Terminology

[floit63]

This post got me thinking. How many of our arguments (either amongst ourselves or with others) stem from the fact that everyone has a slightly different interpretation of key words we use? I'm going to post a few different words that are rather important when discussing trans issues and I'd love it if everyone could go through and give their definitions of these words so that I can make a list for n00bs (all of them can be anon if you wish). My own definitions will be in the comments.

The Words:
Sex
Gender
Transgender
Transexual
Trans*
Male
Female
Man/boy
Woman/girl
Cisgender
Gay
Lesbian
Straight
Bisexual
Pansexual
Polysexual
Asexual
Ally
Stealth
Out (as in out of the closet, not as in out to the store)
Pride

Comments

[downtide]

This is going to take some thought on my part, and will probably be long, so I think if you don't mind I'll post my answers to my own journal and link here when I'm finished.

[floit63]

Works for me. I'm still working on my own, it's probably going to be a page hog. =)

[floit63]

Sex - Based on a combination of chromosomes, physical appearance, and organ structures. I tend to use male, female, ftm, mtf, and intersex rather than the standard male/female options. This is simply for medical reasons, it's a nice way to allow someone to look at your chart and know that you might have different needs from the other 90% of patients.

Gender - A self-identification. Man, woman, transgender, genderqueer, none, other, this is an area people can fully individualise. Identify as a flying rhino horn if that's what you feel like.

Transgender - A person whose internal gender identification does not match the one society has assigned to them. Can also be a gender identification all by itself. Ex: child assumed to be a girl, but insists they are a boy.

Transexual - A person whose birth sex does not match the sex they feel they should have. Ex: child born female, but wishes to have a penis.

Trans* - Umbrella term for anyone who does not fit standard gender norms. Genderqueer, transexual, transgender, polygender, non-gender, bigender, cross-dresser, etc.

Male - Physical sex. Can be used as an internal identification, particularly for transexuals, but can get a bit tricky. Also one half of what most people think of when they think of sex/gender.

Female - Same as above, but for people with vaginas, ovaries, uterus, etc.

Man/boy - One of an unlimited number of gender identifications. Takes he/him/his forms and is on one far end of gender presentations. Not ALL men/boys present in the same way, there simply happens to be a majority who agree on certain things (like not wearing skirts).

Woman/girl - Same as above, but for the other far end of gender presentation. Takes she/her/her's forms. Has a much wider variety of presentation options thanks to women's lib.

Cisgender - Someone whose internal gender identity matches the one people assume them to have. Problematic when used to describe others as we don't know what's going on in their heads (or their pants, for that matter).

Gay - Person who prefers to date/sleep with members of the same sex OR gender. I tend to use it to mean men who are interested in men, but that's just because I like the word "lesbian" and enjoy having opportunities to use it.

Lesbian - Woman who prefers to date/sleep with other women. By this definition transmen *cannot* be lesbians (nor can any other men, but you rarely see non-transmen claiming to be lesbians without getting decked).

Straight - Person who is attracted to people of the opposite sex/gender. Generally considered to be the most common sexual orientation.

Bisexual - Person who is attracted to people regardless of sex/gender. Often considered to be problematic due to there not being only two sexes/genders.

Pansexual/Polysexual - Person who is attracted to people regardless of sex/gender. Considered a better alternative to bisexual due to the inclusion of more than two sexes/genders.

Asexual - Person who is not sexually attracted to anyone. Can be emotionally attracted to people in the same way as gay/straight/bi/pan/polysexual people are. Same relationships, just no sex.

Ally - Person who supports the cause of a given group while not being a member of said group themselves. Ex: straight person supporting gay rights.

Stealth - Person who lives their life without other people knowing about their trans status. There are varying degrees of stealth so that while one person may have burnt every photo of themself prior to transition, others may simply not mention it to new friends/coworkers.

Out - As it relates to transpeople, a person who openly tells others about their trans status. Many transpeople are out to begin with even if they don't want to be due to passing issues. Also has varying degrees depending on personal comfort.

Pride - Giant parade/party every June (in the US, timing may be different in other countries). Often supported year round by the wearing of rainbow accessories. Sometimes trans-inclusive, usually not. Not all transpeople (or GLB people for that matter) agree with Pride. I love it and wish it could go on all year.

[downtide]

well mine turned out to be more concise than I expected so here goes:


Sex - the act of.... no wait. This would be a person's physical, bodily sex. The current one, not necessarily the one at birth.
Gender - This would be where a person self-identifies on the masculine-feminine spectrum.
Transgender - a person whose gender does not match their current physical sex
Transexual - a person whose gender dos not match birth sex, and has undergone or is undergoing transition in order to change sex.
Trans* - umbrella covering transgender and transsexual
Male - an adjective to describe a person at the masculine end of the gender spectrum
Female - an adjective to describe a person at the feminine end of the gender spectrum
Man/boy - a noun to describe a person of masculine gender
Woman/girl - a noun to describe a person of feminine gender
Cisgender - a person whose gender and sex were always in agreement and has not undergone transition
Gay - sexual attraction to people of the same gender as oneself
Lesbian - as above but limited to female-gendered people
Straight - sexual attraction to people of the opposite gender to oneself
Bisexual - sexual attraction to people at either end of the gender spectrum, both male and female
Pansexual - sexual attraction to people anywhere on the gender spectrum
Polysexual - I actually have never heard this term before and can't imagine how it would differ from Pansexual
Asexual - lack of sexual attraction
Ally - someone who is not transgendered but is a supporter of those who are.
Stealth - living totally in the closet as one's chosen (new) gender without revealing one's past.
Out (as in out of the closet, not as in out to the store) - being open to others (in terms of trans*-ness or sexual orientation)
Pride - sense of belonging to or identifying with the LGBT community

