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Throughout this site, including my
GenderBlog,
I use many terms over and over. The list below is what I mean
when I use the words. I think my definitions are in line with most
people who are knowledgeable in the field, but these knowledgeable people
are not without some disagreement themselves in defining these terms.
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Kathleen's Glossary of Transgender-Related Words
The list below may be of help to you if
- You recently discovered that you are some variety of transgendered
- You are the parent, child, sibling, or friend of someone who is some variety of
transgendered
In either case, you may have some confusion about what a transsexual is, or how
GRS might be different from SRS (they both refer to the same surgery).
Personally, for many years I thought transition was another word for
sex change (it isn't). This list is not the last word on the subjects
but I hope it can help to clarify some concepts for you.
Disclaimer
If you're not new at this, you probably want to argue with me about some of my
definitions. There are many continua in genderland. I have
experienced a lot of it, but nowhere near all. I do not claim to have all
the answers.
Furthermore, this list is not intended to apply labels to anyone.
I know that some people get very touchy about being labelled this or that.
Nevertheless, human languages have nouns to name things; without naming, it is
impossible to hold a meaningful conversation. Please accept this list
in the latter spirit.
Many thanks to De Sube for the idea
behind this glossary.
De has several time presented a seminar called Transgender 101, in which she introduces concepts of
transgender by presenting a list of terms. The idea is hers; the words below are mine.
My thanks to her in any case.
For comparison and another opinion, please see the glossary at
IAmTransgendered.com.
Bisexual
One whose sexual preference includes both male and
female partners.
cis-Gendered
By analogy with
cis-trans isomerism
in chemistry (and cis-Alpine Gaul
in Caesar'sCommentaries), a cis-gendered person identifies and expresses a gender that is
congruent to his or her sex. That is, someone who is not transgendered.
Crossdress
To wear clothes normally associated with the opposite gender.
In many cases the frequency is occasional, and the length of time wearing those
clothes is very short -- perhaps just a few minutes, perhaps a few hours -- and the
behavior is often hidden, or at least done in private. Saying that someone is or has
crossdressed only asserts a behavior, not a state of being.
Hence, a drag queen crossdresses (exhibits the behavior) but drag queens rarely see themselves
as crossdressers because drag queens crossdress deliberately, publicly, and usually flamboyantly.
Moreover, crossdressing can be done whether one is transgendered or cis-gendered; it is an action or
behavior, not a state of being as transgendered is.
This author
disagrees vehemently with the saying "What's the difference between a crossdresser and
a transsexual? Answer: about three years." I crossdressed for over 40 years
before I transitioned.
Drag King
A woman who dresses as a man for entertainment, typically in a
performance setting.
Drag Queen
A man who dresses as a woman for entertainment. Drag queens,
professional or amateur, may spend thousands of dollars on costumes and jewelry,
but may or may not spend any money at all on permanent physical changes (e.g., breast
implants). That distinction is, however, insufficient to distinguish a drag
queen from a transsexual, for some drag queens may undergo cosmetic surgery to improve their
credibility as women. In the 20th century, it was assumed that
men-who-dressed-as-women were homosexual; earlier, of course (e.g.
16th century), men played women's parts in the theatre because women were not
permitted to act on stage, on moral grounds.
See also SheMale. Also note that drag queens
may or may not be (or become) transsexuals.
Fetish
A very strong interest in or attraction to a specific object or class of objects, especially
a sexual interest. One who has such an attraction is sometimes called a fetishist.
For many fetishists the object is a source of sexual stimulation as well.
Some transgendered people have, or have had, fetishes for shoes or other items of clothing; some do not.
Some fetishists discover they are transgendered; some do not.
FtM
Short for Female-to-Male; the FtM may be anywhere on the continuum from crossdresser to transsexual.
Gender
Often defined as "what's between the ears"
in distinction to "what's between the legs". Gender is presumed to correspond
to the sex of the gendered person, unless, of course, the person is transgendered.
See sex, below.
Gender includes physical, emotional, and behavioral components.
Some societies identify more than two genders.
Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS)
One or more surgeries that are commonly called a sex change. Also referred to as or Gender
Reassignment Surgery (GRS). See SRS.
Genderbender
One who deliberately mixes
components from both genders (e.g., beard and lipstick). In some case,
a person bends gender to provoke a reaction in the observer; or to assert
independence; or to enhance a performance (e.g.,
The Rocky Horror Picture Show). This author includes genderbenders within
the transgendered continuum.
