Trans Terminology

[girl2doorsdown]

An abbreviated list of transgender-related terms, acronyms, and slang.

I borrowed this list from tsroadmap.com, a great informational website for transgender related topics. I decided to post this because seeing the casual use of derogatory terms on this site has made me sick. I don't suppose this forum will change people's perspectives too much...but if one person will stop using the "S" word...my work has not been in vain.

Also, the providers of this site provide EXPICIT INSTRUCTIONS about joining groups...why is it so hard to follow them?

admirer: someone who is attracted to transgender people. Used to describe someone whose ------ orientation leans towards people who are gender-different, and who may be attracted to such a person based on their combination of --- characteristics, or is attracted to the very essence of gender in that person, regardless of their combination of genitals or secondary ------ characteristics.

androgyne: a person who live without appearing or behaving particuarly male or female.

androgynous: having the characteristics of both male and female.

BA: breast augmentation.

bi: bisexual

bind: to conceal breasts

brain sex: the concept that male and female brains have distinct characteristics that lead to differences in thoughts and behavior.

CD: crossdresser.

chicks with d---s: another term from ----ography used to describe transwomen. Considered highly offensive.

crossdresser: someone who enjoys wearing clothing and accessories intended for a different gender role. This can be done for both ------ and non-sexual reasons.

drag: a type of expression that typically involves exaggerated performance of gendered characteristics. A performer is called a drag queen if they perform as a woman or a drag king if they perform as a man.

dragzilla: a derogatory term for someone who isn't accepted as female.

DQ: dairy queen, i.e. a drag queen who's had breast implants.

en drab: dressed as a male.

en femme: dressed as a female.

Fetish: an interest, often ------, in an object not typically viewed as ------.

FT: full-time, living full time in one's chosen gender.

FTM: female-to-male.

GD: Gender Dysphoria. A form of intense emotional distress where someone is unhappy with living in the role of their assigned gender. It is currently classified as a symptom of "gender identity disorder." Gender dysphoria itself used to be a medical diagnosis but was replaced by GID.

Gender: social phenomena associated with masculinity, femininity.

Gender role: The behaviors, traits, thoughts, and dress expected by a culture of members of a particular ---.

Gender schematic: Behavior that considers gender an important factor in one's behavior. That is, if you immediate classify a person as male or female and repsond to them accordingly, you are gender schematic.

Gender aschematic: Behavior that does not consider gender an important factor in one's behavior. If your responses to a person are the same regardless of gender, you are "gender aschematic"

Genderqueer [adjective]: any individual that doesn't -- or won't -- adhere to the expectation of the only two gender presentations that which our culture allows, as based upon one's ministerial and external 'birth sex'. (as in, "When Patrick was a kid, he didn't realise the extent of how genderqueer he was, despite his inherent tomboyishness on the playground.")

GG: genetic girl, sometimes used as a term to describe non-trans women (as opposed to TG). Sometimes considered derogatory by women who were raised as girls from birth onwards and by some transwomen who feel that chromosomes are not the defining characteristic for womanhood.

GID: Gender identity disorder. A diagnosis of a mental disorder sometimes given to transwomen. Not everyone agrees that transpeople are mentally disordered.

GW: genetic woman, sometimes used as a term to describe non-transsexual women.

Hermaphrodite: An organism with primary or secondary --- characteristics of both sexes. Though formerly used to describe people as well, the preferred term is "intersexed person."

hormones: a generic term used for several kinds of drugs used in chemical feminization or masculinization.

Intersex: The preferred term advocates use to describe people diagnosed by physicians with primary or secondary --- charasteristics of both sexes. Some trans people self-identify as intersex, based either on a clinical diagnosis or on their personal conception of their identity. In some cases, trans people have claimed to be intersexed not based on any medical evidence, but because they consider it more socially acceptable.

illusionist: a drag performer, as in female illusionist.

impersonator: a drag performer, as in male/female impersonator. Consider offensive by some, especially showgirls who live full-time as women.

IS: Intersexed

-------: a ------ized term popularized in ----ography for a transgender woman who has not had surgery. Considered highly offensive.

