Many people have asked why I split from the TRC (Trasgender Resource Centre) and started my own trangender support venue in SecondLife. I have been accused of a lot of things, my friends have been harassed and plenty of rumors about me, my lifestyle and my loved ones have caused no end of hurt and pain.

I will just let Ashley Lynch’s own words vindicate my position. This is pulled straight from her own blog. Ashley Lynch is the co-director of the TRC and as such, her views on the transgendered community in SecondLife are of vital importance to the community that organisation claims to represent.

There is a real tendency, especially in the online community, but as a whole for transgendered people to use their gender identity and status as a discriminated class as a crutch to elevate their other issues. Many trans people find themselves latched onto some very strange fantasy ideas and fetish communities in their effort to explore their identity. The end result is people who will defend their “hobbies” to the death as a core part of who they are and demand mass social acceptance for them.

People being led around on leashes in public with their hands bound and saying “Yes Mistress” constantly who assert that to tell them to not be submissive is like telling them not to be trans. People who claim to be infantile preteen children and will debate until the end of time how it is a legitimate identity that must be accepted just like their gender identity. (I’m not kidding.) And no, you are not supposed to be a child in an adult body. That’s a mental issue you need to be seeking therapy for, it is not an identity. You were a child once, but it’s over now, let it go! And while we’re on the topic, let’s talk about furries. You were not meant to be born as a humanoid half fox, half cat. No one has the genetic makeup for interspecies DNA. Your mother was human, your father was human. You’re human! Even if your dad fucked a horse, it would still never result in a furry. Being furry is not an identity that you need to fight for to have social acceptance. You know why? Cause it’s a fetish, plain and simple. Sexual or no, it’s a fetish.

The even greater damage that gets done here is that transgenderism already gets viewed way too much as something sexual or fetishistic. Having BDSM neko trans girls hanging around only help to perpetuate that stereotype and work against creating a proactive atmosphere for trans people everywhere. Some of us are trying to reverse negative stereotypes and get laws and rights passed for all of us to make the world a better place for all transgendered people.

So just because you’re adamant that all these messed up hobbies of yours (and I’m not judging, I have my own messed up hobbies) are an intrinsic part of your identity, every bit as much as your gender really doesn’t make it so. To be painfully blunt (and why stop now), this is merely a roleplaying fantasy that you’ve taken to extreme levels and tried to secure a thinly built connection in attempts to bootstrap it into legitimacy. ie. You are delusional and either need a reality check or a councilor. I know I’m being extremely judgmental and it’s okay. People who indulge in this sort of activity need a slap in the face to get some perspective. I’m not saying don’t have your messed up hobbies. I’m sure it’s fun. But don’t expect me or the rest of society to accept you as anything other than a comical farce if you try and take those hobbies into public. There’s a time and a place.

You can read her full post in its original context here.

The Transgender Lounge’s founding principle is “Supporting gender diversity through tolerance” and its very obvious from the statement above why such an organisation is so desperatly needed in SecondLife.

The Transgender Lounge is located next door to the TRC and EVERYONE will always be welcome.