Gender Dysphoria
A condition in which a person feels a gap or dissonance between gender identity and the
sex into which one was born. See Gender Identity Disorder.
Gender Expression
Regardless of which sex one really is, one usually assumes
the role, mannerisms, clothing, and behavior of one sex or another in public, thus expressing
a gender; see also presentation.
Society assumes that someone wearing clothes usually worn by a man,
is a man. A transgendered person expresses a gender different from the
birth gender. See also gender queer.
Gender Identity
The gender, usually male or female, that one perceives oneself to be.
A cis-gendered person's perception of gender aligns with the identified
sex of the body at birth; a transgendered person identifies with the opposite gender. It is
possible -- nay, frequently the case -- that a person's gender expression does not match the
gender identity. This is a situation of being "in the closet", or hiding one's feelings.
Gender Identity Disorder (GID)
Many healthcare professionals believe that when one is uncomfortable with one's birth gender,
then one is experiencing a disorder, or dysphoria. There is some debate whether this means
that being in any way transgendered is in some way pathological.
Gender Queer
Expressing some variation from cis-gendered
presentation to transgendered presentation; generally used to refer to someone whose
gender mixture is more subtle than a genderbender. This is also another
umbrella term for the continuum of gender expression. An individual may simply
like blending elements of all genders, and feel most comfortable when doing so,
without feeling a wrongness about the birth gender.
A person may also be changing internally, beginning to acknowledge and honor his or
her transgendered nature -- but isn't quite there yet. Hence, depending on the
person, gender queer may be a stage, or may be a destination.
Gender Song
Poetically, the many dimensions of my gender are deliberate constructions of creativity,
like a song. Regardless where we are on the gender continuum -- cis-gendered,
transgendered, gender queer, or something else -- we render a personal
interpretation of our essence and our gender as a musician renders a song. We perform for
ourselves and for others, and our performance is best when we bring to it all the joy and vitality of
our own, sacred lives.
Hir
The objective case of the gender-neutral pronoun; a mash-up of "him" and "her".
See also Ze.
Intersexed
One whose body includes physical characteristics of both male and female.
This author has met some intersexed persons,
but doesn't know any of them well enough to provide useful detail.
We defer to Wikipedia.
MtF
Short for Male-to-Female; the MtF may be anywhere on the continuum from crossdresser to transsexual.
Pass
Short for pass as the preferred gender. When one passes, one is
usually accepted as a member of the chosen gender. One may pass, but still
be read once in a while. Someone who doesn't pass
is read frequently.
Presentation
One presents to the world indications that one is of this gender or that.
See Gender Expression.
For example, although I may be male, I can put on a dress, a wig,
and makeup and present to the world that I am female.
Therapists use this word without regard to the duration of the activity,
but it does include the connotation that the presentation is in some sense
public. One who crossdresses at home is not presenting, but if that same
person goes crossdressed to the shopping mall, one is presenting.
Read
To recognize that one is seeing a
person who is presenting as another gender. When a person has been read,
someone else has recognized that the person is not presenting in the birth
gender; that he or she is crossdressed.
Real Life Experience (RLE)
The purpose of a year of real life experience is ostensibly to separate those
who believe themselves to be transsexual from those who really are transsexual, before an
irreversible change has occurred.
WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health)
and other authorities require that a transsexual live for at least one full year in the chosen gender before
performing surgery.
Sex
"What's between the legs"; compare to Gender, above.
One's sex arises from chromosomal patterns: XX versus XY; see also anatomy
and physiology at
Wikipedia or a medical reference site.
While there are anatomical and physiological differences between males and females,
those differences are just the beginning.
Sex reassignment surgery (SRS)
In short: sex change. SRS is an older term; some professionals now prefer the
term GRS, above.
There are several different procedures applicable to FtM and MtF transsexuals.
For the FtM, there is breast reduction surgery on top; hysterectomy and phalloplasty on the bottom.
For the MtF, there is breast enhancement and vaginoplasty. There are additional
surgeries for both FtM and MtF to enhance or minimize various parts of the body
to increase the credibility of one's appearance. The details of the various
procedures are outside the scope of this glossary; the curious reader is
advised to consult
Hudson's FTM Resource Guide for FtM issues,
TS Roadmap for MtF issues,
or Wikipedia and medical
reference sites for more information.
Also, sexual relations, as in "to have sex with".
