A few transgender myths

For your typical heterosexual man or woman the transgender world can seem quite perplexing. Not only is the whole concept difficult to grasp (‘you’re a man, why do you want to be a woman?’), but even within transgendered there is great diversity.

None of this is helped by the myths that have become widely voiced within society. To begin with I will first dispel some of the most common myths about those in the transgender community. These aren’t the only myths, but are a good starting point for reducing misunderstanding:

Myth 1: The transgender people are homosexual

This is probably the most common misunderstanding. There is a difference between sexual orientation (straight, gay, bisexual) and gender identity (self identify as a man or a woman). Transgender people identify or express themselves as a gender that is different from one in which they were born. This video gives a good overview of the differences between sexual orientation and gender identity. Most transgender people are not homosexual, in fact the vast majority of crossdressers are straight.

Myth 2: All transgender people are all sex workers, adult entertainers or freaks seeking attention

Thank you Jerry Springer for perpetuating this myth! Most of us live normal lives – we go to school / work, spend time with our families and friends and engage in other hobbies just like the rest of society. In fact, being treated as a normal woman is often a sufficient motivation that many of us endure long hours practicing and perfecting our femininity. It is unfortunate that discrimination has forced some transgendered people out of their jobs, and they feel they must turn to less wholesome professions in order to survive.

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Myth 3: All transgender people want to get a sex change

This myth still causes controversy within the transgender community, as some who have undergone sex reassignment surgery (SRS) struggle to understand why someone would act and dress as someone of the opposite sex without wanting a sex change. The truth is that the transgender experience is a spectrum, from those who only occasionally wear clothes of the opposite sex, to those who undergo SRS and live full time as the opposite sex.

The Truth about Transgender

I’m always weary of creating nice, neat categories, and then sorting people into these categories. This ignores the natural diversity, and by showcasing the differences can also increase discrimination and instill an ‘us vs them’ mentality. However, even with these pitfalls, I think describing the commonly used categorizations within the transgendered world we are able to have a better conversation about what it means to be transgendered. As you’re reading this, please do not try to define a person by the category, but keep in mind that while people may identify with a particular group it is only a small window into who they are as a human.

I mentioned earlier that transgender is a spectrum. I’m going to define and discuss some points along this spectrum. For the purposes of brevity I’m going to talk about the male to female transgendered person, though this applies equally to female to male as well.

Transgender: An umbrella term used to describe a person (male or female), who dresses, behaves or identifies in as a gender different from their birth gender.

EnFemme

Cross dresser: A man who dresses in woman’s clothes either part time or full time. Often taking on the mannerisms and appearance of woman. Most crossdressers are straight, and many are in a relationship with a person of the opposite sex. Cross dressers normally do not want to feminize their body, or undergo SRS.

Transvestite: A person who cross dresses. The term cross dresser is preferred, as sometimes the term transvestite is (wrongly) associated with a transvestic fetish (which are those who occasionally use clothing of the opposite gender for fetish purposes).

Drag Queen (and King): A stage artist, host or performer who wears makeup and woman’s clothing with the purpose of entertaining or highlighting transgender issues. If only done for the performance, these people are not considered cross dressers.

Transsexual: A person who has the desire to live and be accepted as the opposite sex. Typically men will feel like ‘a woman trapped in a man’s body’. Having undergone SRS (or post operative transsexual) is not a requirement for being a transsexual. Often times a transsexual will take steps to feminize their bodies (e.g. through hormones)

Intersexed: A person who is born with sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definitions of male or female. There are many different varieties of this difference, e.g. being born with genitals that seem in between male and female, or male on the outside, female on the inside, or even having both XX and XY chromosomes.

Some valuable resources for continued reading are:

EnFemme Style

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I’m passionate about creating a safe space for everyone in the transgender community to find laughter and friendship on their journey. I completed my physical transition in 2011 and through it I lost everything, and gained everything. I am blessed that I was forced to gaze inward and embark on the journey to discover and live my authentic self. My deepest wish is that all who wander here may find peace, happiness and freedom.

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Lynn Jones
Lynn Jones
16 years ago

> in fact the vast majority of
> crossdressers are straight

Which ‘tranny chasers’ just don’t seem to get. I hesitate to use the word ‘grasp’ 🙂 I don’t post pictures on Flickr, but I know folk who do and they do get a lot of dodgy comments from people trawling for action.

“Hey, it’s a bloke in a skirt. He must be gagging for it."

