Talk:Transsexual/Draft transsexuality
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Transsexualism is a condition in which a transsexual person self-identifies as a member of the gender opposite to the one assigned to them at birth. Transsexualism is considered a taboo subject in many parts of the world. The justifications for negative beliefs about transsexualism may be perceived as being supported by religious beliefs or cultural norms. It has become more widely known in Western nations in the late 20th century due to the sexual revolution, but remains a highly controversial topic.
Gender dysphoria
Transsexualism often manifests itself as a
Most transsexual
To obtain sex reassignment therapy, transsexual people are usually required to receive
Currently, the causes of transsexualism are unknown and estimates of prevalence vary substantially.
Defining transsexualism
Transsexualism (also known as transsexuality) is a complex condition that is defined differently by different people. Many terms have been proposed through the years to describe transsexual people and the processes they go through. As with any terms used by a group, or to refer to a particular group, some of these terms are controversial, or have become controversial, not only to society at large, but even among the transsexual community.
The definition of "transsexuality" is somewhat debated. One common definition is that a transsexual is a person who believes that his or her body does not reflect his true 'inner' gender. Another common definition is that a transsexual is a person who has had or plans to have medical or surgical treatments that alter his or her body to better reflect what the individual believes is his or her true gender. The first definition allows greater freedom for individuals to self-identify as a transsexual. The latter defines the term based on actual or planned operative status and makes it more an external label than a term of self-definition.
When surgery is undertaken it is commonly referred to as
The
Transsexualism has been variously described as a
. The terms perversion and sin are obviously derogatory, and many people consider the use of such labels offensive whether they or not they are themselves transsexual.Transsexualism is often included within the broader term
Regardless of definition, transsexualism should not be confused with cross dressing or with the behaviour of drag queens and drag kings, which can be described as transgender but not transsexual. Also, transvestic fetishism usually has little, if anything, to do with transsexualism. As a general rule, transsexual people tend to dress and behave in a manner consistent with the gender they identify with, crossdressers tend to dress (and sometimes behave) in a manner consistent with stereotypical ideals of the opposite gender as opposed to the real-life behavior of that gender, and "drag queens" or "drag kings" tend to dress and behave in a flamboyant manner which parodies rather than emulates the opposite gender.
Gender terminology for transsexual people
Transsexual people almost universally prefer to be referred to by the gender pronouns and terms associated with their target gender. For example, a transsexual man is a person who was assigned the female gender at birth on the basis of his
Transsexual people are often considered as part of the LGBT community, and although many do identify with this community, others do not, or prefer not to use the terms at all. Transsexual people typical feel it important that transsexualism does not depend upon, nor related to sexual orientation. Transsexual men and women exhibit a range of sexual orientations just as non-transsexual (some times referred to as cissexual) people do, and they will almost always use terms for their sexual orientation that relate to the gender that they identify with. For example, someone assigned the male gender at birth but who identifies as a woman, and who is attracted solely to men, will identify as heterosexual, not gay. Likewise, someone who was assigned the female gender at birth, identifies as a man, and prefers male partners will identify as gay, not heterosexual. Transsexual people, like other people, can be bisexual or asexual as well.
Older medical texts often referred to transsexual people as members of their original sex by referring to a male-to-female transsexual as a "male transsexual". They also described sexual orientation in relation to the person's assigned sex, not their gender of identity; in other words, referring to a male-to-female transsexual who is attracted to men as a "
There are still are and probably always will be people outside the transsexual community, who refer to transsexual people with terms associated with their assigned gender at birth, for example calling a male-to-female transsexual "him". This usage, generally considered insensitive or insulting (especially if intentional), has been (though not exclusively) based on biological arguments such as the unchanging karyotype, which is usually consistent with the sex assigned to the person at birth. It may also be based on the absence of reproductive capability after transition and sex reassignment surgery. Arguments for this usage have also typically been based on religious dogma. Conservative groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition are among those who refer to transsexual people as members of their assigned sex at birth.
Alternative terminology
The transsexual community typically use the short form "trans", or simply "T" as a substitution for the full word "transsexual", e.g. TS, trans guy, trans dyke, T-folk, trans folk. Some may even use term that have become controversial to some, such as tranny and/or trans, despite others considering these terms to be offensive. Those who do use these terms claim that they are diminishing the power of the term as an insult, just as some members of the gay and African-American communities have embraced slurs directed at them. Others feel that the terms are insulting or inaccurate regardless of the context. Some feel that such words are problematic because they do not differentiate between transsexual people, and people who are merely "playing" with gender.
Some people may prefer to spell transsexual with only one s, thus writing transexual. They will typically assert that they are attempting to divorce the word from the realm of psychiatry and medicine and place it in the realm of identity. This trend is most common in the United States, and is almost never used in the United Kingdom. [4] Some consider this usage to be silly and/or incorrect.
