The Transgender group in the USA

I don't know: is "gay" the same as transgendered? What about "bi"? My thinking would be transgendered would be more like hermaphrodites, sex changers, cross-dressers, those actively transcending gender.

Why would they want to draw attention to themselves by choosing a third gender. Idiotic idea. They are people - period and generally dress as one sex or the other, or view themselves as one or the other.

It's like pointing fingers...

It's perfectly fine for you to have an opinion on whatever you choose to discuss, of course, but perhaps you'd like to stop and look up the definitions of the terms you've used above. I don't think this would be a great idea because I actually understand what each of the terms mean; each is a very different group of people.

I totally agree--it singles out several groups and identifies them as "other"....labeling as "other than 'normal' heterosexual" is to essentially call them "deviants" and then it's a short step to "pervert". A politically correct way to lump them together and cast judgement, in short.

Not a good idea, at all.

No, they're not the same.

Homosexual is attraction to one's own gender.

Transgender (whether surgery has been performed or not) is having the body and genitalia of the opposite gender....the best description I've heard is that when homosexuals look in the mirror, they don't expect to see the face of the opposite gender....but when a transgender looks in the mirror, they are surprised NOT to.

"Bi" is someone who is attracted to both genders.

Hermaphrodites are those who have both male and female genitalia.

Cross-dressers are those who gain sexual satisfaction by dressing as the opposite gender. NOTE: this is NOT the same as homosexuality, though many homosexuals do indeed enjoy dressing as the opposite gender. Cross-dressing is a behavior exhibited by BOTH heterosexuals and homosexuals.


And if there's someone out there in the transgender/homosexual/hermaphrodite community--please add any corrections to my (admittedly) layman's definitions.

The term "intersexed" is preferred to "hermaphrodite."

Thanks for the correction Erin. My psychology degree is over 25 years old; only a few years before I entered my freshman year, the APA took homosexuality out of the DSM as it was no longer considered a mental disorder. I am woefully out of date with the correct terminology.

I am thinking that cross-dressing being viewed as a classifiable disorder is probably going to change. Women dressed in men's clothes is not that unusual any more and men are beginning to wear cosmetics again in certain circles. The reason I think this label will go away sometime within the next couple of decades is that it is being displayed on regular television programming, though on the broadcast channels it's only in primetime.

Once the exposure has reached widespread distribution, society's acceptance begins. Treatment options have already changed--from trying to convince the person that they are not (whatever they are) to encouraging them to accept themselves as they are and working on helping them relate to others in light of that self-acceptance.

My son spent some time in an acute care facility for suicidal depression. One of the patients there was a young transgender boy who was also suicidal...his family rejected him once it was revealed that he was transgender. They refused to visit him and on the day he was scheduled to be released, they refused to come pick him up. He was turned over to DHS.

Extremely sad. I don't know the rest of his story but have always wondered what happened to him. I have also wondered what kind of parents stop loving their child because he's not exactly like them...

Male and Female are genders. Homosexuality and heterosexuality are not. All your other terms are not genders either. I agree it's not a great idea. Though I like the concept of equality that I think motivated your opinion. As a woman in a 12 year monogamous relationship with another woman, I appreciate your intention even though I disagree with the chosen method.

Hatred and judgment runs deep in this country. I have no doubt it would be marking individuals with a great big X. Labels, all of them, hurt society.

I agree, Nancy.

this will do

Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to diverge from the normative gender roles.

Transgender is the state of one's "gender identity" (self-identification as woman, man, or neither) not matching one's "assigned sex" (identification by others as male or female based on physical/genetic sex). "Transgender" does not imply any specific form of sexual orientation; transgender people may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, or asexual; some may consider conventional sexual orientation labels inadequate or inapplicable to them. The precise definition for transgender remains in flux, but includes:

"Of, relating to, or designating a person whose identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender roles, but combines or moves between these."

"People who were assigned a sex, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves."

"Non-identification with, or non-presentation as, the sex (and assumed gender) one was assigned at birth."

