With regards to akenaton saying:

"Gender swopping seems to be the antithesis of most folk music, which deals with the joy , hardships and the natural world. Mostly it concerns the past when selecting ones gender was rightly regarded as ridiculous."

I would have to strongly disagree. Folk concerns itself as much with human inventions and such as much as the natural world. Plus, trans people have always existed, and being trans certainly comes with its own joys and hardships. Plus there's a good deal of crossdressing in folk songs, as well as a many things you might find 'ridiculous'. Hardly far-fetched to think that a genre of music that can be relatively sympathetic about other very controversial things might have something to say about LGBT issues. But I suppose so much of LGBT history is lost due to bigotry and the need for secrecy that such could also be the case in folk. I'm surprised at the current lack of it in modern takes on trad folk, however.
It's certainly disappointing to see you call a group of people like myself 'ridiculous', and proves the need for explicit inclusion of trans (and LGB+) people and narratives in the folk scene. One could say not getting with the times and making an effort to understand and be compassionate to those unlike yourself is far more 'ridiculous'.

Regardless, I love trad folk/ballads. If I have to write the songs myself in order to sing them, then I suppose I'll learn how to write songs.