[Julien]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

My hopes are that this thread brings some real communication about how Butches and Transmen as well as Inter-gendered people can better interact as friends and build support networks.

We are often in political spaces together working toward education, important legislative civil rights matters, health care issues and other matters, yet, here, our friendship gets polarized often.

I really want to address why we seem to walk this very unsteady path when some of us are each others closest friends and allies. For me, it gets really hard on the site when I feel like I need to stick up for myself as a butch woman, but know that just a few buzz words might start another gender-war. In some ways, this makes sense because we all come from many backgrounds and experiences- often pain ridden in just trying to be who we are. No matter how we identify.

Everyone is welcome to post thoughts here (this is just not directed at ideas from butches and Transmen or inter-gendered folks).

There is one rule, however- civility. If we can't do this without being civil, I will just ask that the thread be closed. I don't want this to go down the path of self-destruction. I don't want it in the Red Zone as that would be totally counter intuitive to the purpose here.

This is aimed at friendship and communication values and interaction, not pronoun IDENTIFICATION, butch slamming, trans/IG slamming, etc. It is about how we can talk to one another and aid each other in a gender-ignorant society and not draw lines between ourselves.

This isn't about theoretical propositions, it is about friendship and relationship building.

I'm asking that if someone needs clarification, please ask for it before going off on someone (which I hope just doesn't happen here). It isn't always easy to be clear in these matters, so let's give each other the benefit of the doubt before taking issue with each other.

Please leave any personal grudges at the door, this isn’t the place for them.

I'm hopeful.... are you?

Great idea and a positive step forward. Good for you. I'm with you on this matter. Yes I am hopeful as well.

I think that we all need the space to talk without fear of assumptions about who we are and what our, or should I say my, position is. I don't want to speak for anyone else. Thank you for the forum.