Crossdressers-Haven.com

You see it all the time...Since Caitlyn Jenner was recognized for an annual award for bravery the knives are out. you see it in feeding frenzies that take place on certain posts related to Caitlyn Jenner, or to any transgender person being recognized or accepted or complemented. The latest for me was opening Facebook and scanning the posts...A courageous black and white picture of two american infantrymen in a dirty field probably in France after D-day. One is carrying the other who is wounded and as they are making their way across the field the wounded infantryman being carried has his arm out aiming a pistol to return fire to the enemy behind as they try to make it to cover. The caption: This is courage and at the bottom Not a man wearing a dress! Jenner lit a firestorm, or rather the organization did, that recognized HER courage to come out and to boldly be who SHE has always been in the face of a society unwilling to accept transgender people.

I agree veterans who volunteered to put their selves in harms way to fight the evils facing this world under fire and fighting back risking their lives and limbs deserve our respect, they display courage and deserve our thanks until the day that they die. Does this mean that no one else should ever be recognized for having courage, or bravery, or for being bold. There are different kinds of courage. I believe the people who post such things know this, the problem is they are just bigots, they are intolerant and unwilling to accept people who are not like them. They do not understand that gender is not binary and that there are people who do not fall under the two accepted binary genders.

These intolerant bigots are fearful and afraid of what they do not understand and do not want to accept so they have to bolster their insecurities by continually attacking people who are transgender. But our lives are every bit as valuable as theirs, and we deserve to be every bit as free to live our lives as openly as they are.

It does take courage, bravery and boldness to face down society, family, friends, employers and be who you are if you are transgender. No we do not belong in a hole or under a rock or to be out of site only being allowed to come out into the light of day when we hide who we are so that you can maintain your artificial and false beliefs about gender so that you can feel more secure and safe from having to confront reality.

So a man wearing a dress does display courage, he is brave and bold. He is not risking his life for his country under fire but he is fighting to be able to live his life openly in the face of resounding bigotry, fear, and false beliefs and people who do not feel secure about their own gender. It does take a lot courage to be who you are it is not an easy thing. I will still bow to the vets but the vets fought for our freedom even the freedom to be who we are.

I must admit I have been guilty of doing just that...laughing at meme's of Caitlyn and giving hi-five's to those who shared the popular soldier hero's. I had never thought of courage in this fashion and as a CD who is coming out slowly to my SO, I should know the nerves needed. Thank you for this well written pose Anne. It has opened my eyes for the better!

According to Bing courage is defined as " the ability to do something that frightens one". An alternate definition is "strength in the face of pain or grief". If we think of courage in those context what Caitlyn Jenner did was just as courageous as what that soldier did. She knew, as do all transgenders, that by "coming out" she faced ridicule, rejection, and bigotry. Still she chose to do what was right for her regardless of what others thought or said. Is she more courageous than the soldier or the fireman who races into the burning building to rescue the child trapped or for that matter the 7 year old that stands up to the bully on the school bus? No! However she is just as courageous!

All of the above, including Caitlyn Jenner, acted in the face of potential of pain or grief. Yes emotional pain is real and the rejection and verbal abuse is real and can lead to issues. I know of and have read of many more transgenders who have been physically assaulted or even more tragically have committed suicide so the threat is real. Does the potential of that scare you? I know it did me way back when yet I as well as Caitlyn Jenner and many others accepted those possible consequences and took the steps to follow the path best for us. Why is that so many of the transgender community stay closeted? The fear of humiliation and being ostracized are IMO the 2 biggest reasons. Following that logic "coming out" for anyone is an act of courage. Caitlyn Jenner being in the public eye perhaps more than others.