Men in Gloves section expanded to include transgenders

[Rommeltje]

News flash: the Men in Gloves sections are now the Men & Transgenders in Gloves sections, with a separate subforum for transgenders. Up till now, transgender content was just lumped in with the gays, which isn't right of course. I should've changed it a long time ago, but better late than never, I guess.

It's 2023, and we're finally in the 21st century.

[BlueFatCat123]

Do you think it would possibly be a more gender sensitive decision to rename the other sections of the forum? You've made a "men and transgenders in rubber gloves" section where transgenders can be posted, but what about also making a "female and transgenders in rubber gloves" where the female identifying trans people can also be posted?

I'm only suggesting this as I feel it's a transgenders worst nightmare to be classified alongside men if they do not identify as such. Lumping us in with gay men in the same subforum doesn't seem right to me at all. I think we can all agree regardless of if you believe in our ideology or not that transgenders can be both men or women so it's offensive to shaft us into the men in gloves section when we should have a place in both female and male sections. I honestly feel it is harmful and problematic to push all transgenders into the men in glove section. I believe it'd be better to not give us a place on the forum at all / touch the topic in general than to segregate the "real" and trans women on two separate sections of the forum.

I am transgender and have transgender friends (biological male to trans female) so I know just how suicidal people like us can get when we get misgendered. It's probably our worst nightmare to be posted on a forum and lumped in with men, while the "real women" get their own separate area.

I mean no disrespect with this post. I use the men in rubber gloves section a lot, but I've always found it problematic how transgender people have been lumped into that subforum. I wasn't going to mention it as I don't usually login anymore, but I felt passionate about this so decided to say how I feel especially considering now the accidental transphobia is being advertised in the subforums title.

[Rommeltje]

I appreciate where you're coming from, and thank you for educating me on the subject. Of course I don't want to offend anyone, and I apologize if the name is insensitive.

However, I think it's important to realize that this particular area is not meant as the part of the forum for transgender members. It is for material of (biologically male) transgenders in gloves. A better title would perhaps be "The people with penises in gloves section". Biologically female to trans male transgender would warrant their own section, if there was any material with them in gloves. But I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. Please let me know if I'm forgetting anything.

This - or at least the part of the forum outside of the Sandbox - is still essentially a porn forum. Therefore it is necessary - in my opinion - to make a distinction between content that, simply put, features vaginas, and content that doesn't.* Some people like to only see penises, and they can go to the Men & Transgenders in Gloves sections. Some people like to see at least one vagina, and they can go the the regular sections. Some people like both, and they can go everywhere. Some people like to see neither, and....well they should probably just stick to the Sandbox. There's an argument to be had for a lesbian section, but the fact of the matter is that there are far fewer people on this forum taking issue with seeing no penises than there are who take issue with seeing only penises - I assume. I might be dismissing a whole bunch of people who object to seeing some penises, though. If so, petition me. Start a poll or something to see how many people would like a penis-free section.

* Clearly there are vaginas in the Straight Men in Gloves section, but considering the subject of this site, the focus is on the person wearing the gloves.

Obviously this is very cis-hetero-centered take, but considering the composition - and size - of our membership, I think the way the forum is currently organized strikes the best balance between serving people of different dispositions, while not becoming too cluttered. Of course, if there are many more people who are missing a female to male transgender (content) section, please speak up. If the demand is there, I'll definitely consider it. But please do make sure that you can provide content for it.

Btw:

Lumping us in with gay men in the same subforum doesn't seem right to me at all.

Please note that this section is not exclusively meant for gay men. In fact, there's a clear separation between the gay part of this section and the transgender part. There is also a straight part. So really, you're being 'lumped in' with all men.

Now, having said all that, if there's anything I can change about the title to make it more bearable for you, please let me know. Should I call it the Men & Male Transgenders in gloves section? Or the M2F Transgenders, perhaps? I'm open to suggestions.

[MistressAriadne]

I feel it's a transgenders worst nightmare to be classified alongside men if they do not identify as such.

...

It's probably our worst nightmare to be posted on a forum and lumped in with men, while the "real women" get their own separate area.

THANK YOU. Thank you so much for posting this. I 100% agree.

So really, you're being 'lumped in' with all men.

Rommeltje, that is not a good thing. It does NOT make it better, it is ACTIVELY WORSE. I respect all you've done for this forum, but please rethink that stance. Being "lumped in" with men is something we have to fight against daily. Britain is getting increasingly hostile to trans people right now and politicians and the media do not respect our identities.

Replying to your point about the penis, please note that my private parts are not visible in any of the content I have uploaded. And that I might one day - despite years-long NHS waiting lists - be able to get mine removed and replaced with a surgically constructed vagina. After that, there would be no way I could be considered a "person with a penis" - but this would still categorise me as one.

Now, having said all that, if there's anything I can change about the title to make it more bearable for you, please let me know. Should I call it the Men & Male Transgenders in gloves section? Or the M2F Transgenders, perhaps? I'm open to suggestions.

I would probably advise splitting it into two separate sections - one for men, and one for "Trans women". I can assure you that most of us would NOT be happy about being called "Male Transgenders" - I certainly would not like it!

[czol]

Just delete the gay/trans subforms and instead when someone posts a link, add [GAY] or [TRANS] to it and everything will be bueno. No segregation and whoever want to see that content, will know it.

[SexySurgical]

Well I sure do hope phpBB might still be convertible to some tagging/filtering for(u)m...

Just delete the gay/trans subforms and instead when someone posts a link, add [GAY] or [TRANS] to it and everything will be bueno. No segregation and whoever want to see that content, will know it.

[Rommeltje]

FYI: I've read your replies. I'll deal with this when the forum problems are over.