LBGT: Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, transgender. An overarching term for anyone outside gender norms

MTF: male-to-female

natal woman: a term used by some to exclude transsexuals from the definition of femininity.

non-op (non-operative): someone who lives as male/female but does not plan to have SRS.

phalloplasty: a surgery procedure where a ----- is created. Sometimes called by terms like --- change or --- reassignment surgery.

orchiedectomy: a medical term for castration

out: living openly about one's trans status

pass: To be accepted without question in your chosen gender. The term has a problematic history and connotation, as discussed here.

post-op (post-operative): had vaginoplasty/phallioplasty. Sometimes used as an objectifying adjective by transfans: "Post-ops don't interest me at all."

pre-op (pre-operative): haven't had vaginoplasty/phallioplasty, but plans to. Sometimes used as an objectifying adjective by transfans: "I only like pre-ops." Many people feel that categorizing by surgical status places too much emphasis on a procedure that can be difficult to obtain for many transpeople.

PT: part-time, living part time as a female

queer: an overarching term for anyone outside gender norms, including gays, lesbians, bisexuals, as well as trans people.

read (verb): 1. to be recognized as transgender, esp. by a non-trans person. 2. to insult someone, as in, "I had to read her after she was acting shady."

-------: a ------ized term popularized in ----ography for a transgender woman who has not had surgery. Considered highly offensive. Also she-male.

showgirl: someone who performs drag shows

SRS: --- reassignment surgery: a term for vaginoplasty/phallioplasty.

stealth: someone who is accepted as male/female well enough to live without divulging his/her trans status.

T-Friendly: a group or person which accepts transgender people.

T-Girl: a transgender female. There are mixed feelings regarding the use of this term.

TG: transgender

Target --- or target gender: The --- or gender someone wants to embody or express.

transsexual: a term used by some TG men/women to describe other TG men/women. Considered offensive if used by a non-TG

transsexual-chaser: a derogatory term used to describe someone who is attracted to TGs. Also transie-chaser.

trans (noun): transgender: "She's a trans." Sometimes considered offensive.

transfolk: also trans folk, a gender-neutral term for trans people collectively, regardless of gender.

transgender: An umbrella term used to describe anyone whose gender identity or expression situates them differently than the traditional gender role they were assigned at birth. Some of the countless categories lumped together under this term include crossdressing, drag, transgenderism, transsexualism, androgyny, and many shadings between these larger groupings.

Transgenderist: A person who lives as their target gender without wishing to change their target ---.

transition: the process of changing ---. Also used as a verb: "I transitioned when I was 29."

transman: also trans man, a trans person who identifies as male.

transparency [noun]: [not congruent with "passing"] [ed. note: this is a concept proposed by a reader and not a term I've heard used] The state by which a gender-different person possesses passing privilege, but doesn't try to cover the fact that they are gender-different (i.e., not creating false stories about childhood, or subscribing to the "ex-transsexual" ideology), or doesn't exploit their passing privilege to try to fit into a certain social expectation of "women" or "men". Where "passing" infers an effort of "suppressing oneself","acting" or "trying" to be a certain presentation, "having transparency" is simply a state of being oneself and letting any nuance of one's personality come through, regardless whether those personality traits are regarded by some as "feminine" or "masculine". "Transparent" [adjective]

transphilia: attraction to transgender people.

transphobia: the fear and hatred of transgender people.

transsexual: someone who wishes to take all the steps necessary to be accepted as completely as possible in their chosen gender. Also transexual

transvestite: an outdated term for crossdresser, primarily used as a clinical diagnosis.

transwoman: also trans woman, a trans person who identifies as female.

TS: transsexual

TV: transvestite-- an outdated term for crossdresser.

unclockable: Describes someone who is accepted without question or suspicion in his/her chosen gender.

vaginoplasty: a surgery procedure where a vagina is created. Sometimes called by terms like --- change or --- reassignment surgery.

VGV: visibly gender-variant, a term used by some to describe anyone whose appearance or actions do not match their culture's abritrary expectations for people of their ---.

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`It's a pretty good list. I accept the definition given of "transgender" from a political/human rights angle because it has legal precedent, but this is also in dispute. Virginia Prince, the first to introduce the term did not intend to use it to describe those who transition. Yet, a panel on Larry King last year applied it to transitioning people exclusively. I know of may transsexual people like me who object to being lumped into the same group as drag queens and transvestites. Yet, being post-op, I know that the term "transgender" will be applied to me till the day I die, simply because society as a whole has made it so. If that be so, then I'd have to say, I still need the drag queens and transvestites as friends, even if the issues are very different.