For some people, TG is nothing more than a game. For others, it consumes their entire life.
Please read the caption first. I wanted to post something melancholy but hopeful for the Christmas Eve caption, and overall, I am pretty happy with it. I have close friends that struggle with gender identity, and it certainly isn't easily solvable with a gypsy's curse or a loving auntie's magic spell.
It is all so simplistic when it comes to TG Captions, and that they barely ever scratch the surface of all the struggles that face these brave people, day after day.
One girl I knew back when she was married and still presenting as a male. She has since been divorced twice, and most of the family thinks she's insane for upending everything for this "silly fantasy" of being the woman she thinks that she is. Her daughter is pretty ambivalent either way, and one person that could have been a support to her has now passed on ., her first wife.
Another was thrown out of a very comfortable life when she came out at age 19, and ended up homeless, drifting around and doing what she could to survive. Luckily, she did enough to get by and has a regular job, a good boyfriend, and a decent amount of friends .. none of whom know she isn't who or what she says she is .. as she hasn't been able to do much more than black market hormones.
Neither of them are thriving, but they are both surviving .. and do what they do because they know no other way to live. I worry for them, along with the others I've met through this blog and the Haven as well. The holidays can be rough for anyone, and the baggage they carry is enormous enough without society telling them they are freaks that shouldn't be able to use any public bathroom. They don't want to be called out or separated, they just want to be the random person that blends in with the rest of the crowds. To be like .. everyone else.
So, I hope that everyone that reads this blog understands the difference between the fictionalized fantasy that most of us portray here and in TG Fiction and Captions ... and the often brutal nature of living life on this planet as an outcast, especially within your own mind versus your body. Please stay safe, and cherish your family and friends, and keep them close .. and pray that those with closed eyes and minds will open them to help those unlike themselves, and melt away the biases like a quick flurry of snow on a sunny day. That is my Christmas wish to you and yours!
I'll be back tomorrow with a more whimsical caption. I promise. Comment if you wish. I will respond to anyone that does so. Keep the joyous spirit going through the rest of the year!
A lovely well written caption. Happy Christmas to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ian. Every year I am thankful for the TG friends that are still alive and kicking, and remember those that aren't. This was for both groups.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and hopes that we hold those in need in our hearts.
ReplyDeleteYour words have hit home.
It's hard to make people with no horse in the race to understand that what seems trivial to them is a unending battlefield for those suffering. There are nights where I hope that one of my friends will answer the phone the next morning when I call to see how they are doing.
DeleteAnd Thanks Joanna for being around now for quite a few years!
Miss Mentia this is one of the most touching things I've ever read on a TG captions site. Reading your captions is a joy and I treasure your gentle spirit of mercy and kindness to a community that gets far too much (undeserved) hatred.
ReplyDeleteBless you.
Thank you for your reply and since I don't think I've seen you post before, a hearty WELCOME to you as well!
DeleteI'm something of a lurker when it comes to commenting on TG blogs.
DeleteI only really do it if its worthy. This most definitely was. :)
P.S. I've been in the TG community for a while but just don't say much.
Hey, Dee, long-time reader, first-time commenter. Like Howardian, I needed to respond to this profound and thoughtful post, though it took me a long while to get to it. It is a loving, poignant sentiment. It seems more likely than not, though, that things will get better in the future, between visibility days and improving information and helpful resources.
ReplyDeleteThank you for replying! Rereading a post from Christmas is never a bad thing, and as a follow up, both friends are still doing fairly well.
DeleteI am glad that this caption touched you enough to come back and say something. That is honestly the best I can hope for .. that some of my creations have moved someone and made them think.