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Transgenderism, transsexualism and gender identity

Glossary of terms

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As mentioned elsewhere, it is impossible to obtain agreement on the precise meaning of terms concerning these topics. A consensus is rare. Most glossaries give only a single definition each term. We will try to explain the full range of meanings in common use.

bullet50% Rule: A common belief that 50% of all transsexuals die before the age of 30, usually by suicide. The number is probably greatly exaggerated today. That is a depressing term to start off a glossary. On the bright side, sexual reassignment procedures have a high success rate and many post-operative transsexuals are quite pleased with their life.
bulletAgendered: See non-gendered.
bulletAmbigendered: Identifying oneself as having a gender between male and female.
bulletAndrogyne: A person who does not self-identify as male or female. Some regard themselves as being between male and female; others identify themselves as being without gender
bulletBigendered: See gender fluid.
bulletCisgendered: An individual whose genetic gender matches their gender identity. The prefix "cis" is Latin for "on the same side."
bulletCross dresser: A person who wears the clothing of the opposite gender, for any reason. One of the most serious charges against Joan of Arc, who was convicted by a religious court and burned at the stake, was that she dressed in men's clothing. She seems to have worn men's clothing to protect herself from rape in the prison. 5
bulletDrag king (a.k.a. DK): An entertainer -- generally a female bodied or female identified  -- who dress in clothing normally associated with men.
bulletDrag queen: An entertainer -- generally a gay man or transgendered woman -- who dresses in clothing normally associated with women, often to an exaggerated degree.
bulletF2M (a.k.a. FTM, F to M, F-M): Acronym for "Female to Male." It refers to a transsexual person who now identifies himself as male. The use of the term is sometimes restricted to individuals who are at least partly through the transition process.
bulletFaux queens (a.k.a. femme queens, femme performers, bio queens or Kittens): Women who dress in an exaggerated style to emulate drag queens.
bulletGender: The definition of a person as male or female. It is sometimes based on the shape of their sexual organs. Other times, it is based on the presence of X and/or Y chromosomes in each cell of the body. Sometimes it is based on the individual's own gender identity.
bulletGender dysphoria: See gender identity disorder.
bulletGender expression (a.k.a. gender presentation): A person's appearance, mannerisms and behaviors which are frequently associated with a specific gender.
bulletGender fluid: (a.k.a. bigender): Perceiving oneself as alternating between genders
bulletGender identity: The gender that one believes themselves to be.
bulletGender Identity Confusion (a.k.a. gender confusion): A demeaning term used mainly by religious and social conservatives to refer to an individual whose gender identity does not match their genetic gender. The term implies that the individual is merely confused about their gender identity and can change.
bulletGender Identity Disorder: An individual whose gender identity does not match their genetic gender.
bulletGender transition: A process by which transsexual persons begin "living their lives in genders that are congruent with their self-identity, which are opposite their birth sexes." 4
bulletGenetic gender: A person's gender according to the sex chromosomes in each cell of their body. In the vast majority of cases, females have XX chromosomes; males have XY. Other combinations of chromosomes are possible, such as XXY, XXXY, XXXXY, XXYY.
bulletGenetic gender or sex: Using the presence or absence of the X and Y chromosomes in the cells of a person's body to define them as either male or female
bulletGLBT: An acronym for Gay Lesbian Bisexual and either Transgender or Transsexual.
bulletHe-she: An extremely offensive term for a pre-op or non-op transsexual man who is biologically female.
bulletHermaphrodite: An obsolete and now pejorative term that refers to a person who has both male and female sexual characteristics and organs. The term has been replaced by intersexual.
bulletIntersexual: A person who was born with ambiguous genitalia and/or secondary sexual characteristics that do not match the common male or female shape.
bulletLGBT: An acronym for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and either Transgender or Transsexual.
bulletM2F (a.k.a. MTF, M to F, M-F): Acronym for "Male to Female." It refers to a transsexual person who now identifies herself as female. The use of the term is sometimes restricted to individuals who are at least partly through the transition process.
bulletNongendered (a.k.a. agendered): A person who identifies themselves as having no gender.
bulletNonoperative (a.k.a. non-op or none-op) transsexual: A transsexual who does not plan to undergo sexual reassignment procedures.
bulletPostoperative (a.k.a. post-op) transsexual: A transsexual who has undergone sexual reassignment procedures.
bulletPreoperative (a.k.a. pre-op) transsexual: A transsexual who plans to undergo sexual reassignment procedures.
bulletQueer: This most often refers to something that is strange or odd. It is also often used in reference to gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex, and asexual communities. It is also used as a synonym for GLBT and LGBT. Antonym: heteronormative.
bulletShemale (a.k.a. she-male, she male) An extremely offensive term for a pre-op or non-op transsexual woman who is biologically male.
bulletThird Gender: A term used to describe individuals who do not fall into conventional patterns of gender. It has historically been used to refer to lesbian, gay, transgender, intersex persons. It is sometimes used to refer to individuals who regard themselves as being neither male nor female, or to persons who swap genders.
bulletThird sex: See third gender.
bulletTransition: The entire process of changing a person from the sex that they were identified with at birth to the opposite sex that they feel they truly are. The process can involve a combination of hormone treatment, sex reassignment surgery, revisions to their birth certificate and other legal documents, etc.
bulletTransgendered (a.k.a. TG): This word has multiple meanings:
bulletA person who experiences gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder. They identify themselves as experiencing gender identity that is is in conflict with their genetic gender. Thus, their gender expression or physical characteristics may differ from their sex as assigned at birth.
bulletSome consider Transgendered to be an umbrella term which includes:
bulletPreoperative transsexuals.
bulletPostoperative transsexuals.
bulletNonoperative transsexuals.
bulletTransgenderists: persons living full-time in a gender other than their birth sex.
bulletCross dressers: persons who occasionally present themselves as the opposite sex. (Transvestite is a synonym, but is regarded by many cross dressers as a pejorative term). The vast majority are heterosexual men.
bullet"Mannish" women and "feminine" men whose gender expression is opposite to their sex.
bulletIntersexed persons who are born with genitals that are not typically male or typically female. They are frequently defined as male or female at birth. However, they often develop physically or have a gender identity in opposition to their assigned gender.
bulletTransgenderists: Persons who present themselves, either on a part-time or full-time basis, as a gender opposite  to their genetic gender without any interest in genital reassignment surgery.
bulletTransman (a.k.a. trans man, trans-man): A transsexual person who was classified as a female at birth but who identifies themselves later in life as a man and has made the transition to being a man. Many transmen refer to themselves simply as a man.
bulletTranssexual (a.k.a. transexual, TS, transsexed, transidentity, trans, tranny, T-folk, trans folk): As for the term "transgendered," there is no consensus on the precise meaning of this term.
bulletOne common definition is that a transsexual is a transgendered person who experiences severe gender dysphoria and feels they can "no longer continue to live their lives in the gender associated with the physical sex they were assigned at birth. " 4
bulletSome restrict the term to including only those undergo hormone therapy and/or sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) in order to more closely appear to be of the sex that they feel they are.

