From: bryj0001@student.tc.umn.edu ()
Subject: Re: CD fantasies
Organization: University of Minnesota
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 03:59:39 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.021645.11261@news.ysu.edu> ah568@yfn.ysu.edu (Melissa Preston) writes:

[stuff describing general discomfort with MY STORY deleted for space]

>I'll admit that my inability to empathise with this, or with detailed
>descriptions of transvestic fetishism stuff, or with detailed descriptions
>of anyone's sexual exploits, probably just shows that I'm a prude or
>something, but anyway that's the way I tend to feel. I sort of feel that
>that kind of stuff really does belong in alt.sex.* hierarchy group, and
>not here.

I share this sentiment.  (Hello world, by the way.  This is my first ever
post through a very unfamiliar editor, so I hope this works!)  However,
reading through the past couple of weeks of dialogue here, including lots
of the above mentioned stuff, has really shown me how extremely diverse
the "transgender community" is, and that has been very valuable-- and in
the particular instance of MY STORY, also very disturbing.  Here's why:

MY STORY describes the sexual coercion and abuse of a minor.  I think the 
poster of this story is very lucky not to have been emotionally damaged
(as far as I can tell) by the experience.  Luckily for him, he is a straight
male TV, and it all worked out.  When I was reading the story, I kept
thinking, "There but for the grace of luck, might I have gone."  When I
was that age, I was also experimenting with cross-dressing, discretely
trying out stuff in my mother's closet, etc.  I never did any baby sitting,
and even if I did, I doubt I would have had the nerve or the gall to cross-
dress while doing so, but I might have-- and I might have been caught by
a women like the one described, and then the whole story might have been
mine-- AND I ALMOST CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY BADLY EMOTIONALLY
SCARRED AND TRAUMATIZED BY IT!!  I would have been left feeling used,
abused, confused, and sick-- and, later, once I had (hopefully) managed
to staighten my emotional mess out (I really had almost no idea who or
what I was at that age), I would see to it that that woman NEVER did any-
thing like that to anyone else ever again.  (Hopefully, that wouldn't
involve pressing formal charges, but I wouldn't have been shy about doing
so.)  Thinking of this, it REALLY bothers me to find follow up postings
saying that they "loved" the story!

The main reason I'm saying this is because I'm afraid that if nobody
speaks up about the abusive nature of MY STORY, that sort of thing will
be implicity condoned here.  I don't want to get into a full-blown dis-
cussion of sexual abuse, as that would be inappropriate for this news-
group.

To try and end this on a positive note, I would like to say again how
much of an appreciation I'm getting for the great diversity of people
who are "transgendered" in some way.  Rather than alienating me, it
impresses me how, in spite of my many life's experiences along the road
from confused child to happy "post-op TS" ("woman" really, though first
and foremost "human"-- I'm only going to say "post-op TS" this once),
I nevertheless simply cannot relate to most of the postings here.  From
these postings, I hope I will learn something.  As for the people that
I do seem to relate to fairly well (Deb, Melissa, ?), I hope to get to
know you much better!  I'm a very busy doctoral student, but this looks
like a group worth devoting a fair part of my copious (ha!) spare time
to.

Meanwhile, back to work...
						-- Claia