Here in the Netherlands the transgendered people aren’t really organized. In parts of the country they have their meeting spots, where the socialize, and for especially the crossdressers and pre-op transsexuals it is a place where they can be themselves away from the people which inhibit that at home. It’s good something like that is possible, but it doesn’t get the community closer to emancipation, beter health care and health insurances. Now since a few years there is the Transgender Network Netherlands, in which multiple organisations come together and do….. …..too little, in my opinion. None of these organisations is meant to be representative organisation which has as its goal to get the interests of the community translated to politics, emancipation and action. One organisation, part of the TNN, is the National Contact Group for Transvestites and Transsexuals, they organize these meeting spots and once a year an information-day. The thing is that transvestites hardly have the same interests as transsexuals and other transgendered people. You could find this somewhat harsh, but it’s true. I’m not going to explain it, use your own logic, public versus private, trangendered/transsexual versus crossdresser/transvestite, need for legal protection/public healthcare versus privateness functions as the untimate protection.
So this organisation is due to it’s split interests unable to represent the public transgender community, is there an alternative organisation? No, there isn’t, this brings me to ask if there even is a true community? Many transsexuals post-op want to live their life as normal as possible, want to pass and be seen as there true gender. Being active for a community is troublesome in this respect. So even if these people would benefit from an organistion representing the community you won’t reach them.
The Transgender Network wants to represent the community, which is positive, but they can’t claim to do so. The TNN is dominated by transgenders age 30 and older, to represent the whole T-community they should invest in younger transgendered people too. The case is that I am now in the mids of founding a transgender youth/student organisation. My initiative is already known by a number of organisations member of TNN, but there has been no word of getting my initiative into the Network. I am afraid I’ll have to go arrange this myself to be part of the Network, the lack of effort to reach the transgendered youth and invest in future transgender leadership is an undeniable shortcoming of TNN. I hope they’ll fix this, without me being the instigator of that. Sure it’s a young network, only just started, but even then, if you want to make change then you simply need the youth to be part of your effort for change.
It’s now an exciting time for me, my initiative, GenderQontrast, will be registered as a foundation this summer and the first projects need to be running at the end of the year. It would be sensable if all of this would be supported by TNN, they want to represent the community so they will need GQ to be part of their network, it’s as simple as that.
A true transgender community in the Netherlands is possible, and GenderQontrast can be a major player to sustain one in the future. It starts with the youth, there you’ll find the future leaders of the Dutch transgender community.

I hope I made some sense.
More on GenderQontrast in the future, I’ll be seeking international relations for GQ. So if you’re young and want to know what transgender youth are up to in the Netherlands, let me know.