Pattern matching: tr???ies

I was watching a film last night. It was a little tongue in cheek, but it was generally a sympathetic look at a section of society that’s poorly understood by the population.

They’re mocked by many, especially when they get dressed up and put on all the makeup. A few of them are quite casual about it, and only dress up for big social gatherings, but some of them have gone “full time” and live their entire lives in their new persona. One of them said that he enjoyed the attention and smiles when he went out into town dressed.

Some of people featured on the documentary had changed their names by deed poll, and one of them had even considered plastic surgery to make themselves appear more like the person they felt they were inside.

The film was Trekkies, a documentary about the die-hard convention-going Star Trek fans of the US. Trekkies are not to be confused with Trekkers. A Trekker is a casual Star Trek fan; a Trekkie is someone who lives their life almost as if Star Trek were real.

I’d seen the documentary before a few years ago, and was struck by the similarity between Trannies and Trekkies. We both have obsessions which are seen as ridiculous by some. And on both sides there are people who want to take it a lot further than others.

One guy said “if I had the money and I didn’t have any ties… I’d have plastic surgery to get Vulcan ears”. Replace “Vulcan ears” with “boobs”, and you’ve got many a t-girl. Not me personally, I hasten to add!

What made Trekkies interesting for me was that I was an outsider looking in, and it made me think about how outsiders must see the tranny scene. There isn’t really a big point to this posting, but if you’re a tranny I recommend seeing Trekkies and making the comparisons yourself.