tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544621986610962495.post8036404335367344947..comments2023-10-12T08:11:38.983-07:00Comments on Just Jennifer: The Issue of PassingJust Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15011627273687180475noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544621986610962495.post-73775076440476882722009-10-02T12:35:21.665-07:002009-10-02T12:35:21.665-07:00I know this may sound blunt and unforgiving but mo...I know this may sound blunt and unforgiving but most realize this after a time;<br /><br />I've always maintained people who pass are fakes, the rest of us just are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544621986610962495.post-8053339034105565762009-10-02T11:42:09.784-07:002009-10-02T11:42:09.784-07:00I agree. My goal is not to pass although I underst...I agree. My goal is not to pass although I understand that there are differences in the definition of theword passing, depending how you use it. I am a woman. i am not defined by what is between my legs so I may or may not have surgery. That is my personal choice. I do not think one should just be able to say, "Hey I am a girl so treat me that way!" either... Anyway to stay on my point, I do not wish to simply pass. I want to move on with my life and live as the woman I know I am. To say that one passing as their target sex however does not necessarily contradict this thought. To be a woman, even after surgery does not mean you look like it, and this perception of not being able to look the part (no matter how vain that sounds) definitely has an impact of many facets of a persons transition.Kathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02820765953691947521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544621986610962495.post-91137710297870852842009-10-01T16:12:35.722-07:002009-10-01T16:12:35.722-07:00Stephanie, you raise a good point. Of course, I w...Stephanie, you raise a good point. Of course, I wonder how Sandeen would know, since Sandeen has been at this for considerably longer and is not remotely passable. When I began, I was being called "ma'am" before I went full time. I had been on hormones for about six weeks the first time it happened. It got really interesting...<br /><br />When I started, we didn't have the Internet. I went a few times to a support group, but it began to fall apart and I dropped out. Most of my contact after that was as a sort of volunteer counselor for my endocrinologist. His office would call me up and ask if I would be willing to see someone who wanted to talk. I was glad to help out.<br /><br />I had one incident where I was actually discrminated against. Before I moved west, I looked into going to nursing school. Since the school I would be attending had taken over the junior college I attended years before, and since they would not change my name on my records anyway, I had to out myself. At first I was told it would not be a problem. Then, the next time I went in to talk to them, I was called into the dean's office and told, at first, that I would have to dress as a male, and such. When I protested, they backed down and said I could use my legal name, and present as a female, but that I would have to notify every facility I would be doing clinicals at, and that they would be able to deny my being there. That meant that I might get halfway through and not be able to graduate, so I decided to not attend that school.<br /><br />Sandeen is an idiot, who can't pass, and who therefore thinks no one else should either.Just Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15011627273687180475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8544621986610962495.post-38015576628393615892009-10-01T14:11:53.665-07:002009-10-01T14:11:53.665-07:00One part of that post which I find rather objectio...One part of that post which I find rather objectionable is where Autumn Sandeen says that it takes 2-3 years before you begin to "pass" (speak for yourself, it took me 6 months). And that we all spend that time being active and out in the community. Then she implies that we've taken from the community and abandoned it without giving anything back. <br /><br />What rot. I've not been involved in any community. I've joined a few online forums over the years - but I never participated in any for more than a few weeks. I've never belonged to a support group or taken part in any activism. My entire dealings with "the community" consist in going to a Christmas party, a couple of picnics, and a dinner organised by one forum. A handful of social occasions. So I don't see how I owe anything to anyone. <br /><br />Sandeen seems to assume, though, that I've spent my year of transitioning being "stigmatized and discriminated against" - and have relied on community support to get through that. And therefore it would be terrible of me not to out myself at every turn because, somehow, that would help those who are still "oppressed" in the community. It's just not so.Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079039033617377525noreply@blogger.com