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The Connecticut Outreach Society is a support group for the Transgendered (TG), Crossdressers (CD), Transsexual (TS both MtF and FtM ) and gender variant individuals and their spouses or significant others.
Within our organization, we have set up a volunteer speaker's bureau made up of our membership and their spouses. The purpose of the speakers' bureau is to increase the understanding of transgenderism through educational presentations that are informative and entertaining. These presentations often include a formal offering designed to increase the students' knowledge and understanding of the wide range of issues concerning transgender behavior. Each presentation is designed to include a question and answer period. This is the portion of the presentation that sets a tone of informality and provides the opportunity for personal interchange so necessary for the understanding and hopefully the acceptance of a sensitive issue.
We in the speakers' bureau have been welcomed at several colleges and universities throughout Connecticut, most often in psychology, sociology or human sexuality classes.We also have given presentations at various law enforcement agencies, state legislative committees and professional organizations.
We feel we can offer a constructive and educational approach on a subject that is not generally understood or widely accepted. If you have any questions or a desire to include speakers from the Connecticut Outreach Society's speakers' bureau, please contact us at the above telephone number or contact Outreach Director by mail at the above address or at "
". We would be delighted to set up an appointment with you at your convenience.
Some typical questions that were asked during our presentation at a local university psychology class:
- When did you start crossdressing?
- What made you want to dress that way or become another gender?
- When did you start feeling as though you were more in tune with the opposite gender?
- Do you have children and do they know about your crossdressing?
- How can you be married and heterosexual if you like to dress as a female?
- Why do you feel you need to dress as a women when God made you as a man?
- What is the most interesting part of being a woman?
- Have you lost any friend over your decision?
- What did your family think at first?
- Do you lead two different lives because of it?
- How often do you crossdress?
- ( For Spouse ) Did you know before you married your partner that s/he was a crossdresser?
- ( For Spouse ) How do you feel about your husband doing this?
- ( For Spouse ) Is it fun having a husband and a best girlfriend all in one?
- ( For Spouse ) How does your husband act when he is himself - a man?
At the end of that class we received these comments from the class:
- Thank you so much for coming to our class! I greatly enjoyed learning about your life and your life-style. I found everything you talked about interesting and very knowledgeable. I left the classroom with a sense I understand crossdressers and shouldn't be scared or shy away from them.
- I would like to start by saying thank-you. This was my first experience meeting transvestites. I found your personal experiences to be very informative as well as clearing up a lot of stereotypes about your lifestyle. I appreciate your honesty and openness with us. See you around sometime - the Guy in the Corner.
- Personally, I would like to thank-you for coming and talking to us. I know how hard it must have been to talk about something so personal. To me crossdressing is no big deal. I have a gay uncle so crossdressers don't shock me. I'm glad that you were able to share your point of view with us. I'm sure a lot of people in class will look at things differently from now on.
- Being able to sit down and talk with you openly was really great. It was very informative and I appreciated the honest way you answered questions. It was also very helpful to see that Jerry Springer is not a realistic portrayal of crossdressers.
- Having you come to class was a very interesting experience for me. I was kind of nervous at first and didn't know what to expect. I also didn't understand the motive for crossdressing, but after you came and explained it, I understand it a lot better now. You were all warm and friendly and willing to answer all of our questions Thank-you.
- I thought talking to the panel was very good. They answered all our questions very comfortably and very thoroughly. It was also good having a spouse / partner there. It was good of you to come in and speak about crossdressing. A lot of people don't know anything about it. Bringing in a spouse was a good idea. Many ( including myself ) always wanted to know what a wife thinks. It also refutes the stereotypes that all crossdressers are gay. It seems more normal now than before you can to class.
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