't possible.

[Rebecca Petersen]

As I said originally, this delving somewhat set me back on my heels, to think that CDs would be attempting to be superior to us. This would especially be upsetting to myself, and I'd assume other SOs who are supportive, to know that I would perhaps be enabling this mind set in the man that I love and support beyond words.

I find so much wrong with this concept. How does CDing enter into this equation? If the man that you love has this mind set as a crossdresser, I would imagine he would have the same mind set if he were not a crossdresser. I can't see where having a superiority complex is dependent on what you are wearing or if you are emulating or imitating a woman. I would also venture a guess and say that probably the greater percentage of CD's are not emulating, they are actually acting out their own feminity, or their own woman, which in some cases probably seems superior to their male self.
This also is just my opinion. I've always thought a dictionary was contrary to logic anyway. If I don't know how to spell it, how the heck am I gonna find it.
Rebecca

[eleventhdr]

Frist off is how can we males ever hope to be superior to you real gg's when you are so obviouisly superior to us I mean really look at it just this way frist off all life begins as female nayway it is the male who is the secondary sex not the female!

Secondly you are able to utilize your entire brain an males are not oh sure we do have some kind of linerer logic and or something like this but you real gg;s are able to outthing us wit your way of reasoning.

Emotional it maybe but it is far better that way nayway.

Thridly you out live us poor males so we are limited in this capicty as well

So with these things on your side how can we ever be supeior to you at all

Then lest we go tinto how you act and dress and are so much for the most part at ease being female then us poor old males with our taught rage and anger.

So now you know why we do want to be like you as much as we ever can allowed to be oh oh the pity of it all that some of us and or more of us did not remain female from the very beginning and do strive our whole lives to become just like you hmmm!

So superior oi do not think so we really do want some of us nayway to be real gg's just lie you are already

So

What else need be said to be a girl is to be just oh so right and that is why instead we envy you !

Jay Suzy At least most of us do!

[Calliope]

... to think that CDs would be attempting to be superior to us.

The dictionary is like another bible, another mirror - you'll find the text you need to reveal your agenda, ya know?

Is Britney Spears the model GG - or how about Condalezza Rice? Females present as they feel the occasion merits. There's a lot of range.

Sure, CDs 'overdo' the sex aspect - they're compensating and there's a good reason they feel they should. Is that so odd?




It is my belief that people of the transgendered community have a warped, almost pantomime view of a woman. They should be, this, that, the other... a cliché; more importantly, not an individual - not a person - a thing: a woman. What I see in many is not a feeling of wanting to be "themselves", but an idealised self, that on an incredibly rare occassion can be obtained, but only in the rarest of cases. That's why I occupy my time with wanting to express myself how I want.


As I see it, the more modest the presentation, the more secure the t-girl. Some are gender tourists, some are women in men's bodies. Sure, we all seek the 'validation' of GGs (probably a mother issue) but we should remember there is an infinite variety of GGs out there.

Don't let anyone tell ya how - or who - you should be!

[Sarah Smile]

IMO, you need to get a better dictionary. I have never heard of "excel" having to do with superiority. To me, it is "to be really good at" or " to do well at". It has to do with matching up to a certain standard, not with improving upon it.

[Elena Ambasce]

I have a concept, deep in my brain, of the ideal woman. (As do most of us, I'd imagine--lie down here and let me fetch my cranial saw to find out.[1]) It's just an internal fantasy, and does not hold up in reality, but nevertheless it is something I will no doubt aspire to subconsciously no matter what. So in that sense, yes my emulation includes the sense of becoming better... but only for a debatable sense of "better".

[1] Happy Halloween :devil:

[Calliope]

Oh, yeh, I wanna add: GGs 'simply' arrive into the world but CDs and TGs grapple then punch their way into the world. There's the whole conscious choice and struggle aspect. Recall Abbie Hoffman's observation, anyone can be a liberal but being a hippie means you grow your hair so all the hardhats know who to beat up. Dig?

[ReginaK]

As a computer programmer, I can say that while emulations can be better than the original, it's the flaws of the original that make the original worthwhile.

[GG Vanya]

IMO, you need to get a better dictionary. I have never heard of "excel" having to do with superiority. To me, it is "to be really good at" or " to do well at". It has to do with matching up to a certain standard, not with improving upon it.

In all honesty Sarah, neither had I. This is why I said this little safari set me back on my heels, resulting in me posting this thread.

[Vivian Best]

So my question is, how many of you CDs use the word emulate in the complimentary form? How many of you use it in the more negative (in my opinion) form emplying that you strive to be superior to GG's?

Perhaps this is the root source of so many CDs' condemnation of the GG's who don't dress to the nines every day of the week??

Keep in mind, I'm *asking* questions, not making *judgements*. Do you strive to be "like" us, or is your quest to be "superior" to us?

Well, Vanya,

GG did this thread take a turn at the end! One I certainly did not anticipate!
I never in my wildest dreams have I ever thought of myself as superior to any GG. My only goal was to emulate them in my feeble way. Nor, have I condemned my wife or any GG for the way the dress, whether it's to the nines or down to zero! Great question!

[Charleen]

For me, I do not try to emulate anyone. Nor do I use the word. What I have in my life are role models, both male and female. I try to incorporate the traits I admire in others into my life.
I am me. In drab or en femme. Me. My Mom was the most femme woman I have known, yet strong of character. Role model for me? Hell yes! Do I try to be her? No.
Vanya, I wouldn't get too caught up in this, especially the excel thing. IMO any CD that espouses that is out of touch with who they are, and are searching. As I said-IMO.
Love and xxxx, Lily