When another person's opinions or experiences on this subject do not match your own, that does not necessarily mean that they are against trans people.
I would assume 'trans' to be offensive or derogatory because I've only ever heard the word used in that context, and wouldn't use the word myself, but if someone else wants to identify as 'trans' and feel good about it (a bit like reclaiming the word 'queer') then that is fine by me.
Thanks for the support.
I think actually there are quite a few misconceptions cropping up in this thread-apart from this thing with mizzsummers.It isn't surprising, as -to my knowledge-none here apart from me and her are at -all trans.
To me a lot of these questions about what counts as a real woman, talk of cis/trans etc, are really the wrong ones to ask.That's why we're getting on to these things like white people saying they're black etc.To be fair trans people themselves are partly to blame for this.
As an analogy, imagine the following scenario.
You're driving along near a railway crossing and are involved on a terrible accident. As you lay there bleeding to death the emergency services arrive.
Instead of cutting you out of the wreck however they begin an argument. Was this actually a road (automobile) or train accident?. A whole debate ensues about the semantics of this-what is meant by road and rail? etc.
But meanwhile you don't care about any of this- you are in terrible pain/dieing, and all you need is treatment.
This,I suggest is the reality for many trans folk-especially, I believe, for A)Very dysphoric people who don't conform to the strictures of Pathway (the guidelines in western countries for treating g.d.), and B)people living outside of these p.c.liberal democracies.
This is true both in terms of the crippling dysphoria trans people feel, but also the abuse,violence and lack of rights many still suffer worldwide.
To me, this is the real issue,-I.e ensuring access to treatment and rights, not semantics.
Unfortunately what has happened is that this has now been eclipsed by endless debate between trans and Feminists etc, over the meaning of the world "woman".
Now I'm sorry if this is "preaching", but it's obvious people here want to discuss this.