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General Information

Being differently gendered in today's society can be difficult but today there are more and more resources devoted to providing information and support both in the form of online web pages and in real life in the form of support groups in many cities and gender variant specific therapist.

Prevalence, Assault and Murder, Top 50 Myths About Being Transgender

Terminology

Here are terms which are important to know in the Transgendered community.

Admirer: Someone who likes and respects the Transgendered. Used more pejoratively in some circles to mean a skirt-chaser.

AFAB: Acronym - Assigned Female At Birth.

AMAB: Acronym - Assigned Male at Birth.

Androgynous: The combination of masculine and feminine characteristics, look, identity and/or lifestyle.

Autogynephilia: A sexual response in biological males characterized by sexual arousal over the thought of being or becoming female.

Asexual/Non-Sexual: Little or no sexual attractions and practices.

Bigendered/Bi-Gendered: see gender fluid.

Binder/Binding: Clothing used to cover/hide breasts. Often used by FtMs.

Bisexual/Bi: Attractions to female and male.

Butterfly Woman: English translation of the Native American term for a transgendered MtF.

Cisgendered/Cisgender: What you are if the body you were born with and your gender presentation (clothes, mannerisms, etc) are aligned.

Cissexism: The belief and treatment of transgender and/or transsexual people as inferior to cissexual (non-trans) people.

Cross-Dresser: Someone who dresses as the opposite sex as they are, either in private or public. Often related to a sexual fetish.

Drag Queen: A male identifying with female/feminine but for whom the female persona is often a show or public display.

Drag King: Female counterpart of a drag queen.

Electrolysis: The removal of facial hair or genital hair by means of an electrified probe inserted into the hair follicle.

Full Time/FT: Being, living as a Transgendered all the time, at work, at play, 24/7/365.

F2M, FtM: A person who was born a female physically but transitions to a male.

Gafe, Gaff, Gaffe: Garments/underwear designed to hide/cover/minimize a penis (used by MtF). Also used by male ballet dancers.

Genderqueer: Individuals that do not feel that they fit into either female or male.

Gender Dysphoria: A negative feeling toward one's current gender presentation.

Gender Fluid: Moving between genders. To relate to neither female or male but drift between the two, sometimes more to male and other times relating more to female but never fully one or the other.

GG: Genetic Girl. Born female and having a female self-identity.

GID: Gender Identity Disorder. A diagnosis made by psychologists and physicians that indicates a patient is feeling significant gender dysphoria.

GRS/Gender Reassignment Surgery: see SRS

Heterosexual: Attraction to the opposite sex/gender.

Homosexual: Attraction to the same sex/gender.

Hormones/mones/HRT: Medication (usually pills or shots) prescribed by a doctor to change hormone levels in the body. This is usually estrogen in the case of MtFs or testosterone in the case of FtMs. Other hormones may also be prescribed to bring levels to a defined gender norm.

Intersexed/Intersex: Born with both sexes, often with partial and not complete organs. The old non-politically-correct term was "Hermaphrodite".

Intense Pulsed Light/IPL: A non permanent method of hair removal using a high intensity pulse of light to kill the follicles.

Laser: A medical-grade laser, in the red visible spectrum, used to essentially 'cook' the follicle and kill it. Only works on dark hair, not blonde, white or gray.

LGBT: Acronym for Lesbian Gay Bisexual TransGender.

M2F, MtF: A person who was born a male physically but transitions to a female.

Metoidioplasty: The surgical release and repositioning of the enlarged clitoral tissue forming a neo-penis. The tissue is enlarged from the effect of male hormone replacement.

Orchiectomy/orchie: The removal of the testicles (some times called poor-girl's SRS).

Pansexual: All kinds of sexuality, not limited to or inhibited by sexual choice, gender or practice.

Part Time: Living openly as a member of the opposite biological sex only part of one's life, the rest of the time living in hiding or secret (closeted).

Phalloplasty: The surgical construction of a penis.

Post Op, Post, "Post-Operation": Has had SRS/surgery(s).

Polysexual: A person who is attracted to more than one gender or sex but not the same as "Pansexual" (pan is all, poly is many).

Pre-Op, Non-Op, Pre-operation: Before any or no surgeries/SRS done.

RLE/Real Life Experience: A process where transgendered people live full-time (usually 12-24 months) in their preferred gender identity for a period of time, often required before referrals for GRS/SRS

SRS: Sexual Reassignment Surgery. Genital re-constructive surgery.

Top surgery: Breast implants (for MtF) or mastectomy (for FtM).

Tracheal Shave: The surgical procedure for removing material from the thyroid cartilage, producing a more female appearance of the Adams apple area.

Transgender/TG: Is an umbrella term that does not have a precise definition. It tends to include a very broad spectrum of gender-variances. Transgender does not imply any specific form of sexual orientation; TGs may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual or asexual.

Transman: A person who is FtM, born physically female but identifies as being/is male.

Transsexual/TS: Someone who has transitioned and identifies with another gender/sex.

Transvestite: Someone who dresses and acts as the opposite gender/sex for exhibitionism or show but not necessarily for personal reasons.

Transwoman: A person who is MtF, born physically male but identifies as being/is female.

Trans, Tranny, Shemale, Ladyboy: Slang terms for transgendered. Sometimes/some countries can be offensive or pornographic in nature but not always.

Transition: Transitioning from one gender to another. This can, but doesn’t always, include surgeries.

Troll: A term that includes those looking for sex, dating, or just confrontational; abusive persons; and attention seekers in chatrooms.

Twin Spirit: Primarily Native American belief in both a male and female spirit inhabiting the same body.

Vaginoplasty: The procedure creating a neo-vagiana from the inversion of the skin of the penis and scrotum.

Current News

03 May 2010 Hawaii Gov. Abercrombie signs bill preventing gender identity or expression discrimination
01 May 2010 Oklahoma Professor Allegedly Terminated for Being Transgender
29 Apr 2010 Texas May Strip Away Transgender Marriage Rights
22 Apr 2010 Transwoman Severely Beaten at Baltimore McDonald's

History

Even though transgenderism may seem like a relatively new situation

Legal

Info about legal status of being transgender in various jurisdictions goes here as well as information on subjects such as name changes, marriage, etc.

Identity Documentation

Letters From a Therapist