To be surprised that so many on here claim to have never met/seen anyone who is transgender?

[abacucat]

Where I live in Britain I meet and see transgender people all the time. So today I was out and saw two people who were obviously transgender. I also meet people through work and other occasions.

I’ve never, knowingly anyway, met someone who is trans. It’s not a ‘claim’ it’s the truth. I’m not really sure what the point of your OP is?

I saw a person in a shopping centre on Monday who was very obviously a man dressed as a woman.

I have no idea whether he was transvestite, transgender, gender non conforming, self ID, gender fluid, gay, straight, bisexual, pan sexual. It was impossible to know. And I don’t really care.

The actual thought that passed through my head was ‘that’s a man dressed how he thinks women dress.’ I’ve never seen a man dressing as a woman who chose to wear jeans and a jumper, but I’m sure they exist. He was wearing an outfit and hairstyle that I’d have placed as mid eighties. To be honest, he stood out like a sore thumb, and I felt sorry for him because he looked quite unhappy.

I get terribly confused trying to think of labels for people who don’t want to be labelled and just want to be the same as everyone else - accepted - especially when they shout loudly about their label and campaign for the label that they don’t want to be labelled with.

Tis a bit fucked up

Curious - I know. Was just pointing out to a pp that stonewall, an organisation specifically for LGBT define cross dressing as transgender, as a response to their "where is it official" request.

Fwiw I think it's bollocks.

I am pretty sure I couldn't pass as a man. I am 5'2" and busty, with a high voice. If I were to have surgery to try to pass as male I would be small and flat-chested and probably still with a high voice (hormones might take it down an octave but it would still be high for a man). I might just about manage to pass as a 12-year-old boy, but why in god's name would I want to do that?

I do know a transman. I have seen a few people out and about who I think were trans, but how do you tell for sure just walking past them in the street (unless they are v v obvious, in which case, are they trying to pass?)?

Well there were quite a few at the WPUK meeting I attended!
Some might “pass” as well but for some reason my local Sainsbury’s seems to be quite popular with very tall ladies who tend towards larger shoe sizes.

If a person lives in a small village in the countryside and barely ever leaves, there’s every chance they won’t have met a transgender person. That’s not to say the trans community don’t live in the sticks but it’s less likely seeing someone who is trans there than in a big city obviously.

I taught a transgender man last year but he was honestly the first I’d met on personal terms. I’d seen a couple of others in public.

I am surprised too, but I suppose it depends where you live. If you're in a small market town and never go anywhere else then you'll less of a range of people than you would in a big city.

I'm in London, don't get out an awful lot but I still see transwomen on regular basis, and the odd transman. See a few outside London too, sometimes in small towns.

I don't 'claim' it. I have not. Or if I have, have been totally oblivious.
But, then, I don't live in a city. I don't work in a city or town. I live in the countryside, 3 miles from the village. I have never, knowingly, met a trans person. If I have, well done them, because I have ould never have known 😊
My ds2 is gay and lives in a city. He will no doubt have a completely different experience to me.

So, don't be surprised.....

MacosieAsunter

Submission from LGBT Youth Scotland to UK Parliament's Women and Equalities Commission.

"We recommend expanding the protected characteristic of gender reassignment to include gender identity and expression so that non-binary identities and cross-dressers are clearly covered. Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009 uses the term transgender identity, and may provide a useful reference point for expanding the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. "

data.parliament.uk/WrittenEvidence/CommitteeEvidence.svc/EvidenceDocument/Women%20and%20Equalities/Transgender%20Equality/written/19582.html

Stonewall have announced it under their trans 'umbrella'. Can't be arsed to find it. Do your own work. And Trans Alliance whatsit.

Most people just get on with their lives and actually don't notice other people unless they are people watching, work with them or someone points it out to them.

So I've worked with two transgender women in one office and while one was easy to spot the second wasn't. The second chose clothes that suited her but didn't stand out from what the average woman wears, had better make up than me and far far better nails.

I had a transgender man pointed out to me by friends' due to an acquaintance being in a relationship with him but that acquaintance having a complex love history.

I know due to living and working in cities and large towns I've seen more transgender and non-conforming people but it isn't a big deal.

