Discrimination comes in many forms. The most obvious ones are where you get abused verbally or physically. The not so obvious ones are where you get ignored and others get preferential treatment in lieu of you.
And it's not just with the queer community that this sort of thing happens. The media gives a very biased view of neo-pagan religions. The truth is, we're folks, just like everybody else. But what gets reported? Satanic Ritual Abuse, and stuff like that. But it isn't just from the outside where discrimination occurs. Just because one is pagan, or wiccan, or a witch, doesn't mean that one checked one's prejudices at the door.
For the most part I have had good responses from people, because I deal with them individually and when they get to know me, they know I'm ok (just a bit different). But some people see me as a threat. If I am a woman (albeit male) then shouldn't I be able to join all-woman groups? But some folks take the view that woman only equals female. It's very hard to argue against this view, because in general it's what we are conditioned to expect from society.
And for me it's rubbish. I went through a major crisis in 1998 in reconciling who I was and how I identified. I had read a book by Janice raymond called "The Transsexual Empire" and in it she had a definition of what a woman was:
- Born female.
- Raised as a girl.
Here's why: the Goddess has to do with cycles, growth and death, and nurturing (in general). The God has to do with limits, authority and transitions (like life and death). The God in various aspects is also a trickster and a shape changer -- what better source for a transgendered person (either male=>female or female=>male)!
What makes me a woman is how I identify myself, and the efforts I make to express that. And it's the same with everyone, whether they are transgendered or not; it's just that everyone else has accepted the definitions that they were given when they grew up. We (transgendered people) didn't. Also of course, if we have both the Goddess and The God in us, then it seems silly to exclude someone on the idea that they only have one type of quality in them.
The issue then becomes one of not rejecting us for who we are, but taking things on a case by case basis, and giving us the benefit of the doubt, until proven otherwise. Trust me, we'll do the same.