Additional factors:
bulletSome transsexuals consider the term trans and tranny to be offensive.
bulletSome post-operative transsexuals do not refer to themselves as transsexuals; they regard themselves as having become either male or female and identify themselves accordingly.
bulletSome prefer the term transgendered as superior to transsexual because gender identity is all about gender, not sex.

bulletTransvestite: An older term for "cross dresser." Frequently regarded as a denigrating term.
bulletTransvestic fetishism: A psychiatric condition in which a person -- almost always a male heterosexual -- is significantly distressed by a recurrent sexual arousal due to thoughts or practices of cross dressing.
bulletTranswoman (a.k.a. trans woman, trans-woman): A transsexual person who was classified as a male at birth but who identifies themselves later in life as a woman and has made the transition to being a woman. Many transwomen refer to themselves simply as a woman.

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References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

  1. The Intersex Society of North America maintains a home page at: http://www.isna.org/ They have a FAQ, which describes their newsletter and other materials on intersexuality.
  2. "Psychological Dictionary," AllPsych Online, at: http://allpsych.com/
  3. Vaughn Hambley and Carol Wilson, "What is XXY?" Klinefelter Syndrome, at:  http://www.47xxy.org/
  4. "Discrimination against transgendered people in American, International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy. Online at: http://www.ibiblio.org/
  5. "Cross-dressing," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/

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Copyright © 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Original posting: 2007-JUN-08
Latest update: 2007-JUN-08
Author: B.A. Robinson

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