UT (Tennessee) ranks most LGBTQ+ unfriendly school

There is a lot of division between the LGBT community, absolutely!
A lot of cis lesbians often don't like it when trans lesbians (mtf) come into their spaces.
A lot of cis gay men often don't like it when trans gay men (ftm) come into their spaces.
Trans people who believe that you need dysphoria to be trans ( I myself adhere to that philosophy) have difficulties accepting non-binary identifying individuals as trans.

For myself it's mixed:
I believe everyone should be allowed to be themselves.
That said, as a straight trans woman I find it very difficult to relate to trans lesbians. A lot of them were married, lived lives as cis hetero men, fathered children, had a very masculine career prior to transitioning at middle age, and as someone who was gender atypical from a very young age, had a more female socialization when growing up, was always seen as more feminine etc. I just can't relate to them.
In fact, there was a time in my life where I thought about hiding my trans past once my transition will be complete. I thought about marrying a cis hetero guy and not disclosing, since a good friend of mine did the same and she always told me that no one is entitled to know your medical history. What changed my mind on this topic is that a lot of straight trans women get killed by cis hetero men when not disclosing that you were incorrectly assigned male at birth. That made me realise that 1) it's better to be with someone who knows your history and is ok with it. 2) Not having to jeopardize your safety.
What you said in your last sentence is sadly very true: a lot of cis women will be polite towards trans women, use your preferred pronouns, name etc. but if you don't have a womb and ovaries a lot of cis women will not see you as a genuine woman.
That said, I have never once had a bad reaction from cis women I told.
Times are changing. People are slowly starting to understand that it's live and let-live. Slowly but surely!

 

My answer to this is a bit two-sided.
To some extent I understand people like yourself, but I think there is too much generalization under conservatives.

Let me explain:
As someone who has known my entire life that I felt like I was born in the wrong body, I do not relate to people like Caitlyn Jenner who have lived life as an alpha male prior to their transition.
Her and trans women like her simply do not have the same history as trans women like me.
I was gender atypical for my assigned sex at birth since a very very young age. These feelings of being born in the wrong body were present since age 4.
It's difficult for me to understand that someone can live a life as a macho man, sire 5 children, marry 3 women, use their genitalia to penetrate those women in a masculine way, go on and have a super masculine career and then at middle age come out as a woman.

I was feminine behaving from a very young age, always been slender and small framed during middle school and high school so regularly bullied and sexually harassed.
My friends were always cis women, I never related to men, my role models were always cis women, the discomfort with my body was there from a very young age. The male body just didn't feel like it truthfully represented the person I am mentally. As puberty set in I became even more uncomfortable. The changes caused by testosterone (body and facial hair, larger feet) were very undesired and made me deeply uncomfortable. Fortunately I had a slow puberty so when I sought help at age 20 my voice still had not dropped and I was also able to prevent growing taller (I'm 5 feet 6 ).
I had to see a psychiatrist for 6 months and doctors, even 6 years ago, were not as open-minded as now.
I had a doctor tell me: "The suicide rates under trans people are very high and lots of trans people die from cancer caused by life-long hormone use. You will never get pregnant which is a very important characteristic for women to experience authentic womanhood. The lack of ovaries and a womb will always make you feel incomplete, please be aware of that.
You also have to realise that trans women who are open about their past are mocked. If you want to live life as a normal woman, you will have to move to a different country after your transition is complete, and not tell a soul about your past."
Then he proceeded with : "But for people who do this at a young age, in their 10s or 20s, I can show comprehension. It's the ones who were married for 20+ years, became fathers and in their mid-50s want to live as women, that I struggle to show comprehension."

I followed him in that second part of the last sentence.
I don't understand those trans women who first father children, lived lives as manly men who were attracted to women, and then at later ages (40s, 50s or older ) transition either.
Just because them and I are too different from each other.

There is a Canadian psychotherapist, Ray Blachard, who has written a typology about trans women in the 1990s.
His theory is that you have 2 types of trans women: HSTS and AGP.
HSTS are trans girls who knew from a very young age, were attracted to men, had a female entourage (environment), and transition at ages under 30.
AGP are the 2nd group. The most notorious about them is that they are attracted to women, had a typical male upbringing as a child, and they can transition either young in life or at very old ages (up to their 70s or 80s).

