It's so nice to know that there are other trannies who share my views - I was beginning to think I was alone in a world of clothes fascists! Y'all on this thread are right - there's a lot of hostility towards us trannies who don't want to try to 'pass', and IMHO the vast majority of that hostility comes from other trannies. If you care to take a stroll through my philosophy pages (no advertisement intended!), you'll see that I've recently got myself into trouble with the Beaumont Society, which claims to be the largest TV/TS support group in the UK. And for what? Because I dared to turn up at their big annual function last November dressed as a guy, but wearing a skirt and tights. Apparently, it's OK to arrive as a man, and it's OK to arrive as a woman, but half-in-half? No! For an organisation as respected as the Beaumont, that's outrageous and unacceptable. One member subsequently suggested that unless I pass, I shouldn't go out in public dressed - and that, I fear, is a very widely-held belief.

More recently, a tranny friend and I have begun to have articles which we've written for our local tranny newsletter censored. We try to present in a humourous way an alternative view of trannying, namely that you don't have to pass to go out in public, and furthermore, that going completely 'over the top' can be a lot of fun, and can also defuse potentially dangerous situations. Such material is considered "divisive", and the editor has refused to print it.

So exactly what is my philosophy? Well, firstly, I want to have fun dressing - I like girlie clothes for their own sake. Secondly, I don't want to pretend I'm a woman, so I don't wear false breasts (which IMHO are exclusively female), and I don't try to pass - although it often happens by accident! Thirdly, I want to be actively involved in spreading these ideas by whatever means I can - articles in magazines, personal contacts, my web site, and by example in the streets and shops of my local towns. But why should this be controversial amongst the tranny fraternity? Well, I discuss this on my web site, but basically, I think it comes down to fear. For closet trannies and those who pass (which is the same thing from the public's perception), there's a feeling of safety in numbers, and we trannies who want to be noticed for what we are are seen to be 'rocking the boat'. One closet tranny summed it up by saying that I was destroying the "good work" which she and other closet trannies had been doing over the last thirty years towards gaining public acceptance. Well, I'm afraid I hadn't noticed ......

I believe that if the public are to accept us, we need to dispel our old image of a group of perverted men 'getting off' on wearing female clothes. We can't do that if we continually try to hoodwink people into thinking we're real women, using women's toilets and changing rooms, and generally thinking it's acceptable to lie about what we are. On the contrary, IMHO, we should be proud to be what we are. And if we think our freedom to present as we wish is worth achieving, we shouldn't be afraid to go out and win it. And if I were a closet tranny, and found that someone else was willing to fight on my behalf, I'd keep my mouth firmly shut!

Sally Watson

Posted to alt.support.crossdressing newsgroup, April 1999.