Is Simple Ignorance to Blame?

[Miss V]

Not really "ignorance". More of a lack of knowing.

And to be fair, there are some pretty "ignorant" posts on here about gay men (Especially gay crossdressers). But again. It's more a lack of knowledge, than ignorance.

[MonicaPVD]

MissV: the definition of ignorance is literally "lack of knowledge or information." We tend to assume that ignorance = stupidity. Not exactly. So, yes it is ignorance.

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There's such a wide variety of personal experiences that it's silly to generalize. However, we humans are hardwired to generalize and stereotype. It's part of our instinctive fight or flight response. There are just as many hypermasculine gay bottoms as there are heterosexual crossdressers. I am a very flexible bisexual crossdresser and I'm ok with that.

[Miss V]

MissV: the definition of ignorance is literally "lack of knowledge or information." We tend to assume that ignorance = stupidity. Not exactly. So, yes it is ignorance.

I am aware of this, but it's become one of those words that people associate with "dumb/uneducated" people. Often used by the media to belittle opinions.

[Aunt Kelly]

I am aware of this, but it's become one of those words that people associate with "dumb/uneducated" people. Often used by the media to belittle opinions.

And with good reason. The uneducated are ignorant about many things. That's not to say that educated people aren't ignorant, but when the adjective fits, it fits. And yes, the media often belittles opinions which are based on ignorance of plain facts.

[BettyMorgan]

Why the general public misreads the rest of us seems to be a real mystery.

Lacy PJs

When you speak from a place of ignorance, you are bound to say something ignorant.

What the general public doesn't quite understand is that there is a difference between sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Most CIS gender, heterosexual people believe that the genitals you are born with is the same as your gender, and thus, you should be attracted to the opposite. Heteronormativity. However, with 7 billion people (and many more ancestors), we all don't fit neatly into the male/female, man/woman boxes. The are an infinite number of benign genetic variations in humans, and that includes variations their orientation, identity and expression. The general public will eventually come to understand that there is nothing abnormal about being trans, or a crossdresser, or whatever you identify as. That will take time and education.

[Sarah Doepner]

Over the years the main media/entertainment representations of a man wearing woman's clothing served the following purposes; 1) He is gay, 2) he is there for comic relief, 3) was a drag queen, or 4) he is mentally disturbed and probably a killer.

We live busy, complicated lives and shortcuts to our thinking allow us to spend more time paying attention to the things closest and most important to us and our families. Since there were few, if any, alternative explanations most people were satisfied with what had been laid our for them. A few viewed transexuals as an extreme case but were few and far between. The few "safe" places for crossdressers to gather were in gay bars and nightclubs, further strengthening the stereotype. As Gay and Lesbian groups and individuals began to take their place in the mainstream, transgender people were left aside mostly in the closet or if they were in public have been clinging to gay and lesbian political coattails.

Finally, prior to just a few years ago around 1% of people even knew a trans person. While that has improved significantly we are left still attempting to help the general public understand that sex is between the legs and gender between the ears.

So yes, the best we can hope for with many people is to have them accept us as gay, there are worse options until we can train them otherwise.

[Alexis00]

Over the years the main media/entertainment representations of a man wearing woman's clothing served the following purposes; 1) He is gay, 2) he is there for comic relief, 3) was a drag queen, or 4) he is mentally disturbed and probably a killer.

We live busy, complicated lives and shortcuts to our thinking allow us to spend more time paying attention to the things closest and most important to us and our families. Since there were few, if any, alternative explanations most people were satisfied with what had been laid our for them. A few viewed transexuals as an extreme case but were few and far between. The few "safe" places for crossdressers to gather were in gay bars and nightclubs, further strengthening the stereotype. As Gay and Lesbian groups and individuals began to take their place in the mainstream, transgender people were left aside mostly in the closet or if they were in public have been clinging to gay and lesbian political coattails.

Crossdressers being portrayed as psychopaths bothers me the most. Second most are people checking ID's at clubs who insist on calling you "Mr." when it's obvious you are presenting as female.

Great point about clubs accepting tgirls. We've become quite a bit more mainstream, especially as legislation has been passed in many states and provinces to protect t people. In Massachusetts now, you can legally choose "X" on your driver's license for gender.

For every hour I've spent dressed I've probably spent two hours talking about where t people in general and me in particular fits in the world. But my parents for example still feel crossdresser = gay.

[CynthiaD]

From time to time, I wonder why the general public sees crossdressers as being gay. A lot of literature about CDs and most certainly a huge percentage of videos out there portray us as homosexuals.

While statistics for such sensitive subjects tend to be sometimes questionable, from what I've read, the general consensus is that approximately 10-12 percent of the general population is gay and that same percentage holds true in the crossdressing community. Why the general public misreads the rest of us seems to be a real mystery.

For me, I'd like to read a story or watch a movie/video of a heterosexual couple who accept each other for who they are in all situations, whether that is out in public for those who are courageous enough to venture out, in the privacy of their own home or in sharing intimacy with each other. That type of material is pretty hard to find.

Lacy PJs

The public is unbelievably ignorant about almost everything. Let’s start with the 10-12% figure you quoted. This number comes from the Kinsey report. Even though it has been quoted many times, it is known to be seriously flawed. The correct number is about 2%. People get a lot of their impressions from TV shows, movies and books. But these things are not depictions of real life. They’re just expositions of the ignorance of the writers. Writers aren’t any less ignorant than anyone else. The portrayal of computer scientists is even more ridiculous than the portrayal of cross dressers. We computer scientists spend all our time sitting around “hacking into the CIA mainframe” right? I’ve been a computer scientist for over 50 years, and I don’t even know what that means.