11/4/2002: Gay Games open

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by dave
okay, so "Brandon" was living as a man, but... had a vagina.

Well, I lived as a woman for a year before my surgery, it's a requirement. I certainly didn't have a vagina then. I'm sure Brandon didn't think of himself as a lesbian, and neither did his girlfriend. I can't see any justification for calling their relationship a lesbian relationship.

Many--but certainly not all--transsexuals are pretty much sexually abstinent until after reassignment surgery. Brandon's vagina was pretty much irrelevant to his life at the time he was murdered, since he apparently wans't having sex--or at least intercourse-- with anybody....unless you count the two guys who raped him "to prove to her she was a woman", of course.

A transsexual friend of mine once said "It's not about who you go to bed with. It's about who you go to bed <b>as</b>, in referring to her own transsexuality.

I've had straight relationships as a guy, straight relationships as a woman, lesbian relationships, and one or two relationships that could fairly be called male homosexual (although they were pretty clumsy and really didn't work out very well, not surprisingly). I've had people who were clearly being female when they slept with me go on to at least hormonal reassignment to male (broke my heart too, "she" was damned cute). I think I've got a pretty good handle on what a "lesbian relationship" is and isn't.

Again, remeber I said "referenced to their desired sex". If it makes you feel better to think of Brandon as a lesbian, go ahead, but it's pretty clear *Brandon* didn't think of himself that way, and his girlfriend had no idea he was born female, so I don't see how she's a lesbian either.