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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!decwrl!chabot@miles.DEC (All God's chillun got guns)
From: chabot@miles.DEC (All God's chillun got guns)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Sunny's comments and opposition to assertive women
Message-ID: <194@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Aug-85 19:18:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.194
Posted: Tue Aug 27 19:18:06 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 30-Aug-85 00:34:55 EDT
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Rob DeMillo 
> I'm amazed that women out there weren't offended by Sunny's claims
> that she "knows what its like to be a woman." (Anyone ever
> read "Black Like Me"?)
> 
> Pumping yourself up with hormones, and assuming the personna of someone
> of the opposite gender does not give you the right to proclaim
> "womanhood." (A little drug alteration never hurt anybody, eh?)

If you're so amazed, maybe you should stop being amazed and learn something 
from it.  If women aren't proclaiming offense, it's possible that they don't
feel any.  Why should we trash Sunny?  Everybody's growing up experience is
different, I don't say Sunny speaks for me, but I sure do think she has an
interesting background from which to speak, very different from mine but no less
valid.  What about women who are raised like sons?  Do we discredit them if 
they didn't own enough pink party dresses before the age of 10?!  If I told 
you "what it's like to be a woman", would you believe me to have the whole 
truth?  Wouldn't you base it on what other women say too?

What you have said, on the other hand, is cruel.  And particularly unfortunate
at this time: it's another log on the fire.  With crud like this, we may never
convince Sunny or another (declared) transsexual to contribute.  Whatever you
may think of the treatment, can't you see that it means a tremendous amount to
that persons undergoing it?  If Sunny makes comments about male hormones that
you find cruel, discuss (or whatever) *that*.  If you're problem is instead
a hangup or ignorance about transsexuals, why don't you suspend your hangup for
just awhile and see if you can't learn something--what do you think many of the
rest of us have been doing?!

The best response to someone expressing disappointment with a newsgroup usually
runs something like--go away or help make it the nice place you really want.

L S Chabot    ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot