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I'm an American still in transition (maybe halfway through) and I will almost certainly be moving to Paris soon. I was wondering if anyone in Europe has any ideas or suggestions on what to expect, navigating the healthcare system, tolerance for tg's, etc. I'm moving to Paris for an academic position at a University, btw.
Thanks.
Waiters with a superiority complex, the incomprehensible gallic shrug...and a general lack of soap!Quote:
Originally Posted by Galadriel
Move to Paris, Texas.
Sorry Parisians, devil made me do it! :lol:
Are you sure you will be able to keep the position if you are transitioning?
And are you fluent in the language?
Je ne parle pas Francais.
Paris: seductive place, but as most visible ts are in the sex trade you have that hurdle, not as many workin other jobs like in northern Europe eg UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden etc, may be Latin thing? There are few decent clubs, Le Maison du Travestis the only one I can think of, [they have a website the club is near the Place de Clichy] the other venue, in Pigalle -the Follies on Sunday night is hysterical Brazilian/Latina hookers etc raunchy etc, but if you persevere and thread your way through le Marais there are clubs/bars where the pitifully tiny tg community goes -I saw a demure Japanese en route there one night when I was presse, etc -its a closed world in Paris where in London its wide open and so many nationalities too. Madame Arthur and Chez Michou are still going, but for whom? Lots of tg sex dans le Bois de Boulogne, fort, risque, watch out for thugs and the police...left bank not as liberal as you might think on public displays of tg, but health care is excellent, food is sans pareil, etc. Suggest you move to London or Berlin.
Have travelled back and forth to France, espcially Paris since college, spending months at a time, usually summer vacations.
IMHO it seems trannies from other countries always look better than the locals, excluding girls who have come to Paris to "work". Don't know what the deal is electrolysis seems uncommon, but anyway..
In terms of acceptance for TG's you will find France in some ways more straight laced than say England or even parts of the United States. Employment is by contract, and assuming whomever is hiring you knows of your situation when granting you employment, that should sort that out. And yes, there are laws against discrimination, but laws cannot affect persons attitudes.
Sadly one sees much more trannies in the sex trade, Bois than any place else, which one thinks also influences persons thoughts. Also while many men may be into having sex with a trannie, out right love affairs and realationships are another matter. See more gay men with femme "girlfriends) (marginal trannies, or those who work/live as men or even drag queens) most of the time. Have a hunch much of this has to do with the rather strong machismo (French is after all a Latin culture), in which males tend to have a slight edge in most areas of French life over women, despite all that talk about things being "equal".
Gays are not always the biggest help either. Remember many times when one could finally ditch my St8 friends, doing what one would do in NYC, go to a gay bar and hang out. What a shock to find most if not all would NOT admit. All would say no single women allowed (a common thing in France, even after a law as passed banning such exclusion, as many bars, clubs would not admit single women by tradition since it was assumed most were on the game), and even after explaining I was a "travesti", they still wouldn't let me in. In some cases some gays standing outside the club in line with me would ask if I could come in with them, and this sometimes worked. If it didn't I'd simply walk around the Marais or other area until either I found a bar that would, or found something else to do.
Strange thing was whenever I tried to get rid of a French guy that was pestering me too much, would declare "Je suis une travesti", hoping that would put him off. Nine out of ten times it did not, so was back to square one, only with a more ardent passion on his behalf. Then again this usually happened at clubs such as The Queen, so maybe that is what the men were looking for anyway.
French society in some areas is still as ridgid as in the times of French kings. Certain classes will have nothing to do with those they consider beneath them, except for certian things (such as sex/mistresses). It is very important to understand your position in relation to others, and I wouldn't go around advertising your trans state to all and sundry.
Best of luck