TRC

=About the Transgender Resource Center=

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The mission of the Transgender Resource Center is to foster the development of a positive and diverse community in support of Second Life's transgendered population. In addition, we promote tolerance and acceptance of transgendered individuals within Second Life and, by extension, society at large.

We were founded on the assumption that individuals are often more willing to experiment with their gender identity in the relatively safe and anonymous environment afforded by virtual communities such as Second Life. Our goal is to help these residents make constructive and rational decisions about how to proceed should their interest in gender identity intensify to a more serious level. At our best, we strive to serve as a bridge to first life services for those individuals for whom walking into a psychologist’s office is too great a step to take all at once and for whom engagement with the transgender community in Second Life might serve as a smaller step in that direction.

For those individuals who are aware of their issues pertaining to gender identity we seek to provide a sense of community as well a source of collective wisdom. We also seek to engage these residents in our mission to foster the acceptance of transgendered individuals, both within Second Life and without. Many of our members and volunteers report that being able to pass on their knowledge and experience to those still struggling with gender identity issues enriches their lives with a sense of greater meaning.

Unlike most transgender focused groups in Second life we specifically forbid nudity and other forms of sexually suggestive behavior since opportunities for this experience are abundant and we feel such behavior interferes with the development of a mature, respectful, and even kind community focused on addressing shared first life mental health issues.

Ultimately, it is our hope that through our success within Second Life that many individuals with undiagnosed or unrecognized “real life” issues relating to gender identity will be better prepared to address them and that many individuals heretofore unaware of the presence of transgendered individuals within their “real life” communities will be more supportive of their decisions to live in gender roles that may not match those traditionally dictated by their chromosomal makeup or anatomy.

For more information contact Jani Myriam in-world or via email or visit us on the web at http://sltranscare.org or in-world at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pavonia/24/27/101