There's a man I see on the train quite often. He is very obviously a man, in a frock - there's no way he's passing as anything else (even my DC pointed him out as a man in a dress).

He looks absolutely petrified all the time, as if he fears being outed or thumped or something. Why put yourself through it?

I live in Canada, near one of the cities that is ground zero for the trans movement in Canada. In the city I see people fairly frequently, mainly young transmen, the odd older transwoman, and occasionally a Travis Alabanza type 🙄 who no doubt consider themselves to be trans 🙄

Nope I've never seen one unless they were so convincing that I missed it.

I don’t think I have ever met someone who is trans.
I did know 2 women who you might look at and label trans but you would be wrong as they are both butch lesbians.

Today I am wearing a mans jumper, mans tee, jeans and my sons socks. I don’t wear makeup and my hair is just tied back. Maybe I better stay indoors just in case someone wants to stick a label on me.

I know a couple of very nice, quiet transexual m to f people local to me. One passes the other doesn't. Also have a distant relative who is f to m trans but no surgery or hormones. Would probably be comfortable as a lesbian but that is a big NO in her culture.
I met a couple of cross dressers/ transvestites in USA 30 years ago. Neither passed but didn't care. They enjoyed dressing up and going out.
Sadly, I know someone who was murdered by a very disturbed cross dresser about 40 years ago.
What I do know is that you absolutely cannot lump all these individuals together as a group.

I’ve met two. One I didn’t notice until she told me! One I was a bit worried about using the wrong pronoun until he introduced his name (met on a training course)

None of it bothers me. I’m a woman but I sometimes wear men’s clothes. I wear the mens uniform at my part time bar job because I prefer it to the women’s. I defintley have a boyish nature but I still like being mum and woman and girl and female and daughter!

I couldn’t give a fuck if you want to be known as he/she/cis/they/fuckingtomato just let me know

He looks absolutely petrified all the time, as if he fears being outed or thumped or something. Why put yourself through it?

I agree, it must be so hard in today's society. It's clear to me that nothing short of a deeply held, genuine feeling that will not be suppressed is the only reason someone would take such risks, both medically and emotionally. I don't think I could hope to imagine such a fundamental discomfort, but it's clear to see that it exists beyond merely aping the opposite sex.

When I say transexual I mean have had surgery.
Hope I got the terminology right.

I suppose it depends whether people are doing the "people are people I don't see gender" or just don't really look outside of their little group of friends.
I did an Alpha course with a lovely older lady, she was pretty open with me about growing up and getting married and having kids as a man, and finally finding the strength to live as a woman once she was in her 60's.
There's also a lady who catch my bus occasionally who I would take a 90% guess as having been born a man but I have no idea what labels she uses if any.
I'm sure there's many other people who are transgender or gnc who I've simply never noticed

Medication isn't required to be transgender. I actually think the stats show there's less that take hormones than do (sure someone has linked on other threads before, apologies if I'm making that up).

I've only ever seen men in dresses when people watching through boredom. In my day to day I'm just not that observant.

There are a lot of women where I live who probably could be men or they could have just aged very badly. I cant really tell.

I have never met anyone who is transgender and I've lived and worked in lots of places, including London and New York. I have seen men dressed in women's clothes - I have no idea if they were transvestites or transgender or anything else. How would you know unless you asked?

I live in an area where it's really common, mostly transitioning in the last 18 months. This includes 3 kids at my kids' primary school, more at the high school, one member of staff there, a neighbour and a friend - this doesn't even touch on friends of friends. All name changed, announced the change, pronouns etc. I also have a lot of students who registered as non binary and wear pronoun badges (so I can tell/ know for sure). I'm really uncomfortable with the children under 10, but the rest no longer stand out as anything that interesting.

The students just seem the new emo, goth, punk etc. It must be hard to shock the generation above, I don't see many of them bothering long term. I don't mean that in a dismissive way, but it's reassuring that this might not be a crisis and surge in dysphoria that it sounds like on paper.

I don't know many "activist," types though, except the parents of one of the children. At a wedding, the older trans woman waited until the ladies toilet was empty before going in, trying not to make a fuss. Most are just bobbing along, going to work etc. However, even if I didn't know for sure, I'd be able to tell for all the adults what sex they were born.

I've never knowingly met somebody from Finland. Finland therefore doesn't exist.