Would you trade your life for someone else's?

[kristalin.livejournal.com]

I was watching tv saturday night with my girlfriend Sue, and "Twilight Zone" was on. In brief, it was an episode where a man ends up trading his life/future for someone else's , sight unseen for someone who is extremely wealthy, good job, pretty wife. The company, called "Future Trade" matched him up with someone who was looking for a life like his, with his not-so-fantastic job, annoying wife and kids. Of course, it ends up that the reason the rich guy traded with him was his wife was trying to murder him. We pondered aloud, minus the extreme badness level the story took, would one trade their life/future for someone elses?

Sue chimes in that she would not trade her future, then looks over at me and says "You would." "Why in the hell would I do that?" I ask. Then of course, she spells it out for me, meaning, I would choose to trade with someone born female. That definitely shut me up for a while, I'm still not entirely sure where I stand on that, and its been on my mind since. Would I trade my life/future with someone else just to be 100% genetically female? There have been days of distress where I might very well take that deal.

So I pose the question to all of you, working with only a few very simple rules, you wont die any sooner than you normally would because of this trade, and you would be in a body that would please you(not perfect, not supermodel, whatever your ideal reality-based version of you is), would you trade your life and future for someone else's? You'd take over their life, they would take yours. You leave behind your friends, family, loved ones, etc. Now some of you out there might say Hon, I've already done that, but what guarantees we wont assume are that you'll be in some perfect little life, after all, remember, this person wants to be in YOUR life. Would you trade? Sound off.

-Kristin

[Poll #369082]

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED in SEATTLE

[quid-evangelist.livejournal.com]

Dunshee House (formerly known as SASG) is an awesome queer services and support organization in Seattle. They have been instrumental in supporting me, my friends, and our development as individuals. Please help them! They need a few more volunteers for this event, and if they come up with enough of them, they get a $10,000 gift! I cannot tell you what this means to me, or what it would mean to me if some of my friends decided to help out. I will cook you dinner, read you bedtime stories, whatever it takes to get you out there. If you want more information on the org check out http://www.sasg.org/. (p.s. they don't need 8 they only need a few more, I'm trying to find out how many. thanks!!)
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would love to engage in a discussion

[degringolade.livejournal.com]

hi,
i'm a student in denver, colorado, and i am currently taking a class on the biology of women. i like to consider myself an "academic feminist" and am pretty well versed in feminist theory. that being said, i am really committed to being an ally for the transgendered community-- though, it is so hard when i've never had any questions about my own gender identity besides the usual "what is masculine, what is feminine?" i've had a hard time separating the constructions of femininity from what it means to be female -- i mean, i know wearing pink doesn't make you a girl but what really does? what is innate? how is it that i wake up in the mornings and just know, and feel comfortable, in labeling myself a girl -- is it because i bleed, have the capacity to give birth, ect? i am really trying to engage in a dialogue of difference... this is an issue that has fascinated me from the get-go and i would love to communicate one-on-one with a community member.
recently, i read "she's not here anymore" by jennifer finney boylan, and some of the ideas presented were problematic to me--- particularly the needing to dress like a girl to feel like a girl. i've read other material in which the sexual re-assignment surgery was done but the individual presented herself as androgynous (by society's definitions).
i apologize if any of my wording was problematic itself-- i am really trying to give "stream of consciousness" in order to speak from my heart.

thank you,
erica
olddwarfheart@hotmail.com