Just looking at one of these birthday posts, I had the thought that there seem to be some noticeable differences in the character and approach of people on the board, which seem to correlate to some extent with age. The only part of the Archive that I participate in is the message board, and that is a rather small sample of the total membership, so I wouldn't claim to have found anything conclusive. Still, the differences seem rather distinct.

There seems to be a difference in tone and attitude between those who are younger than about age forty, and those who are older. The younger members, whether they have had surgery, simply have an interest in or desire for orchiectomy, or are taking Androcur or a similar drug, seem to take the attitude, "This is me, I am what I want to be, I see nothing wrong with what I am, I have the same rights as anybody else, and what is there to hide, anyway?" In other words, they are quite forthright and see their identity and attitudes as being essentially normal and something which should be accepted as a matter of course.

The older members, on the other hand, often seem to take an attitude of, "Well, I'd like to be accepted as I am, but I'm afraid people wouldn't understand, so I'll have to keep a low profile and try to appear to be just like everybody else. If I have to be different in private than in public, that's okay with me."

I wonder if this might have something to do with the fact that sites lke this board have come into existence in the last decade, so that younger individuals who are gender-dysphoric are now able to see that they aren't unique, they don't have to be isolated, and there are sensible ways to deal with their circumstance. Maybe the generational difference is just a matter of the older members having been conditioned by years of being "in the closet" (so to speak) to thinking that they somehow don't fit into any acceptable place in the world. Of course, society is somwhat more accepting of individual differences now than it was, even in the late twentieth century, and there is a lot more information available, in general, about difficulties in gender identity. Perhaps people, as they get older, tend to emphasize conformity to social norms more than younger folks, but I think that, had the older members been more open about how they felt, earlier in life, and, in some cases, about having had orchiectomy, perhaps they would have a somewhat different perspective now.

Beau Geste (imported) wrote: Sun May 20, 2007 10:53 am "This is me, I am what I want to be, I see nothing wrong with what I am, I have the same rights as anybody else, and what is there to hide, anyway?" In other words, they are quite forthright and see their identity and attitudes as being essentially normal and something which should be accepted as a matter of course.

YES, I Think you hit the nail right on thy head!...

Life at this day in age is all about living in the moment, we have such a great chance to full fill our deepest desires today, and do not know if the option will still be there tomorrow. i live my life as open as possible, without cramming it down anyone elses throat of course.

this site has helped me come to terms with my expresion and self acceptance.

more on this latter, to work for now!

z

I actually agree with Beau Geste. But I wonder if this phenomenon extends further than just 'eunuchhood' to human sexuality and equality in general.

If we go back 40 or more years, we live in a world where homosexuality is not accepted and absolutely not encouraged. In fact - no difference was. But times are (and have been?) changing. Now we are much more accepting of everyone (has it almost become cool to be gay?), and people have become more aware of others rights to exist. And this shift towards a much more modern and liberal society is marked by new trends that further blur the traditionally expected gender boundaries and roles, with buzz words like 'metrosexual' cropping up, we are moving further and further away from our 'tranditionally' expected roles.

40 years ago women were not expected to get jobs and live a proper life! We still have a long way to go, but the bottom line in that we are taking this 'equality' and 'rights' thing very seriously indeed. Perhaps the net effect over time is a pronounced difference between a generation who has learned to hide everything that makes them different in a desperate attempt to fit in, and a generation who have grown up in an environment that encourages them to celebrate their differences, and to just be themselves.

Part of riding the crest of this steady shift in ideology involves the gradual acceptance of the re-use of old labels (some of which have been around for thousands of years!) and acknowledgment of groups of people who are willing to accept them.