Lawrence! (A Quick Post)

 

I always find it amazing that the younger generation knows so little about the past.  Even worse, I find it appalling that it knows so little about the world as a whole.  And yet, there's a certain logic about this, from a quote (that I'll paraphrase) from the movie, Lawrence of Arabia. 

"It is up to the young people to fight the wars.

 It is up to the old people to make the peace."

Hidden the above are the attestations of valor and courage to the young, while the older generation is associated with the treachery that causes was in the first place.  In short, as I see it, younger people fight, while older people try to settle disputes.  Lawrence the man was one of those singular young people who was in a place to influence how the world would look 100 years later, and he did just that.

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What can I say about this movie that reviewers haven't said for the past 62 years?  Since RQS has never seen this movie, I bought tickets for us a few nights before.  I knew that she'd enjoy the movie, and that it would make an extra night up here well worth it.

Arriving at the theater, the two young ticket takers commented that the movie was 4 hours long.  They asked me what the movie was about, and I mentioned the birth of Saudi Arabia as an independent nation and the Arab world as it is today.  (I was amazed that they didn't know about this being a classic film, working in a movie theater.  But then, youth don't learn much about their recent past and it's culture.) We then took our seats, and sat down to watch the film.  While the film played, RQS asked me several questions about the film, as she wasn't aware that this story was based on real historical events.

Later on, when we got home, it was too late to do anything but go to bed.  It was a nice evening, and a good chance to watch a film on the big screen that should only be seen on the big screen.

 

Trans people are more varied than one might think.

 

When many people think of trans people, they think of predecessors such as Renee Richards and Christine Jorgensen.  Although these two trans women had severe gender dysphoria, we all share one characteristic: we all wish we were born into the other gender.  But that's the one thing that bonds us together, as many of us deal with this condition differently.

Many trans women take a path that involves exploring their sexuality, their gender presentation, and finally, body modification to make their bodies look as much like the image of themselves they want to be.  But this is still a simplification.  For many, gender preference is locked in at an early age, and only gets loosened up a bit when a trans person is exposed to the hormones of their identified gender.  One trans woman I know enjoys the idea of "adult play" with both sexes.  And yet, she has not been able to explore much after Gender Corrective Surgery (GCS or "the operation").  About the only thing she misses about life as a male is the ability to "go" standing up. 

Being "Out" as a trans person often prevents a person from finding romance.  For every trans person who finds romance, there may be up to 100 who are forced to give up on romance.  One of the reasons an ex-girlfriend broke up with me was that I am transgender.  It seems like most relationships break up because a transgender person comes "out".  This may be related to a subconscious fear that a partner's sexuality will contaminate the sexual identity of the other.  (Am I a lesbian if my male partner comes out as trans?)  Yet, there are many trans folk who go back and forth between male and female worlds with their partners' acceptance - including myself.

Not all trans folk need GCS.  For example the porn star,. Buck Angel, hasn't felt a need to modify his body to have genitalia resembling that of a cisgender male.  As such, he has a unique category in the world of porn.  Some of my trans acquaintances have had GCS, and others have not.  Most are happy with their decisions regarding the surgery, as those with mild gender dysphoria are happy not having to go through a painful surgery and not having to dilate themselves several times each day.

You'll notice that I haven't yet mentioned social class, political affiliation, education level and sports.  Most trans folk remain interested in the same pastimes they enjoyed before coming out. identify as belonging to the same social class (not necessarily economic class), retain the same political affiliation (yes, it's strange to see GOP trans people staying loyal to the party when it is anti-trans), come from all levels of education and enjoy both "male" and "female" social interests.

Being trans may seem strange to many, but it is just as strange to us at times....