The Future Is Here!

Next up on my Helping Meg Grow series: the internet.

Hey, if "the computer" could be a Time Person of the Year (1982), then this qualifies.

Before the internet, or the world of connected computers ~ networks like Delphi or smaller BBSs (bulletin board systems), transfolk were alone.

We were more than alone: we were weird to the point that we were SURE we were the only guys who'd ever want to willingly wear a dress or a bra or makeup.

Think back.  Odds are, when you thought about dressing you also thought that you could NEVER tell anyone about it EVER.

I'm talking to the girls who grew up pre-internet.

There would be little hints that this was not insane and you were not alone.  Maybe you saw an alternative magazine ~ some "adult" newsstands had them.  I remember seeing a couple of trans-related ads in the free sex-oriented ad mags in Las Vegas (I was just curious).  You might find an ad for the tiny handful of stores that catered to "transvestites," the only term they'd have for us.

I could never figure out why someone would go into a store where everyone immediately knew you were a tranny (even maybe someone who saw you enter from the street) so you could buy way overpriced clothing, rather than a women's shop where you could probably bull your way into a plausible excuse to buy almost anything.  Or go mail order.  Yes, they had the odd sizes.  Yes, you could try things on (wow!) but the costs (risk and financial) always seemed to high to me.

But it did mean you weren't alone.

Then BBSs showed up and if it reached a high enough client threshold someone would start a transvestite board.

Wow.  You're not alone.

The rise of the internet brought forth Usenet (which I've mentioned before).

And now, we know we're normal, we're not alone, and we can live a sane and safe life as we were meant to be.

I'm excited about the future: I plan to play a small supporting role.

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First Aside: Usenet

I mentioned yesterday that I met Margaret on Usenet.  I also met another woman who will be on this list there.  Once, at a breakfast before a tech seminar a woman at my table said "your name is familiar" and she recognised me from a Usenet group.  I also met a couple of local people first on Usenet, then in person.

Usenet, for the youngsters out there, is a group of tens of thousands of what are called newsgroups on tens of thousands of topics.  It's open in the internet tradition ~ anyone could start a group in one branch, but others required the collective wisdom of the users to vote up or down.

On Usenet, you could find thousands of groups just on various technologies (like comp.os.ms-windows.nt.setup for questions on installing windows NT) or culture (I hung out at soc.culture.jewish) or interests (rec.sport.hockey).  I hung out on misc.kids once my first was born and on rec.humor and subgroups a LOT.

Alt was the wild west section where you could find alt.fashion.crossdressing, alt.support.crossdressing, and a bunch of adult or adult-ish stories, including alt.sex.stories.tg .  I read quite a few; most were bad, even by my low standards.  Most of the rest varied between horrid and unreadable.  There were a couple of authors who wrote enjoyable stories.

Usenet still exists and you can get it on your home computer but most people have moved on to on-line discussions.

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