Everyone’s heard of a transgender person before. Many even have transgender friends or family in real life. They might be a transgender woman or a transgender man. It’s at the point where ‘transgender’ is heard on an almost constant basis.
Despite how many transgender individuals they know, you’ll be confused by the term transgender. With transgender persons being all around us and transgender rights being important, it’s worth diving into what transgender actually means.
Add in gender diversity, the different transgender identities, transgender health care, gender dysphoria, and what can be done to protect transgender people. You’ll have questions:
Are gender identity and sexual orientation the same for transgender people?
How do transgender people transition to their gender identity?
How long have transgender people been around and aware of their gender identity?
Let’s note that a transgender person’s gender identity isn’t sexual orientation. Transgender people don’t fall into a certain sexual orientation; it comes down to the transgender people themselves. It depends on their gender expression, their gender identity, and their sexuality.
Some quick terms to be aware of:
Transgender community
Assigned male and assigned female
Transgender identity and transgender identities
Gender identity
Diagnostic and statistical manual
Gender expressions
Let’s dive into who transgender people are, what transgender equality is, and more. Whether you know transgender people in real life or not, it’s worth knowing more. Anyone who does could become an ally to transgender people and promote transgender equality.
Who Are Transgender People? What Does Transgender Mean?
Transgender means a person whose gender identity doesn’t match up with the assigned sex at birth. A world professional association focusing on transgender people, like the American Psychiatric Association, will say this is valid. Gender identity refers to the internal sense transgender people have of their gender.
Transgender people are born male or female but identify as the opposite sex. One’s gender identity, or own gender, is male or female, the opposite of what it was. The National Center on Human Rights backs this up.
What Does it Mean to Be Transgender? Transgender Meaning Explained
The term ‘transgender people’ is used to describe people who are the opposite sex of what they were born. Transgender issues are being brought up, as are gender non-conforming people and the transgender umbrella. Transgender people seek fair treatment and equality. It’s worth knowing what transgender actually means and who transgender people are.
The American Psychiatric Association says transgender people are those who feel like their gender identity doesn’t match up with the gender assigned at birth. A transgender woman was assigned a male. A transgender man was assigned a female. Both of these are classified as transgender people, though their gender identity is different.
Their assigned sex and gender identity don’t match up with their gender identity. Transgender people have an internal sense that their gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth.
Transitioning as a Transgender person
Transgender people match their physical gender to their gender identity. This helps them go from the sex assigned at birth to their true gender with medical procedures like hormone therapy. Transgender health care often includes medical treatment for mental health issues. This helps transgender people with gender dysphoria and their gender expression.
How a Transgender Person Transitions
A transgender person will want to transition. This is how transgender people go from their own gender to match one’s gender identity. This means transgender people undergo surgery and medical treatments to conform to their gender identity.
Whether they were born male or female affects this. Transgender women have male genitals turned into female genitals. Hormone therapy is a part of this for most transgender people. A trans woman may also consider top surgery. It helps them become the opposite sex.
There’s no right or wrong way for trans people to transition. It focuses on a transgender person’s body characteristics aligning with their gender identity. This helps with legal protections for transgender individuals.
Documentation After a Transgender Person Transition
People whose gender identity doesn’t match up with what they were assigned at birth use medical treatments. It helps with transgender identity. A transgender person must provide identity documents and similar documentation. People whose gender identity changes can update their identity documents after this.
Transgender and Gender Dysphoria
Gender dysphoria is a part of this. While not all transgender people experience this, it’s one of the more common mental disorders trans people can experience. Transgender people experience gender dysphoria when their gender identity is different from the transgender person’s sex assigned at birth.
Transgender people often go through substance abuse as they come to terms with being transgender. Add in the mistreatment transgender people get, and this substance abuse gets worse. It could fuel negative feelings toward transgender men and women.
Treating Gender Dysphoria In Transgender People
Gender dysphoria is perfectly treatable. Usually, medical treatment to help with gender transition is enough for this. Sometimes, transgender people need medical treatment related to a mental illness, even after this. That’s often because of anxiety or similar mental health problems stemming from gender dysphoria.
In time, their mental health gets better. Once their gender identity aligns with their physical gender, a trans person can work on their mental health much better. Transgender people, once they meet their gender identity, start feeling mentally better.
Transgender Vs. Intersex
People often confuse transgender with intersex. These are separate areas, however. To reach transgender equality, it’s worth knowing what’s what. Both are a form of gender expression, but they’re noticeably different. Transgender people are not always intersex.
What Is Intersex? How’s It Different From Transgender?
