As a member of our local Tri-Ess I am heavily involved in our Outreach programs. For those of you that are not familiar to Outreach - it is, in our case, where 3 or 4 C.D. club members are invited to Jr. Colleges, Colleges, local businesses etc. to "familiarize" people on who and what a crossdresser is, the problems/joy it brings to marriages, and a little history of the typical growing up of C.D.'s. The audiances range from 10 to 50. Armed with this new information students and employees are better equiped to feel less embaressed to be in front of C.D.'s, thereby making the C.D.s' more comfortable too. After doing it for years, it is still facinating to hear the reactions and LACK of knowledge the general public has. The most common comments are "You mean your not all gay?", " I thought you all wanted a sex change.", and of course the most common question " What bathroom do you use when dressed?"
Now, the reason I bring up this thread up is to ask from others - just how much EDUCATED outreach is going on? Are we hidding behind our skirts, so to speak, when out in public so as not to raise a flag in our direction, or do we educate when possible? (Yes, even after years I loose the nerve (I call them bad hair days) and shy away too. For those days I have brochures that I can place on counters, put on billboards etc. I really don't think I'll "reap the harvest" of my actions -but hopefully I could help future generations. You know -- pay it forward!
