NORTHWEST
Gender Alliance
There is a great deal of confusion about what it means to be transgender or transsexual. The lack of understanding and misinformation, has lead some people to fear our community and at times demonstrate anger and hostility. Our community is by no means the first to face the challenges of discrimination. We invite the reader to take a few minutes to find out what being transgendered is and is not.
One of the common misconceptions is that sexual orientation is the same as gender-role or gender identity. There are at least three distinct parts to our sexuality that usually come in predictable combinations.
First, there are our physical body parts, our sex.
Second is our sexual orientation, meaning who we are attracted to,
be it the opposite sex, same sex, or both.
Third is our gender, who we are in our mind. We would like you to use the gender pronouns of our chosen gender. We can identify as male or female, neither or both.
It is important to remember that a trans person can be Male to Female (M2F),
or Female to Male(F2M), masculine to feminine (MTF) or feminine to masculine (FTM). We can experience a dual gender, a fluid gender, or an androgynous gender.
The following is a listing and brief description of various forms of transgender experience.
A crossdresser (CD), sometimes called a transvestite (TV), dresses in clothing of the opposite sex. Such an individual might be considered bi-gendered, expressing both genders at different times. Most crossdressers are heterosexual and have no desire to change their sex via surgery or hormones.
A transsexual (TS) identifies with the opposite gender. He or she may have a feeling of being "trapped in the wrong body." A transsexual may find congruence between biological sex and gender identity through hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and/or sex reassignment surgery (SRS). Surgery is only undertaken after the transsexual person participates in counseling and lives full-time in their chosen gender for a year or more. Thus, we sometimes speak of preoperative (pre-op), post-operative (post-op), or non-operative (non-op) transsexuals.
A transgenderist, which may also be called genderqueer or gender-variant, is a person who lives as a member of the opposite sex either full-time or part-time. Their original genitals are very important to them. Like a transsexual woman, they may obtain electrolysis, (FFS) Facial Feminization, breast implants and take cross-sex hormones. Unlike transsexuals, of course they will not usually obtain (GRS) Gender Reassignment surgery.
An androgynous person blends masculine and feminine characteristics in grooming, dressing or presentation.
A drag queen, in the gay community, or drag king, in the lesbian community, is usually a gay person who dresses in the opposite sex, often in a glamorous or flamboyant way, and enjoys performing before an audience. You may have observed a female or male impersonator who dresses in the opposite sex to perform on stage as a singer, dancer, comic, or actress. If this person enjoys a personal/emotional benefit from dressing, then they are likely transgendered.
Keep in mind that there are many subcategories of the transgender life that are becoming better understood as time goes by. Terminology can vary due to a difference in geographic areas of the world.
The origins of transgender feelings are unknown. Often, a trans person starts out at an early age borrowing clothing from a parent or sibling. There is usually a progression from one or two garments, to dressing completely as the opposite gender and experimenting with grooming and personal appearance. The transgendered person finds these activities comforting and pleasurable. During adolescence, these experiences may be accompanied by intense sexual feelings. Eventually, the transgendered person may want to venture out in public demonstrating a different gender, and may find these excursions exciting and satisfying.
Fortunately, transgendered people are becoming more acceptable in our culture. Often they experience guilt, shame, and self-denial during the time they are discovering their true sex or gender. Many suffer silently for many years, and may never venture "out of the closet." Others have succeeded by reaching out to learn more, through finding this or other sites, calling and asking questions, and reading articles on the subject. We are eventually able to express our transgender feelings more freely and openly. It’s a complicated process of finding self-acceptance and inner peace.
Copyright ©2010 - All rights reserved. Updated January 8, 2010
Northwest Gender Alliance
Trans 101