An intersex person is someone who wants to live as either male or female, no matter what they were assigned at birth. A transgender person could be intersex, but not all of them are. Their gender identity and gender expression can change from day to day.
This is in contrast to other transgender people, whose gender identities are firm. Their gender expression is rigid compared to some intersex people’s gender expression. One’s gender identity can fluctuate quite a bit, and one mightn’t have the same gender identity every day.
They can also experience gender identity disorder, no matter where on the gender binary they are. Not all transgender people fall into this category. They often don’t need medical procedures to feel male or female. There’s more gender diversity with this.
What’s the Difference Between Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity? Is Transgender a Sexual Orientation?
Many people assume being transgender has something to do with sexuality. In reality, it doesn’t. A transgender woman, for example, can be attracted to anyone. She can be interested in men, women, both, or even other transgender people.
Her sexual orientation doesn’t depend on her gender identity. That’s the case for all transgender people, regardless of their gender identity.
This also applies to transgender men. This is what many people don’t understand about being transgender. It doesn’t affect their romantic or sexual preferences. It just means they’re transgender people. Don’t conflate gender identity for transgender people with their sexual orientation.
It’s worth noting that being specifically attracted to a transgender person could be seen as a sexual orientation. This could relate to their gender identity and the fact they’re transgender people.
A Person’s Gender Identity – Transgender Categories & Types
Gender identity is a relatively broad term, even when it comes to the transgender world, and encompasses quite a few areas. Many cisgender can be confused by the word transgender and what it actually means. Transgender communities are wider than many people realize.
Then, there are other terms that could confuse cisgender people. It’s worth diving into each of these. While not all of them mean transgender, the terms often cause a bit of confusion.
The term ‘transgender people’ is used to describe people who feel as though they’re born in the wrong body. This doesn’t mean everyone in each category is transgender. Instead, they could prefer a different gender role without being transgender.
The National Center on Human Rights highlights that each of these types of transgender persons are different and could be placed under the blanket term of transgender. They’re still a part of the transgender community.
Transgender individuals are different, and one’s gender identity could be different from another. Every national center on the issue shows this.
Cross Dressers
Cross-dressing can often be misinterpreted as being transgender. This refers to when a person wears clothing typically associated with the opposite gender. Cross-dressing could mean wearing an article of clothing from the opposite gender to fully cross-dressing as the opposite gender. The people who do this are usually comfortable with their gender, and they don’t have any issues with their gender identity.
Difference to Transgender People
A man who cross-dresses, for example, typically doesn’t identify as a transgender woman. While some people believe gender dysphoria is at play here, it normally isn’t. It’s just a part of their gender expression.
Sexual orientation mightn’t be a part of this, either. Just because a man cross-dresses doesn’t mean he’s a gay man. They’re also comfortable with their biological sex.
Drag Queens
Drag queens can often be confused as cross-dressers, as dressing in drag usually entails cross-dressing. Typically, drag queens exaggerate their features as a form of entertainment. They can be seen as entertainers in bars around the world. This usually has nothing to do with their sexual orientation.
Genderqueer
Genderqueer refers to people whose gender identity usually falls outside of the gender binary. They don’t often feel male or female. Instead, their gender identity puts them somewhere in the middle. In some cases, they could feel either male or female on different days. This is called gender fluid, and whether they present as male or female depends on the day.
Other Transgender Categories
There are multiple other terms that can be used to refer to gender identities. This often causes confusion, as many people don’t know which ones are which. These include gender non-conforming, multi-gendered, androgynous, and third gender. They all refer to slightly different gender identities.
Non-conforming & Transgender
Gender non-conforming, for example, refers to people who don’t identify as male or female and never will. They’re non-binary people who’ll never neatly fit into the gender binary.
What About Gender Dysphoria? How Do Transgender People Experience It?
Gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder, can play into each of these types or categories in various ways. That’s not to say all of them experience gender dysphoria, however. Because of that, many of them don’t need a gender transition to help with their mental health.
Usually, they know their own gender, and they wouldn’t want or need hormone therapy, medical treatments, or other health care services. They’re just gender-nonconforming people, and they’re happy with it.
What to Know About Transgender People – Summing it Up
Transgender equality is a hot topic, as is transgender rights. Despite that, many people don’t know what transgender actually means, despite how many transgender people they know in real life. It’s when a person’s gender identity doesn’t align with the sex assigned at birth.
A transgender man is assigned a female at birth, but his gender identity dictates he’s a man. Transgender people transition from the assigned sex to their gender.
If they were assigned male, they transitioned into a transgender woman. Assigned female at birth becomes a transgender man. Gender dysphoria plays into this. Transgender people experience mental health problems because their gender identity matches what was assigned at birth.
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