A transgender individual may have characteristics that are normally associated with a particular gender, identify elsewhere on the traditional gender continuum, or exist outside of it as "other," "agender," "Genderqueer," or "third gender". Transgender people may also identify as bigender, or along several places on either the traditional transgender continuum, or the more encompassing continuums which have been developed in response to the significantly more detailed studies done in recent years.

I feel that "male" includes transsexuals who were born female and identify as male, and "female" includes transsexuals who were born male and identify as female. A third category would be useful for intersexed individuals or individuals who identify themselves as "both" or "neither."

Richard, your understanding of the term transgender is faulty. Please refer to Linda's comment above.

Transgender Medical definition from - http://web4health.info/en/answers/sex-gender-what.htm#Overview

The term remains in flux, but the most accepted definition is currently:
People who were assigned a gender, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves.

Another one is: Non-identification with, or non-presentation as, the gender one was assigned at birth.

Transgender people may or may not have had medical gender reassignment therapy, also called sexual reassignment surgery, and may or may not have any interest in such a procedure. In other words, not all transgender people are necessarily transsexual.

When referring to the two basic "directions" of transgender, the terms transman for female-to-male (which may be further abbreviated to FtM) transgender people and transwoman for male-to-female (which may be further abbreviated to MtF) transgender people may be used. In the past it had always been assumed that there were considerably more transwomen than transmen. However, the ratio is approaching 1:1.

Maybe I am just confused by your original stance. Transgenders are not homosexuals. They are two different things. My comment was meant to indicate that I don't favor "labeling" these two different states of being with the same name.

There are males and there are females then there is that broad classification between the two and those are all classified as transgender, whatever we call them is irrelevant.

I wonder how transgender people feel about gender classification.

Personally, I think this is a great idea. It would really help end a lot of trouble to differentiate a third gender.

i agree if its that big of a population, then thier should be, it would surely help exspecialy when they are young, they shouldnt and parents shoulnt be forced to choice the sex

I am concerned about the any stigma that would be added to folks that were given a third classification of Transgender rather than Female or Male. However, trying to classify them now as either Female or Male has also given the transgender folks a stigma as they don’t behave as ‘we’ or society or the community wants them to behave.

I haven’t a clue how those classified transgender would care. I only know that they have the rights to live as the rest of us and to be able to seek a happy and fulfilled life, whatever that means.

I think that people who have an opinion about what other people should call themselves should take a long look in the mirror.

HUMAN is the ONLY classification necessary sub category none phenotype male or female by personal definition. Sex identity is either good or great or, "Not for me thank you" and stop pressing people to identify every aspect of life.

How this is in the medical world.

When I was responsible for all the Medical Records computer systems at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California there were two sex code fields. The first was what the patient said and was M or F, the second was the Medical sex code and that had the values of 1- 5, 1 male, 2 female, 3 patient says male but medically determined female, 4 patient says female but medically determined male, 5 undetermined.

Newborns were almost always given a 1, 2 or 5. But then there was that diagnosis code of FLK, which meant Funny Looking Kid.

I also feel that is would be a good idea for a third sex classification of Transgender to be added to the US Census.

Look at that poor athlete from Africa. No way that person should have had to go through that just because the judges could not find a label. Yikes.

The transgendered are highly misunderstood. Nature played a cruel trick on them.

The term "Transgender" is not appropriate in my opinion. (But then I always have a trouble with labels put on people).

You have suggested that these persons are undetermined. A term that means or suggests the same thing would, in my opinion be more appropriate.

A hermaphrodite might not like the label "transgender" because of what it might connote. Whereas "undetermined" or a similar word does not connote anything in particular.

I think that it is more important how we treat people than how we name them. I'm sure a transgender person would be happier if we spent time fighting for his or her rights and against discrimination than if we actually said the words "transgendered person." Just a thought...

I think it should be their decision on the matter but if they are for it, so am I. I always thought transgendered meant Hermaphrodites or Transsexuals (being one sex but feeling that they are the opposite sex in the wrong body) or people that have a sex change. I never thought of a homosexual person as being transgendered. Maybe I'm just uneducated on the subject. I do agree that if a person wants to have the third choice, they should have it. Maybe it should just say "other" or "undetermined", to avoid the labeling. I think that people should be classified by whatever genders organs they have inside, for medical reasons only, otherwise they are just human beings.