Photo courtesty of www.dutchie.design

HEY HEARTUN ~ I was hanging out in Waterhead the other day and someone invited me to join this group called Hot Lesbo Accountants. Well, I’m not a lesbian.. I’m just a dude. Thing is the person who invited me is a dude too!

So I ask him what the hell is going on and stuff, and one thing leads to another, and he starts in with the claim that he is a ‘transgender lesbian’ — a term I had never heard of before.

What the hell is a ‘transgender lesbian?’ ~
STRAIGHT DUDE

DEAR STRAIGHT DUDE ~ You think furries, goreans, scat lovers and privists face derision by others? Try being a transgender lesbian!

First, some terms. Historically, clinicians labeled trans people as  heterosexual or homosexual relative to their sex assigned at birth. Most transgender people find this offensive, and prefer to define their sexual orientation relative to their gender identity – or their personal sense of their own gender. For example, a transgender lesbian is a woman who is both a trans woman (a woman assigned male at birth) AND a lesbian (a woman who is attracted to other women).

By the tone of your question, I take it these concepts may be new to you, and I appreciate your efforts to find out new information… rather than jumping in as a bigot. You’re showing sense and reason — and that’s going to serve you well in both your lives.

Sexual behavior and gender roles vary by culture, which affects the place of gender variant people in that culture. In most cultures, trans people are stigmatized, and sexual activity involving transgender people is considered shameful, especially in cultures with rigid sex roles or strictures against non-heterosexual sex.

You would think that in Second Life, because we’re a virtual environment, it wouldn’t matter what the sex or gender of the person behind the avatar is — rather, what should matter is what the avatar says they are in this world. Unfortunately, people drag their biases and beliefs into Second Life with them — and that can be bothersome.

I write it all down to role playing. At least the guy you talked with was honest. Oh, and the group Hot Lesbo Accountants was associated with the Isle of Lesbos sim, years ago. It is one of several groups that have remained somewhat active after the sim itself was shuttered. ~ HEARTUN BREAKER