Transgender Terms/Resources
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The following are some commonly used terms and their definitions. Not everyone agrees on the definitions of terms and how they are used, but this is how we will be using them. The problem with such classifications is that they tend to “put people in boxes,” which is unfortunate because each person is an individual in his or gender self as in all other parts of the self. Please consider these as terms of convenience, not limits.
To categorize someone as “man” or “woman” based solely on their anatomy is too simplistic. Each person falls somewhere on a continuum along each of three (independent) axes: Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation.
Sex – Refers to the reproductive organs as well as the secondary sex characteristics.
Gender – Gender identity refers to one’s perception of themselves as a man/boy or a woman/girl. Gender role refers to society’s (arbitrary) rules that define what clothing, behaviors, feelings, etc., are appropriate for each gender. Gender dysphoria is the unhappiness or discomfort experienced by those whose genitalia do not match their identity.
Sexual Orientation – To whom you are attracted sexually. (Many people mistakenly assume this is a matter of preference).
Crossdresser – A general term for anyone who dresses in clothes that are usually considered by society to belong to the opposite sex (including female impersonators, she-males, and gender benders, as well as transgendered people). Crossdresser is sometimes used as an alternate term for transvestite.
Drag Queen – A gay man who cross-dresses, often using exaggerated stereotypical feminine mannerisms for the entertainment of himself and/or others. Similarly, there are women who are drag kings.
Transvestite (TV) – From Latin, literally translates as “crossdresser;” a clinical term which some feel has a pejorative connotation. Refers to those who get erotic (fetishistic) or emotional pleasure from occasionally wearing clothes of the opposite sex and feel compelled to do so. Most are male, heterosexual, and many are married. A recently coined term, bigendered, is an alternate term for transvestite which more accurately describes men who are comfortable with their assigned gender role most of the time, but occasionally feel a need to express their feminine side.
Transsexual (TS) – A person who feels “trapped in the body of the wrong sex.” They frequently seek hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery (SRS), and are sometimes categorized as “pre-operative” or “post-operative.” Some TS’s are “non-operative” due to medical, financial, family, or job considerations, or because they don’t feel the need for a surgical change. It is estimated that there are about an equal number of male-to-female (MTF) and female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals.
Transgender (TG) – A person whose anatomical sex and gender identity are not congruent. They may live full-time in their self-identified gender role and may use hormone therapy but do not feel the need for SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgery). Some people classify transgenders as “Non-Operative Transsexuals.” Transgendered is also used by some as an umbrella term to include everyone from transvestites to transsexuals.
Books:
True Selves – by Mildred Brown – (A therapist’s explanation of transsexualism)
Gender Loving Care – by Randi Ettner – (Readable TS textbook for therapists and others)
My Husband Wears My Clothes – by Pegy Rudd – (Written by the wife of a crossdresser)
The Uninvited Dilemma – by Phyliss Burke – (Societal gender roles, including children)
The Man in the Red Velvet Dress – by J.J. Allen
Trans Forming Families – Mary Boenke, editor – (Family members tell their own stories)
Coping with Crossdressing – by JoAnn Roberts – (A crossdresser’s guide for significant others)
The Transsexual Phenomena – by Harry Benjamin – (The classic text on transsexualism)
You Just Don’t Understand – by Deborah Tannen – (Study of male and female communication styles)
Magazines:
Ladylike
Transgender Community News
Internet:
Transgender Forum
Video:
Ma Vie En Rose (My Life in Pink)
Support Groups:
FTM Sonoma County, Colin Close, Director, 707-478-6177
TGSF – San Francisco – Hotline: 415-564-3246
Diablo Valley Girls – Concord – Hotline: 925-937-8432
FTM International – San Francisco – Phone: 415-553-5987
Pacific Center for Human Growth – Berkeley – Phone: 510-548-8283
