March 15, 2011

New transgender discussion forum launched

In my post Planning a crossdreamer forum and chat site I asked you for input regarding the establishment of a new online discussion forum for crossdreamers (AKA "autogynephiliacs" / "autoandrophiliacs").

I am glad to announce that the new site has now been officially launched. It is called Crossdream Life, and I would very much like you to take a visit and leave a comment or two.

I know there already are forums that cover transgender issues and where it is possible to discuss crossdreaming with other crossdreamers.

But let us be honest about this: It is hard to be fully open about crossdreaming, even in a TG forum, given that there are quite a few transgender and transsexual men and women who do not know what this is. Moreover, some of them get all defensive when they find out.

Forums for TG erotica, like Rachel's Haven, are open, tolerant, and welcoming. Bless them! But their main focus is on the sharing of captions and stories. I guess there will also be crossdreamers who find the content of such sites ...eh, well... distracting.

Another reason for putting up such a site is actually found on this blog. I notice that there are many that have stories to tell, but who do not necessarily find a blog post that fit. Some discussions taking place at this blog therefore have no relevance to the topic of the post. I do not mind, but it seems to me that many of you deserve a place to start a discussion, without having to set up a blog of your own.

I would very much like to thank Jason Ikeda for establishing, setting up, designing, administering and editing the blog. He is the boss over at Crossdream Life!

6 comments:

  1. I think it is a wonderful idea and I'm glad to see it has become a reality. I certainly hope the site does well and helps many people. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. PINKessence
    "We are One"
    A message to all members of PINKessence

    As a rule of thumb, I rarely will send out broadcast messages when they are of a political nature. However, in this case, I feel that this article is worth every members consideration in reading, and TAKING ACTION. Please read Dr. Kelley Winters post below about the DSM-5 and follow her instruction to help STOP this tragic changing in the DSM-5 from happening - IT WILL AFFECT US ALL.

    -Chloe Prince, PINKessence Founder
    www.PINKessence.com



    ---snip---




    By Kelley Winters, PhD
    May 28, 2011

    On May 5, the American Psychiatric Association released a second round of proposed diagnostic criteria for the 5th Edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). These include two categories that impact the trans community: Gender Dysphoria (formerly Gender Identity Disorder) and Transvestic Disorder (formerly Transvestic Fetishism).

    While GID has received a great deal of attention in the press and from GLBTQ advocates, the second transvestic category is too often overlooked. This is unfortunate, because a diagnosis of Transvestic Disorder is designed to punish social and sexual gender nonconformity and to enforce binary stereotypes of assigned birth sex. It plays no role in enabling access to medical transition care for those who need it, and it is frequently cited when care is denied. http://www.gidreform.org/blog2010Oct15.html

    I urge all trans community members, friends, care providers, and allies to call for the removal of this punitive and scientifically unfounded diagnosis from the DSM-5.
    The current period for public comment to the APA ends June 15.

    The entry in the current DSM on Transvestic Disorder, like the former entry on Transvestic Fetishism, is authored by Dr. Ray Blanchard of the Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (formerly known as the Clarke Institute). Blanchard has drawn outrage from the transcommunity for his defamatory theory of autogynephilia,
    http://www.gidreform.org/blog2008Nov10.html
    asserting that all transsexual women who are not exclusively attracted to males are motivated to transition by self-obsessed sexual fetishism.

    He is canonizing this harmful stereotype of transsexual women in the DSM-5 by adding an autogynephilia specifier to the Transvestic Disorder diagnosis.
    http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?ri...

    Worse yet, Blanchard has broadly expanded the diagnosis to implicate gender-nonconforming people of all sexes and all sexual orientations,
    even inventing an autoandrophilia specifier to smear transsexual men.
    Most recently, he has added an "In Remission" specifier to preclude the possibility of exit from diagnosis.
    Like a roach motel, there may be no way out of the Transvestic Disorder diagnosis once ensnared.

    What You Can Do Now

    1. Go to the http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?ri...
    APA DSM-5 website, click on "Register Now," create a user account, and enter your statement in the box.
    The deadline for this second period of public comment is June 15.

    [NOTE: Safari may not load that web page. Use Firefox or another Browser instead]

    2. Sign the Petition to Remove Transvestic Disorder from the DSM-5,
    sponsored by the International Foundation for Gender Education.
    http://dsm.ifge.org/petition/

    3. Demand that your local, national, and international GLBTQ nonprofit organizations
    issue public statements calling for the removal of this defamatory Transvestic Disorder category from the DSM-5.
    So far, very few have.

    4. Spread the word to your networks, friends, and allies.

    http://www.gidreform.org/blog2010Oct15.html for More Information

    Cross-posted with additional comments at the
    http://gidreform.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/transvestic-disorder-the-...
    GID Reform Advocates Blog.

    Visit PINKessence at: http://pinkessence.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

    ReplyDelete
  3. The message from Pinkessence was stopped by may spam filter. I am letting it through as it is highly relevant for crossdreamers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Some of the links in the PINKessence comment has been trunkated. The link to the relevant place for commenting on autogynephilia in the DSM-5 is:

    http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=189

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

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