you should definitely go. its the good kind of scary, and youll be kicking yourself if you dont. its sooo nice to be around other trans people even if you dont talk to anyone. good luck girl ☺️

when i was near the tail end of my questioning phase, i had found a local trans group and on 3 separate occasions made it all the way to the door before chickening out and heading back home. i get it, it’s scary - you’re worried about whether you’re “trans enough”, whether you’ll fit in, whether you’ll be too awkward to actually say/do anything, etc.

i don’t know anything about the group you’ve found, but having now made my way into almost every major trans community gathering in my area, trans events are some of the friendliest and most accepting places you’ll likely ever be. nobody will push you to open up more than you’re willing to and nobody really cares how weird and awkward you might be. to be honest with you, i’ve even started to be a bit more outgoing and better at meeting people thanks to events like this.

even if you just sit quietly in a corner the whole time and watch, i can definitely recommend forcing yourself through that door, you will not regret it. maybe you can even find someone local (on lemmy?) to go with you the first time :)

I say do it. LGBTQ+ meet ups have always been some of the most welcoming groups I’ve found. I think the fact that we’re all always so on guard around everyone for safety reasons and not having to do that in these kinds of groups makes people in the groups more open and the events more welcoming.

I actually mostly hang out with a Wiccan group, even though I’m fully atheist (as are many in the group). The ceremonies are just a lot of fun and kind of like doing improv rather than “religious”, and they keep a regular cadence of holidays throughout the year. But there’s also the deep respect for nature, including people, that makes them very welcoming to all races, genders, sexualities, neurodivergences (I’m AuDHD, too), etc.

Of course every “pagan” group is going to be different since the specifics of the traditions are partly lost to time and colonialism. And there has been a surge of people and corporations in these spaces trying to sell supplements and crystals and other nonsense that has increased the number of toxic groups claiming to be Wiccan or Pagan or whatever, but I happened to find a group that, although not perfect, is pretty good for me.

So, usually it’s been worth the effort for me. I live in a city but hate driving and public transit is not great, so I don’t go out a lot, but it’s been well worth the spoons for me. And don’t be discouraged if the first one doesn’t work. It takes time to find the right group of people.

I wish you luck, I don’t know which community you’ve found specifically, but I know Mosaic is a great LGBT+ group in London, very welcoming

Could you bring a friend? That always helps keep my anxiety lower. You can do it and you’ll be glad you did.

I know how that feeling is, look try and make yourself a small gathering of queer people in your area, even if just 3, that’s enough for like a DND gamw for example:3

deleted by creator