Sexual Expression
Having sex, which gets harder to define since the
Clinton-Lewinsky affair; formerly, genital contact between two persons.
Sexual Preference or Orientation
The gender one prefers for a partner. It is common for a person to retain
their sexual preference after SRS. That is, an MtF transsexual who preferred
to have sex with women before surgery is likely (but not necessarily) to continue
to prefer female sexual partners.
Because gays and lesbians have been pressured into hiding
their natures, they will many times express sexual behavior that is in conflict with their
preference. Hence, gay men will marry and father children as a "cover" for their
homosexual preference; lesbians often do the same, for the same reason.
Also see bisexual.
SheMale
An MtF who retains the male organ for sexual pleasure, but who lives much of the time
as a woman.
SheMales may have breast enhancement and other cosmetic surgeries specifically to enhance their
feminine appearance and better attract partners.
The term SheMale is used instead of crossdresser, transvestite, or transsexual to emphasize
the use of the male organ; because some males find the idea of a woman-with-a-penis to be exciting,
some transgendered persons will advertise themselves a SheMale before surgery.
Owing to the heavy sexual connotation,
many MtF transsexuals, especially those who have had surgery, find sheMales distasteful.
However, internally there may be no difference at all between this SheMale and that transsexual --
both are valid places on the continuum.
Also, a derogatory term for a transgendered person in general. Whereas
Drag Queens are focused on public performance, SheMales
are more often attentive to private performances.
Transgendered
The umbrella term
this author uses for all persons who experience some conflict between their sex
and the gender in which they feel most comfortable. It is a particularly
useful term when one is discovering feelings of discomfort with one's birth gender,
but isn't exactly sure how one is uncomfortable, or why.
Use of the word can be confusing because some speakers use it to refer specifically to transsexuals,
while others use it to refer to another specific range on the continuum.
It is important to clarify just what the author or speaker means when the term is used.
Stealth
Term applied to a person who takes great pains to prevent others from knowing
or even guessing that the gender he or she presents is not the birth gender.
A person who is stealth doesn't want anyone to know anything at all about previous history.
This is extremely difficult to attain because it means not only flawless visual presentation, but also
a carefully cultivated voice, mannerisms, and behaviours, and a careful editing of the representation
of the early years of one's life.
Transgenderist
A single-word term for "transgendered person"; as such it has something going for it.
However much sense it makes, it has fallen into disfavor and may be considered archaic.
Transition
To begin living in another gender; surgery may or may not
come later, after a year or more of real life experience.
That is, after transitioning, one presents as another
gender to the world, all day, every day; this is in distinction to occasionally presenting in the
other gender for limited periods of time. The transition is reversible, but
typically at great personal cost, and possibly financial cost as well. Transition is an
unambiguous statement that one is, or believes oneself to be, transsexual.
After transitioning, one for all intents and purposes is the chosen gender, though
surgery to confirm it is still to come.
Transman
A respectful term for FtM, usually transsexual.
Transphobia
Fear or hatred of transgender, and of persons who are transgendered. It can refer to those
who perpetrate hate crimes against transgendered, as well as those who merely talk nasty about us.
Some of us
fear our own transgender, and hate ourselves for having transgender; we can be transphobic ourselves
even though we are transgender.
Transsexual
One for whom the sex of the birth body differs from one's internal apprehension
of gender. Typically (but not necessarily), a transsexual asserts that the
body is the wrong one for the person and seeks surgical correction for the condition.
Actually having the surgery is not a requirement to be considered a transsexual, because
the surgeries involved are expensive, especially for FtM. Some transsexuals live in their
chosen gender for many years after transition,
but are unable to accumulate the necessary funds for surgery.
Transvestite
This author uses the term synonymously with crossdresser.
Transvestite may sound a bit more formal and professional.
Transwoman
A respectful term for MtF, usually transsexual.
Tuck
For the MtF, to push the testes up into the body cavity, then pulling the penis down and back between the legs.
When held in place with a light panty girdle, this arrangement effectively hides the male genitalia in most any clothed
configuration -- even swimsuits.
Underdress
To wear articles of clothing of the chosen gender underneath, or surreptitiously in addition to, clothing appropriate
to one's birth gender. For many transgendered people who do not believe they can pass,
this affords a great deal of satisfaction and sometimes excitement, too, because it entails some degree of risk that one
may get caught.
Ze
The nominative case of the gender-neutral pronoun; a mash-up of "he" and "she".
Version 1.4, May 2012