Deborah Dean
Nature or Nurture? or what causes this?
Major News articles about Engendered Species:
The Collision of Sex and Gender
Hetero Guys in Disguise- The Psychology of Crossdressing
A brief history of transgenderism
Sex-change surgery is not for everyone
Film by Julie van der Wal 45 min
Engendered Species -- Transgender, Crossdressers
in Salt Lake City, Utah
www.ES-transgender.com
Does your fashion sense cross to the 'other gender'?
We are a social and support group where we want you to celebrate your humanity. You may think that you are alone in being Transgendered, but, studies show that 1 in 20 people do this to varying degrees. That's 100.000 people in this most conservative State of Utah.We want you to accept yourself, and have others do the same. We want you to be the best 'You' that you can possibly be. To make your choices, and stand tall, and proud.
We welcome crossdressers, transgendered individuals, their personal friends, family, and Significant Others. We are not a dating club, nor do we cater to 'tranny-chasers/admirers'. We wish you the best, there are plenty of other sites on the web, for you. We want an atmosphere where you will feel comfortable bringing family members, and best friends. In the last 14 years, we have had about 2000 members.
|
|
|
|
|
Some will choose to be private, but for those so inclined, riding in the Pride Day Parade, in June, is a chance to be cheered by the crowd, of 20,000, like a rock star, for being yourself. What a contrast, after hiding, for years. I have seen dozens of people over 14 years, get teary at the acceptance garnered there. Some walk on air, for a week afterward! Your 30 minute ride, could be worth 3 years of therapy!! |
Our group, Engendered Species leads people to accept and enjoy themselves, socialize, make friends, or learn to crossdress, or transition more effectively.
We support your having more options in life than what is usually presented, and also on Making a Stand for Who One Is. Some will, however, for social reasons, elect to maintain their privacy.
We have private meetings, with safeguards for your confidentiality. We also include partners, as our activities can be a shared experience to strengthen relationships, or couples.
For those who choose to be more open, we have a variety of activities "on the town", such as going to restaurants and movies. We ride in the Pride Day Parade in June, and go on weekend outings, in the style of the movies, "Priscilla" or "Wong Foo".
 |
|
| Deborah Dean- Founder |
Contrary to what many might think of life in Utah, transgendered activity is generally legal, except in rare instances, such as using the restroom/dressing-room of the opposite sex, in most situations.
We help one another live the (transgendered) life you choose. Our activities are social (nonsexual) in nature, as we deal more with gender, rather than sexuality. We invite those interested to contact us.
Contact Us: deborah@keymusician.com
We provide:
-
Friends, Food, Fun.
-
Closed meetings to preserve your privacy as well as activities out in the world.
-
Restaurants, Movies, Trips.
-
How-to information for the part time crossdresser as well as those striving for a total full time gender transition.
-
Educational speakers and resources for schools, business, law enforcement, etc.
-
Political action on issues affecting persons who happen to be transgendered, for those so inclined.
|
Transgendered: Those who cross the gap between the genders, to be the person that they are, instead of an image dictated by others.
Here we are, on a restaurant houseboat cruise on the Great Salt Lake. |
|
Transgenders are as common as your next door neighbors or coworkers, blue eyes, or being left handed. Yet, as childhood laughter often leads to adult doubt, many have such a sense of guilt and fear that we go through our lives thinking that we are the only one like this. What’s so bad about being a woman, (or man)? Amazingly, clothes can be seen as dangerous!
Many people simply do not notice the varieties that we, as human beings, naturally come in. Height and weight, hair color, and other features are often ignored.
But, television and advertising use the sensational, or the comic, to sell tickets and products. Parents and teachers, or other interested parties, in attempting to own and operate our lives, tell us to ‘be this, not that’. The difference between the way we are told to be, as opposed to the way that we really are, can be as great as the difference between those friendly jeans and that dangerous dress!
The Facts
Recent research indicates that as many as 1 in 20, (5%) of people crossdress to some extent. Most (90%) are heterosexual (straight), many are married. Different people’s interest will range from the very occasional to the frequent, an erotic turn-on to imitation (the sincerest flattery), to an expression of one’s innermost personality.
Only a very few pursue a "sex change". The vast majority like and will keep their gender, yet, on occasion, will express the other part of themselves and their unique personality.
We are in all professions, and in classes you had in school. You probably met some of us in the last few days, and just didn't know it.
 |
| Regency fashion 1829. Men's clothes have, in some times, veered toward the decoratively female. |
One therapist recently said of this human variation: "You are healthy. Lose the guilt, and get on with your life."
Today, reflecting changes in society, many are more comfortable with being transgendered. It is in vogue. Movies such as “Just Like A Woman”, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ", "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything- Julie Newmar”, "ma vie en rose", and others portray transgender in a humanly positive way.
A lot has changed since the 1950’s, when women were arrested for wearing pants. Due to the blurring of the social roles of men & women, one's gender is less important than once presented.
This recent view is more in line with our earlier history, when transgendered people were not only accepted, but elevated and ascribed with the wisdom befitting a "Twin Souled" person. In social evolution, as cultures became divided into different classes, being transgendered seemed to go underground.
Our culture and language seem to promote an either/or male/female boy/girl state-- no in between.
In contrast, other languages and cultures can have up to 50 different words to recognize and describe the common variations of gender in people.
Through the ages, many men have chosen to live as women, and women as men. Both the prince and the pauper have chosen to simply be themselves.
Over a century ago, many transgenders were women, taking on both the roles of men, and the freedom and opportunity that afforded. At least 400 women, for instance, fought as men during the Civil War, and some famous pirates were in fact women posing as men.
 |
|
Joan of Arc |
Today, women who dress in ‘mens’ clothing are rarely even noticed, as they have more freedom to cross social barriers than men, in dressing as they please. Men however, may be sarcastically told: ‘don’t be a sissy!’, as if femininity were a sin.
Men are dictated to be limited to being one half of a person: that bordering on the strong, tough side. Women are taught to be limited to being the other half of a person, centered on the weaker, more expressive side. For many people, being transgendered is a sort of bridge to express the side denied them, thus enabling them to express the full range of human emotion.
Many people who limit their self, or life, to a sort of 'job description' such as, "I'm a man", or "I'm a woman", sometimes have more trouble accepting being transgendered than do others who have their identity as "I am a person".
Men and women are a lot less different than what is commonly promoted, much more alike than opposite. We're all human.
This was typed on a Dvorak keyboard, which lets you type "twice as fast, using only half the work." It is a lot easier on your hands, too. It is free, and you can start this in 30 seconds on your present keyboard, and computer. See www.DvorakTyping.com
© 2003 D Dean