Some prefer the term transsexed over transsexual, as they believe the term sexual found in transsexual is misleading and implies that transsexualism is a sexual orientation. Another justification made for this preference is that they feel it more closely parallels with the term
Some transsexual people may also prefer transgendered over transsexual, because the issue is about gender rather than sexuality. They make a parallel with intergender, whose issue is about being between (inter) the genders rather than "intersexual". It is often assumed, particularly by transsexual people, that transsexualism is a subset of
Some people prefer that transsexualism be referred to as
While the above gives a fairly comprehensive view of terminology, it's imporant to note that some people may feel that both 'trans' and 'sexual', are misleading, and others may take objections to terminology that are unique to their perspective. While a large variety of other terms exist from those presented here, they have not been excluded with bias, although almost all of them are somewhat controversial.
Prevalence
There are no reliable statistics on the prevalence of transsexualism. The DSM-IV (1994) quotes prevalence of roughly 1 in 30,000 assigned males and 1 in 100,000 assigned females seek
Related topics
- Causes of transsexualism
- Sex reassignment therapy
- Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders
- Hormone replacement therapy (trans)
- Sex reassignment surgery
- Legal aspects of transsexualism
- Transgender in film and television
- List_of_transgender-related_topics#In_non-western_cultures
- List of transgender-related topics
- List of transgender-rights organizations
- List of LGBT-related organizations
- List of transgendered people
References
- Brown, Mildred L. and Rounsley, Chloe Ann (1996); True Selves; Jossey-Bass.
- Feinberg, Leslie (1998); Trans Liberation; Beacon Press.
- Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (2001); Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders, Sixth Version. [7]
- Kruijver, Frank P. M. Zhou, Jiang-Ning Pool, Chris W. Hofman, Michel A. Gooren, Louis J. G. and Swaab, Dick F., (2000); Male-to-Female Transsexuals Have Female Neuron Numbers in a Limbic nucleus; J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 2000; 85: 2034 - 2041.
- Schneider, Harald J. Pickel, Johanna and Stalla, Gunter K., (2005); Typical female 2nd-4th finger length (2D:4D) ratios in male-to-female transsexuals--possible implications for prenatal androgen exposure; Psychoneuroendocrinology, In Press, Available online
- Xavier, J., & Simmons, R. (2000). The Washington transgender needs assessment survey, Washington, DC: The Administration for HIV and AIDS of the District of Columbia Government. [9]
- Spencer A. Rathus, Jeffery S. Nevid, Lois Fichner-Rathus (2002). "Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity"; Allyn & Bacon
- Denny, Dallas, (2006); Transgender Communities in Transgender Rights.
External links
- Basic TG/TS/IS Information - including Successful Transwomen and Successful Transmen
- FTM International - Female To Male International: practical and medical information
- Hudson's FTM Resource Guide - Comprehensive information for female to male trans men and allies
- Information for Australian men (identified female at birth) - Comprehensive information for transmen in Australia.
- Gender.org - The home of Gender Education & Advocacy, a nonprofit corporation using the web to provide education and advocacy for transsexual and transgender issues.
- Definition and Synopsis of the Etiology of Adult Gender Identity Disorder and Transsexualism - prepared by 24 internationally recognized experts, published by the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES)(See: http://www.gires.org.uk)
- Harry Benjamin Syndrome - An information site that supports the concept backed by indicative research that Harry Benjamin Syndrome,(HBS),(aka transsexualism),should be classified as an intersex medical condition.
- How to Respect a Transsexual Person
- The International Journal of Transgenderism - The Official Journal of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA)
- Transsexuality - Jennifer Diane Reitz's Help & Support Site. Home of the COGIATI gender test, a controversial assessment of gender identity and transsexuality.
- Lynn Conway - her goal is to "illuminate and normalize the issues of gender identity and the processes of gender transition."
- Dr Becky's Website - List of therapists, physicians, medical info, etc.
- Trans Family - A support group for transgendered and transsexual people, their parents, partners, children, other family members, friends, and supportive others. Based in Cleveland Ohio, but providing resources for transgender people and their families around the world.
- TransParentcy - Organization to support transgender parents and their advocates (lawyers, mental health professionals, friends, family) by providing information and resources to diffuse and/or disspell the myths about any adverse impact being transgendered/transsexual might have on one's children.
- Transsexual Road Map - practical and medical information
- What transsexuality Is
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br:Treuzrevelezh
bs:Transseksualnost
ca:Transsexualitat
da:Transseksualitet de:Transsexualität eo:Transseksulo es:Transexualidad fa:تراجنسی fi:Transsukupuolisuus fr:Transsexualisme he:טרנסקסואליות hr:Transseksualnost it:Transessuale ja:性転換 mk:Транссексуалност nl:Transseksualiteit no:Transkjønnethet pl:Transseksualizm pt:Transexual ru:Транссексуальность simple:Transsexual sv:Transsexuell tr:Transeksüel zh:變性 { Hopefully this is more acceptable and easier to work with. I have totally cut out things that are coverd in other articles. I noticed as I was reading the text that there are no inline references. You know in this form[1] I would make that type of reference out of the references we have but they are so jumbled that I cannot tell just what relates to what. The process of properly referenecing this article will be easier in this shortened version.--Hfarmer 03:37, 21 December 2006 (UTC)}
- ^ This kind of reference near where a certain fact is stated