Transgender Introduction

Gender Identity:

Our gender identity is how we see ourselves. Some of us see ourselves as women, some as men, some as a combination of both, some as neither. Some of us have complex identities that may even be fluid and change over time. For instance, some of us see ourselves as female to male trans people who also identify as butch women and genderqueer and some days as drag queens.

Everyone has a gender identity. And, everyone expresses their gender identity. We all make choices about how to cut or not cut the hair on our head, the hair on our legs, what clothes to wear, whether or not and what type of make-up to wear, what body parts to accentuate or not, etc, etc. We all make hundreds of conscious decisions every day about how we are going to express our gender. We all have a gender.

Transgender People:

Transgender people (very broadly conceived) are those of us whose gender identity and/or expression that does not or is perceived to not match stereotypical gender norms associated with our assigned gender at birth. In other words, people think that we should be more masculine, more feminine, not have facial hair, have facial hair, not have wombs, have wombs, identify differently, etc., etc.

And, a note on the word transgender: Some of us who fit the above definition do self-identify as transgender, and some of us don’t. We are a community with an evolving language. What is key is that everyone has the right to SELF-IDENTIFY. When in doubt about how a person identifies or what pronouns a person prefers – ask nicely and politely. It is very important to respect each person’s self-identification. For instance, it is not respectful to challenge someone’s gender identity.

Diversity within the Transgender Communities

Transgender people span all communities, are of all backgrounds, ethnicities, ages, and abilities.

Transgender people have all sexual orientations. Gender identity is about who one is. Sexual orientation is about who one is attracted to. Some transgender people are straight, some are gay, some are bi, and some are queer.

Transgender people have an enormous and beautiful gender diversity. Among transgender as among non-transgender people, there are feminine women, masculine women, androgynous women, feminine men, androgynous men, masculine men, to name just a few. There are infinitely different ways to be male and infinitely different ways to be female.

And there are infinite ways to be neither. One term to describe those who do not identify as completely male or female is genderqueer. (But, not all people who do not identify as female or male self-identify as genderqueer – and some people who do identify as female or male do self-identify as genderqueer. Again, it is important to respect each person’s self-identification.)

Chart on Disproportionate Number of Transgender People Arrested.

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