1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Wondering about your opinion on feeling included in the lgbt community

Discussion in 'Gender Identity and Expression' started by fortheloveoflez, Oct 12, 2013.

  1. fortheloveoflez

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2013
    Messages:
    478
    Likes Received:
    2
    Hey everyone!

    I have heard from multiple individuals that many people who identify as transgender or some type of gender queer don't feel as included in the lgbt community. I'm just wondering how many of you feel this way. If so, what do you think should be changed within the community so that you feel more included? I have noticed that there is quite minimal representation of transgender individuals in even queer shows. I wish there was more representation.

    I'm a cis-gendered lesbian but I just wanted to hear you all out. Thanks in advance! :slight_smile:
     
  2. Emulator

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2013
    Messages:
    153
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Free-loading on Mars
    Personally I feel partly included, at least in LGBTQI, but it's fine either way. :slight_smile:
     
  3. Sarcastic Luck

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2013
    Messages:
    1,626
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Nope. Pretty much everything is LG and sometimes B.
     
  4. BookDragon

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2013
    Messages:
    4,605
    Likes Received:
    12
    Location:
    Cambridge, UK
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    The only aspect of the LGBT community I really know anything about is this forum and I feel pretty included in it, but I guess that's not quite the same.
     
  5. Dapper

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2013
    Messages:
    66
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    I often feel overshadowed. Most websites, for example, will say they discuss LGBTQIA+ issues (I'm doing a research paper and need statistics and stuff like that), but really all they discuss are lesbians and gay men. Sometimes trans* people are just forgotten, except in our own little community. I know that sounds terrible, but y'know :/
     
  6. suninthesky

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Mar 26, 2011
    Messages:
    593
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    I go to a lot of groups at the LGBT alliance in my city. A lot of the time, it's all about the LG and sometimes B. A lot of the time I feel like a minority in a minority and it's been frustrating to find out that LGB people don't understand me like I thought they would, or think that I should be proud of being a butch lesbian. But the are some cis-people that make it a point to include trans ideas and topics and it not be just considering gay topics/perspective, which I really appreciate. Just.. some people are a lot better about it than others. Personally, I've never properly met/gotten to know another transguy my age, and that's been pretty difficult.
     
  7. drwinchester

    drwinchester Guest

    Yeah, often seems as if the mainstream LGBT movement's all about the L and G. Here on EC and maybe Tumblr I feel included- otherwise, even in supposedly inclusive spaces I feel tokenized at best.

    Notice how, when many mainstream advocacy groups discuss LGBT rights, usually means gay marriage. Occasionally, they'll move that to include workplace employee rights, with the occasional "can't fire nobody because of sexuality or gender identity" but notice when we fight for it, we don't all cry "No one should be fired because of their sexuality or gender" but "If a guy fucks a guy you shouldn't fire him." While we absolutely cannot move forward as a community without sexuality being protected, not as much attention's given to what we in the transgender community need. Just look at the HRC to see what I mean.

    Another thing- too many people in the LGBT community are ignorant about trans issues. When I no longer have to explain that being FtM means I'm a man born into a female body or that I don't and shouldn't have to explain how I piss or have sex, it'd mean more than you'd think. Now being trans isn't something most understand unless you're trans, but it'd be nice to see more people, especially in the LGB community to not forget the T.
     
  8. BookDragon

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2013
    Messages:
    4,605
    Likes Received:
    12
    Location:
    Cambridge, UK
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Of course it doesn't help that the LGB and the T aren't really related in any way. Most places tend to focus on the sexuality side of things because it affects more people generally speaking. Plus a vast amount of people, probably most people I would say, could understand the ins and outs of the diverse and fluid nature of sexuality and not have the slightest idea of gender diversity!
     
  9. Sully

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2013
    Messages:
    663
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    Yeah I don't even understand why they're all lumped together in the first place!
     
  10. Sarcastic Luck

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2013
    Messages:
    1,626
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Being trans can affect your sexuality and what you sexually identify as. If I do nothing, I'd be a straight woman, but by transitioning, I'd be a gay man.
     
  11. Just Jess

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2013
    Messages:
    1,237
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Denver
    You know I hear this a lot but I disagree with it somewhat. I think for one thing our coming out is a lot the same. And we live in a world where straight is normal which means gay and lesbian couples have to put up with crap over their gender too.

    I'll put it this way, a gay man, especially one that happens to bottom, being misgendered over it, can suck every bit as much as when one of us is misgendered. Or when gay people need to seek medical help having children and starting families, they can deal with some very familiar to us hoop-jumping and having to meet other people's expectations before getting permission to do something straight people can do without issue. Or when people assume one partner has to be "the man". And of course, people that enjoy drag performance or just exploring opposite gender stuff in a safe way, lots and lots of overlap there to the point where you can't even draw a line between our communities.

    Really I think the issue that brings us together is, mother nature didn't wire us to have traditional families, and most people are wired that way, which means it's hard for us to get by in a straight cis world.