I am a transwoman, ask me anything.

Good point.

I didn't say we didn't need to hear what OP had to say, but that it was patronising to assume we're all ignorant of trans issues

Stuff like this gets me. We wimminz can't understand trans stuff but TIM's know exactly what it feels like to be a woman.

Your opinion is not a fact. I don't see anything patronising in the opening post. I thought it was an interesting point. I didn't have time to post before the thread turned into the usual bun fight , including your useful comment that "we" don't need to hear what the OP might have had to say.

Sigh. Again, yes it's my opinion. And also that of plenty of other posters on the thread.

I didn't say we didn't need to hear what OP had to say, but that it was patronising to assume we're all ignorant of trans issues.

I wasn't replying to you.

Fine. It was in a post addressed to me - hence the confusion.

TIM's are not hard to spot. It's the facial features, shape of the body and their voice. You can usually tell by how they walk too. I know in the nearest city to me there is a small trans community, I've seen one or two out and about.

The first TIM I ever saw was in a pub in the early 80's in a town I didn't live in. Everyone knew them and pointed them out as it was so rare then.

The fact I was referring to was this:

Im often surprised at the narrowness of some posters' social experiences here

That is a fact. It's not specific to you.

I have made up no 'facts' about you I know nothing about you.

I didn't say that the OP being patronising was a 'fact' if you read my posts, that indeed is my opinion.

A 'hive mind' is a bizarre notion. I was simply pointing out that women on here generally, tho clearly not you, know transwomen and transwomen and are familiar with the issues. Recent posts have born this out.

Perhaps I don't see trans woman and men everywhere because (a) I don't share the monomania of some posters and (b) I actually do have a life. And yes that was meant to be patronising

You may have meant to be patronising, but it just sounds a bit bananas. Observing that are numbers of transpeople around is now 'monomania'.

Maybe you just need to get out more.

Perhaps I don't see trans woman and men everywhere because (a) I don't share the monomania of some posters and (b) I actually do have a life. And yes that was meant to be patronising.

But to be fair, Lass, it's a common assumption on the part of people who join to specifically post here in support of the gender affirmative view, that FWR members are only gender critical because they don't know any trans people and are ignorant of the issues.

But many FWR members do know trans people and are sympathetic to trans issues - but because they have a gender critical analysis, that sympathy ends at the point rights conflict or safeguarding frameworks are compromised.

I don't think it's unreasonable to point that out on threads like this one - where the OP had clearly arrived with the assumption that if only everyone here could just know a trans person, they would change their view from gender critical to gender affirmative.

The assumption of ignorance is bound to piss people off.

And I'm not starting a thread with an uber-patronising premise

Your opinion is not a fact. I don't see anything patronising in the opening post. I thought it was an interesting point. I didn't have time to post before the thread turned into the usual bun fight , including your useful comment that "we" don't need to hear what the OP might have had to say.

What's this got to do with me?

I wasn't replying to you. Not everything is about you.

I'm simply stating a fact. If you find that patronising that's up to you, it doesn't mean the OP isn't

No you are not "stating a fact". You made a comment intended to be nasty based on "facts" you made up about me.

Your opinion of the OP is she was patronising. That is not a fact. That is your opinion. I don't agree with your opinion.

You were also trying to create some group hive mind by your use of "we" as if you speak for all women posting on here. You do not speak for me.

Perhaps I don't see trans woman and men everywhere because (a) I don't share the monomania of some posters and (b) I actually do have a life. And yes that was meant to be patronising.

And I'm not starting a thread with an uber-patronising premise.

Oh how hilarious- you are the person who accused the OP of being patronising

I'm simply stating a fact. If you find that patronising that's up to you, it doesn't mean the OP isn't.

I live in Edinburgh. I am in London about once a month. I was in London last weekend.

Well in that case it's an extraordinary achievement never to have met a transwoman, ever. A mid-transition transwoman works in my local Sainsbury's, I was recently on a hospital ward with a fully transitioned transwoman. And I've previously worked with one who was head of a small company. That's just a small sample. Even if you don't know any socially, there's plenty around.

