Greetings!
I had come here hoping to find that the tower was more accepting of all gender and sexuality issues. I found that I was wrong, but this was not unexpected. Jordan created a world that used gender in a certain manner and thus the tower here has a similar setting. I think everyone presumed that I was a transgender person. It does not bother me that this was their impression, however, for accuracy's sake, I am a cisgender grrl. I am also a lesbian. I would like to join the tower itself as a novice eventually, but I read the descriptions of the ajahs and found them almost all worded in a very heteronormative fashion. That turned me off right away. The wording itself is non-inclusive. As we are all readers, it seems safe to assume that we all understand how important wording is. Perhaps I'm making too much of it, but if there is little to no deviance from the heteronormative society I already face every day, I don't see why I should join into another.
Regardless, it would be useless to join right now. I've just been confronted by my housemate in yet another drunken tirade (wheeee!!) and this time she screamed herself into such a state of aggression that she threw me out. I may be able to become a citizen of Tar Valon, but in real life I am essentially homeless with little chance of finding another place to live before I am forced to leave. Therefore, I cannot join right now. I'm not even sure I can stay in this country without a proper visa, which I've just lost.
So this is likely the most depressing intro post ever, but I am pleased to find such a large community that I can bond with over the WoT. I'm currently on my 25th reread of the series and it's likely all that's keeping me sane (ha! - you see what I did there, Rand!?). I'd love to stick around but I don't know when I'll be back. I'd love to discuss some topics in the books and read the threads I already see here. Perhaps one day I will be able to actually join the tower. Right now I'm just distracting myself to keep from freaking out about how horribly wrong everything has gone.
So cheers, mes amis! Ahh, if only I had Mat's luck with dice.. or Thom's ability with knives... but it is what it is, hey? I hope this post finds all of you in better circumstances than me.
I had come here hoping to find that the tower was more accepting of all gender and sexuality issues. I found that I was wrong, but this was not unexpected. Jordan created a world that used gender in a certain manner and thus the tower here has a similar setting. I think everyone presumed that I was a transgender person. It does not bother me that this was their impression, however, for accuracy's sake, I am a cisgender grrl. I am also a lesbian. I would like to join the tower itself as a novice eventually, but I read the descriptions of the ajahs and found them almost all worded in a very heteronormative fashion. That turned me off right away. The wording itself is non-inclusive. As we are all readers, it seems safe to assume that we all understand how important wording is. Perhaps I'm making too much of it, but if there is little to no deviance from the heteronormative society I already face every day, I don't see why I should join into another.
Regardless, it would be useless to join right now. I've just been confronted by my housemate in yet another drunken tirade (wheeee!!) and this time she screamed herself into such a state of aggression that she threw me out. I may be able to become a citizen of Tar Valon, but in real life I am essentially homeless with little chance of finding another place to live before I am forced to leave. Therefore, I cannot join right now. I'm not even sure I can stay in this country without a proper visa, which I've just lost.
So this is likely the most depressing intro post ever, but I am pleased to find such a large community that I can bond with over the WoT. I'm currently on my 25th reread of the series and it's likely all that's keeping me sane (ha! - you see what I did there, Rand!?). I'd love to stick around but I don't know when I'll be back. I'd love to discuss some topics in the books and read the threads I already see here. Perhaps one day I will be able to actually join the tower. Right now I'm just distracting myself to keep from freaking out about how horribly wrong everything has gone.
So cheers, mes amis! Ahh, if only I had Mat's luck with dice.. or Thom's ability with knives... but it is what it is, hey? I hope this post finds all of you in better circumstances than me.
If you ever need to talk just pm! As far as visas go, try visajourney.com, that was the site I used while my husband and I were struggling with his visa.
Welcome to TV.Net! I'm sure you will find your own niche here like so many of us have despite the gender limitations. 
