I thought it was transvestites and trans-sexuals! He-Shes, and cross dressers. So what exactly is trans-gendered! Is this just a very confused pereon? I'm serious! It's like, we used to call midgets, midgets, and now we call them vertically challenged!
What's with all this political correctness crap?
2006-10-26 00:40:38 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Transgendered is someone who identifies as the opposite sex with in themselves.
A simple term made for someone who has not had a sex change, and perhaps is not a transvestite (one who dresses as the opposite sex lives life as such)not necessarily feeling and identifying as the opposite sex.
A male trapped in a female body or vice versa is a transgendered person.
2006-10-26 00:56:05 · answer #1 · answered by Crampy Grampy 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
The 'trans' is crossing lines. A transvestite is one who dresses (vestment) in the dress of the other gender--usually guys dressing as girls, although when the other happens and we usually don't say much. There is another similar, but technically different, group, the cross dressers. Commonly, if a guy gets a thrill out of wearing women's underwear, dresses, earings, makeup, etc. for his private sexual gratification, he is a cross dresser. Commonly, if a homosexual is advertising either his homosexuality or the role he or she wants to play in their conjugating practices, then a guy will wear a girl's clothes or the lesbian girl will wear a guy's clothes.
So far, the gender identity is not a problem. Gay guys are interested in guys and gay gals are interested in girls, and heterosexual crossdressers are guys dressed as girls but still interested in girls.
Then the problem. Some people have the idea that inside they are the opposite sex and they really need to make their outside match who they perceive they are or should be. This is the transgender crowd and they have a psychological problem commonly called gender dysphoria, although the name for it has changed a bit over the last half-century. As crassly and commonly stated (not entirely accurate but it is descriptive), it is when the guy 'wants to turn his outie into an innie.' It isn't just men wanting to be physically reformed into women but women also that want to be physically reformed into men (the mechanics is a good deal trickier and often not nearly as successful as for the male to female change).
This has been in various practice for almost a century, but it is very uncommon. The highest range of numbers I've heard is that there are maybe 50-60 thousand who have made the complete change in the whole world.
As far as if it is "just a very confused person", that is why transgendered folk commonly have to undergo between 6 months (Thailand) or 1 to 2 years (US and others that accept the Harry Benjamin Protocols) of psychological and physiological scrutiny before the final change is made.
As for the political correctness crap being crap, I agree, but this (transgender) is not that.
2006-10-26 10:26:58 · answer #2 · answered by Rabbit 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Transgender is the word used for the whole group: transsexuals, crossdressers, genderqueer, etc.
As for political correctness, IMO it's basically respect gone overboard. It shouldn't be politically correct to aviod attacking someone with racial slurs. It should be basic respect.
Oh, and oone thing I want to point out about P M's responce. Intersexed is its own group. "GLBTQQIA"
2006-10-26 04:24:59 · answer #3 · answered by carora13 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
P M has the answer exactly right. trandgender is a term that covers many sub catagories such as transsexual, transvestites, drag queens and so on.
2006-10-26 02:21:57 · answer #4 · answered by KellyJeanne 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Transgendered people are men/women born into the wrong body, just like transsexuals. The only difference is a Transsexual is post-op, and transgender is pre-op. (You know, the operation being gender-reassignment surgery)
To refer to that community as a whole, the word trans is used.
2006-10-26 03:38:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Transgender is the actual terminology for people who are biologically one sex and are mentally the other. Transgendered is usually the term applied after one has had sexual reassignment surgery. (the older term is transsexual with pre-op and post-op added. The new term covers both bases)
Apparently you haven't heard, you don't call them "midgets" anymore(and haven't for a very long time) they are referred to as "little people".
2006-10-26 00:48:24 · answer #6 · answered by IndyT- For Da Ben Dan 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Transgender is an umbrella term for Crossdressers, Transsexuals, Intersexed, Drag Kings, Drag Queens, and Gender Queer.
2006-10-26 00:45:42 · answer #7 · answered by P M 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Transgendered means that the person for some reason ( often psychological) rejects the sex they are born with and desires mutilating surgery so they can masquerade as the opposite sex.
2006-10-26 07:34:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Come out from underneath your rock much? Doesn't sound like it. The term transgender has been around since the 1970's. Check out this link if you are really interested in knowing what the term means.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender
2006-10-26 00:52:19 · answer #9 · answered by Spyder 5 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Maybe it's a word that groups all of those together?
2006-10-26 00:43:04 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