And as for the trans man the stereotype trans man on FWR is a lesbian who is being bullied into not being a lesbian. My trans man friend was heterosexual before transitioning and now identifies as a gay man.

What's this got to do with me?

I was on another health-related forum recently when a poster came on and in their first post announced they were a transwoman "but not full-time".

Totally irrelevant to the rest of the content of their post, but, imo, used to ensure a non-critical response to what they were about to say, by playing the victim card at the off.

There is an element of internet vs real life going on in terms of visibility. I would wager that a proportion of people who are trans online are not 'out' in any meaningful way in day to day life. I imagine this to be particularly prevalent on site like Tumblr and anything else with a large teen and young adult demographic.

Are you absolutely positive that you will never, ever regret it? Female to male trans find themselves being taken more seriously but male to female trans apparently are never taken seriously again in the workplace and may even suffer a lower wage which is disgraceful.

There's more to being a woman than nice clothes, hair, shoes and make-up. Hand on heart, if you'd had to put up with the crappy parts of being a woman, such as periods and the pain and inconvenience that often goes with them would you have found this off-putting?

Is life really better as a woman? If it was we wouldn't have had to have these long campaigns for getting the vote, equal pay, maternity leave, etc, etc. In many parts of the world it's still really shitty.

Fewer in the corporate/legal world lass

I don't spend my entire life in the office. I have not once in either Edinburgh or even in London noticed a person and thought they might be a trans man or woman.

It's not a mantra lass. It's a fact that most teenage girls who come out as trans and then desist are lesbians.

Fewer in the corporate/legal world lass

And your trans man friend has no more idea of what it is to be a gay man than I know what it is to be a straight woman

I'm sure that is the case and I'm sure the dating pool will be shallow. I mentioned it because the mantra on here is that trans men would all be lesbians if left alone.

Trans people are apparently less than 1% of the population. Do those of you who know of "at least 3 trans men and 4 trans women" spend your time on high alert looking out for them? Because despite living in a city, working full time in a city, going out a lot in 2 cities I cannot think of a single occasion i have noticed someone and thought they were a trans man or woman.

I live in a small town, a typically boring town and I know of at least 3 trans men and 4 trans women. The trans women are older men, often seen with their kids and the trans men are teenagers.

Soupforbrains: I can't help but feel that we've torn this thread apart ourselves by allowing Schrodinger to derail it.

Maybe that was her 'cunning plan' all along.....?

My trans man friend was heterosexual before transitioning and now identifies as a gay man

And your trans man friend has no more idea of what it is to be a gay man than I know what it is to be a straight woman.

I’ve deliberately just lurked on this thread (and a couple more today as I felt my input wasn’t really needed) but this post just made my eyebrows shoot to the back of my head.

Altho Im often surprised at the narrowness of some posters' social experiences here

Oh how hilarious- you are the person who accused the OP of being patronising.

If you live in a big city you'd be hard pressed never to have encountered a transperson, even if you're not friends with them. I don't think I've ever met someone who's never met a transwoman. Altho Im often surprised at the narrowness of some posters' social experiences here

I live in Edinburgh. I am in London about once a month. I was in London last weekend.

I'm surprised at the narrowness of some poster's minds.

And as for the trans man the stereotype trans man on FWR is a lesbian who is being bullied into not being a lesbian. My trans man friend was heterosexual before transitioning and now identifies as a gay man.

I don't know any trans women. And unless all trans women are passing brilliantly in shops, restaurants, pubs etc I can't even think of an occasion when I have even noticed a trans woman. So either they are passing brilliantly or more likely there are very few trans women

If you live in a big city you'd be hard pressed never to have encountered a transperson, even if you're not friends with them. I don't think I've ever met someone who's never met a transwoman. Altho Im often surprised at the narrowness of some posters' social experiences here.

The only trans person I know in real life is a trans man. I do know that he does not remotely fit the image of a young woman who is really a lesbian and is being bullied into being trans.

What image? Why would he?

I reported schrodinger as they used disablist discriminatory language on the thread and I was offended.