Wednesday, May 11, 2011

It's a big, scary, straight world out there

Did you happen to run across this story this past week?  A violent attack on a transgendered woman in a McDonald's of all places.  For using the women's bathroom.  Only one person tried to intervene and she got socked in the face.  I can't tell you how sick this makes me.  And how nervous.

I got my Mother's Day wish and went dress shopping with my son on Sunday.  Now, I would have thought it would be the perfect day for it.  All the heathens and agnostics shop on Sunday and the goody-goodies are in church.  But there was that very awkward decision of which dressing room to go in?  Take dresses into the men's?  Would they let him?  Could he face the stares-- or worse?

He decided not to try anything on at one busy store.  We went to another store just before closing and found an unmanned dressing room.  We snuck in-- me carrying the dresses-- and he tried them on. Holy hell!  He's a very handsome man.  It's gonna take a whole lotta work to make him a decent looking woman.

He brought up the question of the restroom.  He will be wearing this in Vegas and, being a human, he will be needing to pee at some point.    Will he get flack for using the men's room?  He is still very much a man even when wearing a dress, wig and makeup. I would hope that there is more acceptance in Sin City than in Utah.  Or anywhere else for that matter. But it chills me to know that he will be out in a world with so many people who think nothing of using violence when dealing with things they don't understand.  I'm going to be like the woman who intervened.  We need to watch out for each other's kids.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun shopping trip. :)

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  2. If he's going to a drag event, I think he can safely use either bathroom. Think about when we went to bingo--do you think any of the women in our party (even the uptight one) would have really cared if one of the drag queens came into the girls' bathroom while we were there?

    BUT, I can see how ignorant people could be dangerous in another setting.

    On a somewhat related note, a lesbian couple stayed at my house this weekend. I was kind of worried about my kids saying something awkward around them (in addition to being very openly gay, they both have numerous tattoos, facial piercings, and one of them looks very much like a male). I am so proud/happy that my kids were great. It wasn't an issue to them. My kids simply saw them as the nice ladies giving us cats. I expected my 12 year old to at least mention something after they left, but again it was a non issue.

    Now, I just have to prevent the church from sucking that out of them.

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  3. He'll be okay, JZ. His Mom rocks.

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  4. Donna, it was very fun, just a little awkward when it came to dressing rooms.

    Brandi, keep on showing your kids how to accept people and not judge them on their appearance. It's narrow-mindedness in the church and out that makes people hate. And my son will be wearing this on the strip, not at a drag event. It makes me very nervous.

    CD, if only being a rocking mom protected our kids.

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  5. It seems to me that Vegas is the perfect place for him to start... They seem to be more accepting.

    I have a very good friend who would LOVE to have his mom take him dress shopping, but he's to scared to tell her. How wonderful for both of you that you could be there with him.

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