Navigating the transgender world: The difference between transsexuals, drag queens and cross dressers

> 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 🙂

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.

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 !

Most crossdressers are straight, and many are in a relationship with a person of the opposite sex.

Though I can't agree or disagree, since I don't know the actual statistics of it, I would gladly agree that this is likely the case. Perhaps part of the reason is the amount by which heterosexuals and bisexuals outnumber homosexuals. Perhaps it is a variance in basic neurological processes due to the general genetic variances that are considered to be a factor in ones sexuality. I don't know.

What I do know, and what I can say is this.

I agree greatly with your statement not to generalize people. I agree that categories usually end up in the worst of ways. I'm glad that people find this to be a realistic understanding, all through, heterosexual individuals, bisexuals, and homosexuals. I think that our populace is coming to the majority agreement, that there's nothing wrong with diversity.

To clarify, I am a homosexual and a cross dresser, so I break out of what might be considered the average (though again I can't say, the figures are beyond my current knowledge, perhaps it is that most homosexuals are cross dressers but this number still appears minority to heterosexual cross dressers, again I don't know)

I think the only use pertained by categorizing, is to maintain useful, effective conversation.

For example, I agree to the categorization that I am a homosexual, however I would sub categorize myself as a moderately feminine, not very flamboyant homosexual, as only two defining subcategories. Many people would immediately assume that as a homosexual I am excessively feminine and quite flamboyant. These categories are only useful when they are used to determine main groupings for similar individuals, not when they are used to generalize all individuals of that grouping. If that makes any sense.

Sorry to ramble, just my two cents.

Thanks

Not to be rude or anyting but I dont speak Greek, could someone please trnaslate the above two messages

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

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.

"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 the question of sexuality and provided more clarity. Other than those things I think the article was acceptable and should be informative for those who are uneducated in this subject matter.

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 behaviour, interests or fashion preferences. It is about a state in a person's heart and mind. A state where the mind, the heart and the person's true gender either don't match, is the opposite of or can't be determined by one of the two gender roles of society. There are countless genders out there, apart from the ones we are assigned with.

"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!!!

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 they called "Gender Identity Psychosis" with months of daily electro-shock, torture, and if that didn't work, lobotomy.

Those born in the 1970s were still persecuted and attacked but parents were more likely to engage in litigation so teachers would try not to encourage the brutal behavior. Doctors treated "Gender Identity Disorder" with high power drugs like high doses of Haldol to essentially function as a chemical straight-jacket. Even though feminism and gay pride movements were thriving, transgender people, especially MtF transgender and transsexuals were excluded and even shunned.

Movies like "Freebie & The Bean", and "Dressed to Kill" depicted transgender women as killers and very dangerous. Even in "Rocky Horror Picture Show", Frankenfurter kills Teddy with a miner's pick.

Books on Gender issues were rare and most were banned from libraries and bookstores. Adult bookstores carried magazines where transgender themes were usually blended with bondage, S&M, and/or gay activities. Magazines used terms like "Petticoat Discipline", "Forced Feminization", and "Sissification". Often, stories had themes of forcing a macho man to live as an emasculated woman.

Those born in the 1980s, got a little bit more compassion. however, there was still often a lot of bullying. There was a bit more concern about the welfare of gays, but culture, especially the culture of teens, rarely made the distinction between homosexual and transgender.
Magazines like Penthouse Variations began to cover transgender and cross-dressing themes in a small section of their magazine. Videos featuring pre-op transsexuals began to appear.
Another key event was the AIDs Epidemic. Since transgender women couldn't easily blend in, were often thrown out of their homes by their parents, and had no legal rights, even using ANY public restroom (men's or womens) could result in charges and being branded a "sex offender". In most smaller cities and towns, cross-dressing was still a crime. As a result, many transgender women were forced to become sex workers, deal drugs, or engage in con games such as blackmail and robbery.

Many of these girls got AIDS, and doctors refused to treat them. Often, transgender women were at death's door and were only "outed" and acknowledged when they needed hospice care for the last months or weeks of their lives.

Those born in the 1990s grew up with the Internet, with mass communication, and with 50 or more cable channels. There was more open discussion of gay and lesbian issues, and after the death of Matthew Shepard, officials and lawmakers became acutely sensitive to the needs of the Gay and Lesbian community. However, when a national bill to protect the rights of gays, lesbians, and transgender people was introduced, the transgender protections were dropped because the law had no chance of being passed. It ended up failing to pass anyway, but by a much smaller margin.

In the 1990s, the internet, search engines, and millions of web sites meant that people could find a LOT more information about almost anything. Unfortunately if you looked up transsexual, you usually found thousands of listings for adult sites, often girls looking to hook up as dates. Many sites started to use the term "cross-dresser" to or "Transgender" to identify sites that were there to address the emotional and social needs rather than just titillation.

The term Transgender was originally coined in an Internet news group (net.motss) back in the mid 1980s as a term to describe the entire spectrum of gender identity and gender identity expression. Virginia Prince wanted a term that would include both cross-dressers, who were often married men and professionals, and transsexuals, especially since many cross-dressers would have liked to transition but had to keep their secrets.

It wasn't until about 2008 that the first large scale empirical studies of the transgender community were conducted. In the first study, about 5,000 transgender subjects, including everything from closeted cross-dressers to post-op transsexuals were interviewed. The results were quite shocking. Over half of those interviewed had tried to commit suicide at one point or another. Almost 2/3 had turned to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. Many had suffered severe depression as well. However, 90% of those who had transitioned to their desired role, with or without surgery, were happier, more productive, financially successful, healthier, and in significantly better mental health. Later, larger studies, one with over 2 million English speaking respondents, showed almost the same distribution.

Many insurance companies now cover transition therapy, including hormones, surgeries, and even the counselors. The insurance companies have realized as these patients self-identify (to get therapy) that there have been long and expensive medical histories, often including hospitalizations as children, drug addiction as teens, obesity as adults, heart problems in middle age, and strokes and cancer as they get older.

Insurance companies have learned that providing transition services can save them thousands in other claims. My own theory and experience is that when you are forced to live in a body you hate, you don't care what happens to it and you want to get a body you DO want - many of us have looked at reincarnation beliefs of Buddhists and Muslims, and wondered if this would be an option. Of course, there is the concern that suicide might cost us a "penalty" and we would end up in a place where women are severely abused, like some parts of Africa or the Middle East.

On the other hand, when a transgender person transitions, and sees the real possibility of having a body they DO want, they are more inclined to do what it takes to take care of that body, including healthy diet, more exercise, and less anger and stress. We no longer have to maintain the struggle of trying to pretend to be something we never wanted to be in the first place.