BigCloset TopShelf
TopShelf TG Fiction in the BigCloset!
The Hatbox
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Comments
lovely story
thanks for sharing it!
I Can Always Count on You. . .
. . .to comment. Thanks.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Seeing past labels
I love this story. It's so easy to put people in boxes based on the things we know -- or think we know -- about people who are "like" them in some way. A firefighter. A banker. A Republican. And when we have to make decisions based on limited information, falling back on stereotypes isn't always crazy. But it's important to remember that stereotypes are often wrong in particular cases because every person is unique.
I empathize with Sarah tremendously. She was part of a team, of champions. They were a unit, thinking as one, moving like dancers in a choreographed ballet. Sure, years pass and people move on, but I can well understand why she would dread the possibility of being cast out, no longer welcome, shunned by the people who meant so much to her, during one of the highlights of her life. There are people we just don't want to disappoint.
Naturally, I was rooting for Ashley to help Sarah find her courage, to trust the people she admired so much, and to see past the stereotypes. But it's a very big thing, and I can only admire Jill's integrity as a writer for her decision to take the harder road and keep the story real.
Bravo!!!!
Emma
Years Do Pass
Yesterday, I received a Christmas card from a high school classmate. He said, "One of the things I remember from high school was watching a film of our football game and the coach playing a play you made over and over. You had three blockers coming at you but were able to use your arms to push them down and make a touchdown-saving tackle."
I thought I was the only one who remembered.
Without relying on stereotypes we wouldn't be able to get through the day. We would spend all our time making judgments. We just have to be open to the reality that stereotypes are often wrong.
Sarah/Josh are who they are.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Lovely story
and nicely told.
Coming out of the closet is hard even if you have a loved one supporting you.
this:-
“Fifty years ago, the trained professionals finally decided that same-gender attraction isn’t a mental illness
is something that MAGA want to reverse ASAP. Then they can put us all in camps and brainwash us (or worse) legally. This whole idea of huge camps should make sure that decent people don't vote 'RED' in any election from here to eternity. The holocaust deniers are gaining strength. Along with the Jews, the LGBT community all have big targets on our backs.
Thanks for telling the story
Samantha
You Make Me Feel Like Josh
Here I am, in a team, and metaphorically, I feel like I'm the smallest member, sandwiched between two superstars, Jill and Emma, but the truth is, we are a team. You can't have a two-legged stool, can you?
You probably wouldn't believe how much work has gone into the preparation for our 2024 New Year's Contest. We've contacted literally hundreds of authors, potential authors (yes, Dallas, I'm looking at you. I believe in you) and contributors and commenters on this site and others, old friends and new, hoping to get the support that BC needs to remain viable.
I think it's going to bear fruit.
So now you have seen our stories and they're all actually Different. We didn't collude in writing them, although we each commented on and edited each other's drafts and it's up to you readers to judge the results, and write your own stories.
I read quite a few drafts of Jill's tale here and it got better and better as she added flesh to it along the way. I think it's now close to perfect. I so totally empathise with Josh/Sarah and , like you do when you're watching TV, shout at her to stop being silly and trust her team-mates, who are such decent people.
Yes, they will probably do a double-take when she walks into the room in her LBD, but then they will accept her unreservedly. But she's got to give them the chance. Ashley says it all with that final "Fine."
It's a wonderful take on the insecurities of people like us and the problem of stereotyping people in whom you should have faith.
Please prove us right.
Amy Schneider
I'm currently reading Amy Schneider's book. She won forty games in a row on Jeopardy.
Her book spends a lot of time speaking to the insecurities of growing up trans.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Another non competing contribution
To help to illustrate the human condition. To know you're right, those you love and trust to support your decision. And still we resolve to stave off the inevitable on other conditions. Good job, Jill.
Ron
Merry Christmas, y'all.
Interesting story
I love stories where the protagonist still gets to have family.
Those of us on this site fight every day against stereotypes….
Yet we are all guilty of using them just like those we condemn. If there is one thing to take away from this story, it is the fact that we should only care about our own opinions of ourselves, and the opinions of those who love us.
We spend too much time worrying about what others think of us, and worse, we assume how people will feel or react. We are just as prejudiced as those who rant against us. Josh demonstrates this in his assumptions about his friends - based upon their careers, he has already condemned them to be anti-trans and assume they will be against Sarah.
Sarah is incredibly blessed to be loved by a woman who loves her as her true self. A woman who has absolutely no qualms whatsoever about her living her life as she chooses. A woman who would stand by her no matter what, and is encouraging her to be herself around her friends. A woman who is very understanding, but who is also disappointed that she doesn’t have the courage to do so.
I am a registered Republican - and yet I am perhaps the most liberal person I know regarding social issues. I am a fiscal conservative, hence why I joined the Republican Party in 1978 when I registered to vote. I have repeatedly debated changing my voter registration, but I was also taught that the best way to change the party is from the inside - although I have become so disenchanted over the past decade that I cannot even begin to express how I feel.
My point being, is that if all you know is that I am a Republican, you would assume like Josh did that I am anti-trans. And yet, here I am, living my true life and supporting others to do the same.
I spent 20 years in the military, an organization many believe to be very anti-trans. And yet I was surrounded by a team that knew the real me before even I faced up to it - and not only supported me, but protected me with their lives.
I now work in logistics, a very male centric industry. When I transitioned, I was positive that I would lose my job and my career. I did in fact run into prejudice which cost me three separate jobs, and thousands of dollars in salary. And yet, I have found that the industry is not as bad as I assumed. I have found multiple employers who are very supportive of me and value me based on my experience and abilities, rather than my gender identity. Yet based on my job, the average person would assume that I am conservative and anti-trans without ever meeting me.
But what is worse, I (and most of the people here as well) make the same assumptions that Josh did in this story.
Perhaps we should practice what we preach.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus