The poll has been up for a week now, there's been some voting and some people have posted their thoughts. So to get back on track (after the recent hijacking by Vulcanologists
), or perhaps just to give a shameless bump, I thought I'd review the results so far:
Firstly, I suppose I asked the question because it was a question I was asking myself - "why am I spending time on this forum?", and by extension - "what is the nature of my interest in, and attraction to, transsexuality and transsexuals, and where do I want to go with that?".
When I came to cast my vote I found it less easy than I thought to make a single clear choice (I'd forgotten that I made it multiple choice!). Even if one is trying to be objective I guess it's inevitable that if you compose the options then they will all in some way be bound to reflect your preoccupations.
Certainly I joined the forum initially to look at pics of transladies etc., and posting some pics seemed like a way of participating and 'belonging'. That's fun for those moments I'm feeling horny and looking for erotic stimulation, but it's limited.
So I opted for
5) I want to communicate with like minded people. I've enjoyed reading and sometimes participating in discussions both informative and humorous. "Like minded" is a bit generalised; it's obvious that people active on this forum share an interest in transsexuality, but that interest is varied and can represent very different ends of the spectrum, and they may have little in common. Within the forum people will mostly seek to engage with those that they feel they have something in common with (tastes, opinions, beliefs, experiences, etc.); they may be coming from a completely different perspective but that's what I've found rewarding and in that respect 'being here' has expanded my horizons. In a more specific way that's what I mean by "like minded".
To the polling so far:
1) I'm curious about transgender and want to know more (6 votes).
A few votes, not that many. That makes sense as there are many sites more obviously aimed at, and better suited to, informing about transgender. Though it may be that some (like myself) find themselves moving in that direction.
2) I get pleasure from looking at pics of transladies (15 votes).
Out in front on votes but only just. I'd have expected this to be a clear leader.
3) I'm a translady addict and can't get enough (12 votes).
Perhaps if we add this to the votes for
2) then it clearly reflects TransLadyboy's principal raison d'être as a forum to enjoy the pornographic representation of transladies. (It's a bit worrying that so many see themselves as addicts: maybe we need a TA?
)
4) I have experience of transgender I want to share (9 votes).
I'm very glad that there are people here with experience who want to share this.
5) I want to communicate with like minded people (13 votes).
A close second to
2), clearly a sense of community is important. For some it seems to amount to a reassurance that there are others out there who admire transladies.
6) I want to make contacts for sex / dating / relationship (10 votes).
I'm surprised by the high polling here, maybe there's some wishful thinking. Yes there's a dating forum but it's not that lively and as others have pointed out there are better sites specifically geared to dating. I could be wrong, are people making contacts here? Am I missing out on something?
7) I'm bored and looking for novelty (0 votes).
There's a theory that continuing erotic stimulation requires novelty and that the popularity of shemale porn is partly a result of it's exoticism. Nobody?
These polls are light-hearted, one shouldn't read too much into them and it's hardly a large sample, but interesting nonetheless.