Ummm. No, not really 🙂

Joanna Phipps
Joanna Phipps
14 years ago
Reply to  Lynn Jones

Sad isnt it that if we dress the way we feel then we are instantly sex workers or weirdos. I live full time as my transitioned gender and have received some of the nastiest comments from the students at the middle school my wife works at.

I do manage to ignore them, and wish the administration would do something about it, however at that school the inmates run the assylum.

Vanessa Law
Vanessa Law
16 years ago

Hehe 🙂 Yes, indeed. Though I’m hopeful that as more transgendered folks are visible in the community as ‘normal people’ this trend will slow down – at least to the level that any pretty girl would get unwelcome attention.

Joanna Phipps
Joanna Phipps
14 years ago
Reply to  Vanessa Law

many a pretty girl does garner unwelcome attention already. I strive to be another woman on the sidewalk, to fit in and not stand out. Maybe that is counter productive in the greater light of bringing our cause to the attentition of the masses. I find I can do much more good by meeting the objections head on with love, information, and logical argument.

Georgiegirl
Georgiegirl
15 years ago

It doesn’t matter what we call ourselves, it will never be acceppted. I’m a into being real over fantasy ! I really can dream like the next guy but i’ve been fighting this since 1969. It will never change, the only thing we have is the internet. Sad but true, Love Georgiegirl !

Joanna Phipps
Joanna Phipps
14 years ago
Reply to  Georgiegirl

Georgie, i tend to disagree the more open and out some of us are, the more that the world will see that in reality we are people with a birth defect. It will help once science can nail down some likely causes. Birth defects need management and the same with ours, yes there are many who slander us, put us down and despise us becuase we are different and they dont/cant/wont understand why. Nobody said this trail was easy, and I am glad that it isnt, for it enables me to apprecieate just what I do have and how much… Read more »

Terri
Terri
13 years ago

Hello,

What one classify me as a transgender person or just a cross dresser that is afraid to leave the house because she is isolated?

Terri

Elle Denton
Elle Denton
8 years ago

Good article. I’m against label some what but I guess it makes others comfortable knowing what to call you. I think it’s different for everybody and no two of us are exactly the same.

Elizabeth Savage
Elizabeth Savage
8 years ago

“Typically men will feel like a woman trapped in a man’s body," reading that made me wonder who is the author, because as a transsexual woman your referring to us as men disturbed me. My body’s exterior maybe male, but I am not nor ever have been a man. And I don’t think the word transgender, which from my understanding is an adjective can or should be used in the past tense as transgendered which makes it a verb. A person is not transgendering. The person is simply transgender. Also I think you could have gone into more depth on… Read more »

Alex
Alex
8 years ago

Crossdressers means dressing as the opposite gender (assuming one is under the misconception that clothes have genders), not specifically a man dressing as a woman. It had nothing to do with sexuality so making an assumption of any sort regarding that is impossible. A transsexual is not a person who wants to live is the opposite sex or a “man who feels like as woman". A transsexual is a human being whose physically assigned sex does not match their true gender. There are mtf transsexuals, non-gender transsexuals and ftm transsexuals. Being transgender does not necessarily has anything to do with… Read more »

Blaze
Blaze
8 years ago

“It is unfortunate that discrimination has forced some transgendered people out of their jobs, and they feel they must turn to less wholesome professions in order to survive."

Um unfortunate? I’ve worked many professions and been an open loud and proud activist and only recently ditched a “wholesome" shot paying middle management job to enter into the sex industry where I get awesome sex everyday and make more money than a GP. What an outdated pile of pish!!!

Debbie Ballard
Debbie Ballard
8 years ago

Harry Benjamin came up with a scale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_scale Essentially, there was a scale, or range, of gender identity from cisgender (0) to transvestites to cross-dressers to transsexuals who don’t want surgery, to those who are “do or die" transsexuals. Most transgender people live in “Stealth Mode". Many keep their secrets even from their parents, wives, and children for years, even decades. Others can’t hide their gender conflict even when they try. A key element is persecution. Those born in the 1950s or 1960s were often horribly beaten by classmates, often with the encouragement of parents and teachers. Doctors treated what… Read more »

Barbara Sine
Barbara Sine
8 years ago
Reply to  Debbie Ballard

I love to crossdress because that’s all I can do at my age 66 my life as I know it is somewhat over, I can’t do anything because of my health or i’am on fixed income and that doesn’t go like a regular pay check did, so the little thrill I get from crossdressing in private gets me through my day and I will keep it up till I die.

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