Quote:
Originally Posted by BullDog
I don't agree with everything regarding Olivia Cruises and how some people have been treated. However I also think some people have expanded it being a lesbian cruise ship (which wouldn't include males) to saying omg if you are butch or masculine appearing they are going to be horrible to you on their boat if they even let you on and they only want femme looking woman there- which I think is quite the exaggeration. And yes I do wonder what is behind these exaggerated statements.
I'm a lesbian, go to lesbian events all the time and have so for years and years, but people who are not lesbians are telling me what would happen (based purely on conjecture) and I am the one being dismissive?
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I'm a lesbian and I would have some worry that you would end up treated in the same manner that Blaze was (who was a lesbian at the time this happened). I wouldn't wish that on anybody.
I didn't once get the impression that Olivia Cruises only wants Femmes on their cruises. I did however, get the feeling that they might balk at the ratio of passengers who were butch or masculine looking being the majority.
I think it would be fair to call it conjecture had we not had a member here who lived this experience. Blaze sharing the story took it out of the realm of conjecture into the realm of fact.
Do I think this is going to happen all of the time? No.
Yet the possibility of you - my fellow community member being left standing on the docks gives me great pause.
I would be horrified.
The overuse of the binary makes me cringe. The binary is being challenged in ways that it wasn't when Olivia began doing cruises. I just wish they'd catch up rather than stay mired in the either/or.
Where is the line of delineation? If an mtf has had srs, they ARE a woman and a lesbian if they say so. (I know you disagreed with the turning away of an MTF) so hopefully you'll see my point. Where is the line of delineation when somebody feels that they were born into the wrong body? Does it start the separation at that point? Or when someone takes T? OR when somebody has top surgery? Bottom surgery for FTM's is lacking still in a successful outcome, as opposed to the MTF srs surgeries which fully change ones sex/gender.
So where does the cut-off begin?
I'm not at all against Olivia having woman only space. I am however uncomfortable with the idea that Olivia decides who is woman enough to be in that space.
The fact that I am a Lesbian and married to a trans person puts me in a strange position. It feels like my Lesbian is stripped away often because of who I love. Which is ridiculous. My partners ID has nothing to do with mine, yet as a Lesbian I cannot really participate in a cruise with my peers AND bring along the one I love. That feels shitty.
I am all for Olivia and would never ever judge anyone who went on a vacation with them. Ever. I know they have a right to their policies, however, I find them to be not quite a solid interpretation of said policies.
Who am I to judge? Nobody I guess, just another faceless person.
So in ending, I'd really like to say to you that I feel that the people who are worried you might maybe or maybe not get left at the docks are simply members of your community who stand in solidarity with you (regardless of id) and would just not want you to be treated so horribly. I don't think its a bad thing that people care, yanno? I care. I of course would send all my energy to you having a fabulous outcome, nobody wishes bad treatment on anyone. I would however, stand by your side and fight the good fight with you should you be treated in the manner that Blaze was.