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Revision as of 23:48, 27 December 2002 by AlexR (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Transgender is a catch-all term for a variety of individuals, behaviors and groups centered around the full or partial reversal of gender roles. This includes a number of sub-categories, which, among others, include transsexuals, cross-dressers, transvestites, and drag queens and drag kings. The opposite of transgender is cisgender.
Occasionally the term gender dysphoria is used to describe this tendency, and the reaction to its social consequences, as a psychological condition.
Transsexual
Main article: Transsexual
A transsexual is a person who establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to his or her sex. One typical statement is of a "man trapped in a woman's body" or vica-versa. A transsexual makes or desires to make a transition from their birth sex to another gender, with some type of medical alteration to their body. This alteration may be hormonally induced, and may include sexual reassignment surgery.
Cross-dresser
Main articles: cross-dresser, transvestite, drag queen
A cross-dresser is any person who wears the clothing of the opposite gender, for any reason. Cross-dressers may be split into transvestites, drag queens (and kings), and others. Cross-Dressing and even cross-living can also have a ritual background in several cultures.
A transvestite is a person who enjoys wearing clothes considered typical to the opposite sex, but may have no desire or intention of adopting other behaviors or practices common to that gender, and particularly does (currently) not wish to undergo medical procedures to facilitate physical changes. Contrary to common belief, most male-bodied transvestites prefer female partner.
Sometimes men practise transvestism in a sexual context. In those cases it is often difficult zu distinguish between fetishism that happens to have female clothing as an object and transgender behaviour that includes sexual play. If sexual play is involved, the term cross-dressing is not applied.
Drag involves wearing highly exaggerated and outrageous costumes or imitating movie and music stars of the opposite sex. It is a form of performing art practiced by drag queens and kings. Drag is often found in a gay or lesbian context.
The term Drag King can also apply to everybody from the female-to-male side of the transgender spectrum who do not see themselves as exclusively male identified.
Other
Transgender is also used to describe behaviour or feelings that can not be cathegorised into these older sub-cathegories, for example, people living in a gender role that is different from the one they were assigned at birth, but who do not wish to undergo any or all of the available medical options, or people who do not wish to identify themselfes as transsexuals, men or women.
All kinds of transgender have nothing to do with sexual orientation. Sexual orientation between transgendered people varies just as much as it does between cisgendered people. The only notable difference is that many of those transitioning into another gender role completely identify as gay or lesbian or bi-sexualafter transitioning.
Many Western societies today have some sort of procedure whereby an individual can change their name, sometimes also their legal gender, to reflect their gender identity. Medical procedures for transgendered people are also available in most Western and many non-western countries. However, because gender roles are an important part of many cultures, those engaged in strong challenges to the prevalence of these roles, such as many transgendered people, often have to face considerable prejudice.
Many non Western cultures legitimize cross dressing. The berdache in many Native American tribes is recognized as a separate gender, a woman-living-man, not as a man who wants to be a woman. The husband of a berdache is not viewed as a berdache, but as a 'normal' male. In some societies there is a correspondig gender for man-living-women (amazons).
See also: intersexuals, autogynephilia, two-spirit