it would be nice but don't think it is a responsibility. trans is can be the only thing we have in common and sometimes that isn't enough to be a mentor. people still have thier own quirks and bias and it's hard for folks to put that aside to be real mentor. too often it just take the form of a guy who feels he did it the "right" way telling someone he doesn't understand that they are doing it wrong.

there also that problem the realities and goals of one person transitioning 20 years ago and living in a rural area can be totally different that a person transitioning now in a different area.

I like how ftmichael on livejournal is always will to share info without judgement.

Hmm, interesting topic/thought.

As someone who fits both the "older" in transition (17years) "older" in actual age(55) and "older when I began transition(38), I have thought about this issue a fair amount. I also just came back from Gender Odyssey in Seattle where it was a much talked about topic as well.

I dont know if I would view it as a responsibility per se, anymore that it is the responsibility of anyone no matter what their status is to take care of anyone else. Do I owe the "community" anything simply because of my process? Hmmm, something to chew on.

However, I do see that there are parts of our lives as gender variant folks that are missing important lessons.

For instance, for those who are coming into their "manhood" at an age later than a chronological puberty, there is a lack of those events that shape the lives of many boys. Take the boy scouts as an example.

I would agree however that there are far too few role models for those transitioning. The guys who get the bulk of attention in media and accessibility tend to be the "normative" guys....the ones who want to live their lives as regular guys who live in regular houses with regular jobs and regular families. Any deviation from that norm tends to be subverted just as it is in the larger mainstream. This is what gives me heartburn.

i dont mean to imply that regular is bad, it is only that it is one choice. Where are the other choices?

When you say "take care of the younger generation" what is it that you think we old guys should be doing for the younger ones?