[downtide]

I forgot to include "Pride" as the annual GLBT parade event too, thanks for reminding me floit63

[downtide]

Bisexual - Person who is attracted to people regardless of sex/gender. Often considered to be problematic due to there not being only two sexes/genders.

I tend to consider myself bisexual rather than pansexual mainly because I am attracted to more masculine men and more feminine women. Although as far as physical "bits" go, I prefer a roll in the sack with a person whose bits are female, so I actually find other ftms more appealing than cisgendered men. I like rugged-looking men, I just.... don't like penis that much >.<

Not all transpeople (or GLB people for that matter) agree with Pride. I love it and wish it could go on all year.
I'm definitely in agreement with you on that. I can't imagine I would ever go stealth after transition, I suspect I'm likely to be the sort of person campagning for trans advocacy and marching under the rainbow flag for the rest of my life, and loving every minute of it.

[floit63]

Y'know, that's a way of explaining bisexual I hadn't heard of. I knew that I was annoyed at people who get all "bisexual is transphobic", but I couldn't place why exactly. Thank you!

I love Pride, but for the gay side of myself rather than the trans side. I had a friend whose parents started taking us to SF Pride when he came out at 13 so it's a huge part of my background. Trans...isn't really. To me it's like my asthma. Some people should know for health and safety reasons, but not everyone needs to.

Funny part is, I couldn't imagine being stealth when I first came out. I thought people who weren't 100% out and proud were denying a part of themselves. Then I started passing all the time and realised just how awkward it is to be out as trans when no one questions whether you're a guy or a girl.

[shrugs] These days explaining what may or may not be in my pants is more trouble than it's worth. Particularly since thinking about what's missing just makes me depressed. I still stand up for trans rights, but now people view me as an ally rather than a transperson.

[floit63]

I always love reading the differences in definitions people use. Transgender and transexual in particular, those have changed quite a bit even just in the time I've been part of the community.

[snakey]

Female - Same as above, but for people with vaginas, ovaries, uterus, etc.

You're seriously saying trans men are female? o_O (And that trans women aren't?)

[auntysarah]

Female - Same as above, but for people with vaginas, ovaries, uterus, etc.

Um, what?

[cyberspice]

Since I don't have ovaries or a uterus am I not female then?

[maudlinstreet]

Man/boy - a noun to describe a person of masculine gender
Woman/girl - a noun to describe a person of feminine gender
Male - an adjective to describe a person at the masculine end of the gender spectrum
Female - an adjective to describe a person at the feminine end of the gender spectrum

Uhhhhhhhhh NO NO NO NO.

Gender - This would be where a person self-identifies on the masculine-feminine spectrum.

People who are not really self-aware about gender also HAVE a gender.

Transgender - a person whose gender does not match their current physical sex
Transexual - a person whose gender dos not match birth sex, and has undergone or is undergoing transition in order to change sex.

WHAT?

[floit63]

Note the modifications under sex. Also note that FtM stands for Female to Male.

[floit63]

It's taken with the modifications for the definition of sex. I'm going for easy med chart reading rather than making everyone happy with me.

[floit63]

I've modified the definition of sex from what everyone likes as well. It's meant to be taken in context.

[floit63]

If you're going to insist that there's something wrong with his definitions please have a reason to back up your opinions rather than just using exclamatories.

[auntysarah]

So women who've had a radical hysterectomy aren't female?

I'm confused - I don't see the link between perpetuating cissexist stereotypes and being trans-positive. The two would seem to be in opposition to me.

[auntysarah]

please have a reason to back up your opinions

Was People who are not really self-aware about gender also HAVE a gender. unclear? It seemed both concise and precise to me.

[floit63]

Y'know what, you're right. I hadn't thought that one through long enough. I'll work on coming up with a better definition now =)

[floit63]

One out of three ain't bad?

[ten]

Unless I completely misunderstood floit63, the point of this post is to see what differences people have in their personal definitions, and what they have in common, ideally so that a common middle ground can be achieved for a least some things.

If your personal definitions differ from the ones expressed so far, by all means, share them with us.

Simply rage-capslocking at other definitions however is not only rude, it is also not productive to the discussion.

[floit63]

Thank you.

[cyberspice]

The problem is that FTM is a set encompassing other terms. I am a trans-woman. That means I am female (I am biologically little different from a cis-woman after a radical hysterectomy). I'm also FTM. Your list is not mutually exclusive.

[floit63]

I'm working on coming up with new definitions for female and male, I seem to have not thought them through well enough the first time around. Thanks for being so nice about it!

[cyberspice]

I meant to be saying MTF in that comment. Sorry if it was confusing. My brain isn't working right.