Flying Under the Radar.

We are a transgendered community noted for going "stealth".
The goal for so many of transgendered individuals is to attain a level of comfort in their chosen gender and simply disappear into society. The man or woman next door may be a transsexual and you would never know it...Wonderful, a terrific transgendered success story.
The whole "stealth" situation is a complete win for the transgendered person and I respect it. Why shouldn't they be allowed to live a complete "normal" life?
I used to believe there were too many "stealth" individuals in the transgendered community. Too few role models to help the younger individuals.
Fortunately the situation is beginning to change.  Transgendered individuals are stepping out of the shadows to explain who we really are as a culture.
In the preceding post I wrote about a new documentary on the "Style Channel" as one example. 
The public has seen the "Alexis Arquette's" (above)  of the world. Unfortunately, Alexis doesn't represent me or probably you well. Her media "wow" factor probably hasn't inspired many gender confused teens to run for school council.
On the other hand the transgendered woman in Spain who was just elected to a regional parliament does.
Compounding all these problems is the "L" (looks) factor. The trials and tribulations we all go through to present convincingly as our chosen gender. The fact of the matter is we all want to be viewed as "attractive". It's just human nature.
More importantly though, we need to be viewed as how we feel. Sure it takes courage and perseverance for a transgendered person to take the first awkward steps as a woman or a man.
The true heroine/hero in all of this is the person who steps out of "stealth" and says I started where you are. The finished product you see was not easy to achieve but you can get there.
I get the question frequently "do you think I can pass?"
Everyone can on a certain level if they are not passing.  When they become the person they are striving to be, they move away from the "Show Biz Arquette's" and into the real world. You stop passing  and start being.
Maybe some day in the future when that happens they will step out of stealth and pass forward their knowledge to someone who desperately needs it!

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