Blanchard notes that the AGP type of trans women project their ideal women on themselves. They want to become the object of their desire.
HSTS on the other hand want to live as normal women, date and marry straight men and live life as a normal functioning member of society.
AGPS are sometimes helped by transition when their fetish is so strong that they must become the woman they are sexually attracted to (it can cause depression in them at that point if they don't transition), but they are very different from HSTS who are gender-atypical from a very young age, attracted to men and usually have a high pitched voice and respond well to hormones. AGPs respond less well to hormones physically so they need more surgeries to pass as a woman.

Caitlyn Jenner falls into the AGP category.
Laverne Cox falls into the HSTS category.
I fall into the HSTS category.

It's especially AGP who cause outrage under cis people.
AGPs are the ones who retain male interests after transitioning. They may want to compete against cis women in sports etc. despite demonstrably being stronger built etc.

The general public is not usually aware of this typology under trans women. They assume all trans women must be the same.
While that's not true. There is a huge difference between trans women who transition in their 40s, 50s or older and are married to a woman versus trans women who transition in their 10s or 20s and are attracted to men.

Lia Thomas would fall into the AGP category seeing that she is very broad, responds poorly to hormones and is attracted to women.

The type of trans women that conservatives like yourself are repulsed by are usually the AGP transsexuals.
AGP transsexuals are notorious for making a caricature of a woman: dressing like a prostitute, often behaving very child-like (think Stephonknee Wolscht) and overall presenting in a way that makes people uncomfortable.
HSTS just go about their business like any other woman (dressing to fit in, behaving in a society-normative way etc.).

While I believe that both types of trans women deserve to transition (body autonomy) and deserve respect, I have difficulties accepting that for AGPS this is not just another fetish. Caitlyn Jenner for example sometimes really makes it a fetish. When she was given the award for woman of the year in 2015 she said that the hardest thing about being a woman was choosing the right dress. In that regard she came over as very clueless and that statement came over as what a crossdresser would say. But I still believe she deserves to have her pronouns respected and her identity.
I have talked with many AGPs and their background is always so different from mine.
They just don't understand that some have these feelings very young in childhood and that for some this is just who we are and always were and that it's not about wearing a pretty blouse like it's for them.

So, believe me, I feel you on some extent.
There was this council woman "Tiza Meskis" who threatened and harrassed a 70 year old man because he misgendered her. That person for example comes over very creepy and may have people think that all trans women are this way, when that's not the case.

I have also never understood trans women who do not want gender confirmation surgery.
You need the final operation, to fit in as a normal woman.
I have been saving up for my confirmation surgery since 4 years now and will be able to get it by the time I turn 28.
People like Lia Thomas who flash their penis around in women's locker rooms: I can understand why this causes outrage and I have my opinion about Thomas' and others who do this.

So rest assured, there are sane trans women who don't immediately hop on the bandwagon of what's trendy.
I also frown upon those people who use non-existing pronouns like Ze, hir and whatever and who call themselves demigender or what not.

In fact you will find that a lot of trans women do not condone the extreme woke stuff that is going on currently.
Especially not the non-binary stuff.
We just want to live normal lives, we don't want our identities to be made into a carnival parade.
That's why I try to stay away from LGBT gatherings.
Some go over the top ruining it for the rest of us who want to be able to be ourselves while also fitting into society as normal people with normal jobs and normal lives.

I think you would agree with me if you dove into the topic a bit more.
However, I also partly understand your emotions and feelings on the topic.

 

I am delighted to have you as my colleague on this forum. I pray we remain in civil conversation with each other. As with so many of our colleagues here, let us continue to agree on some things, disagree on others, but most of all remain civil and continue to learn together.

 

That's a big, big problem for cis women, too. I can't say whether it's related or not, but a cis woman with infertility issues often isn't considered to be "a genuine woman" either. It's disgusting and society needs to get over the lack of biological children being considered a deep, often unforgivable, character flaw.

Oops! But you know what I meant.

 

Indeed. In addition, there are so many women who have lost womb and / or ovaries by undergoing surgery for life-threatening illness. Those women are not one bit less "woman" as a result of undergoing such a procedure. I've seen that, personally. More than once. I know it for a fact.

Besides, all women lose their reproductive capability after a certain age. They certainly do NOT lose their womanhood. Believing that would be ...um, stupid.

 

After ruling, TN universities must remove references that Title IX law protects LGBTQ+
https://www.wate.com/news/tennessee/tn-universities-must-remove-references-that-title-ix-law-protects-lgbtq/

I dislike conservatives who are hell-bent on making life difficult for other people. I hope they lose every aspect of the government. Sick people!!

 

Imagine that they’ll next announce that they’re negotiating a UT campus comedy tour, with Dave Chappelle as the headliner…