Do you think of yourself as Transgender?

[JiveTurkeyOnRye]

My activity on this forum is a lot less frequent than it used to be, and a big reason for that is because I'm so active and open in my personal life these days that I haven't had as much of a need for the safe space as I did when I was still closeted and then fresh from the closet.

Nowadays I tend to express most of my writing about gender and such on my tumblr blog (and twice now on the Huffington Post!), and one thing that I have come across a few times is when people wanting to identify crossdresser as simply being cis gendered men who like to wear dresses. It sort of irks me a but whenever I come across this attitude because I remember from my more active days here, the response I usually got from how *I* presented was that it was far too overtly male for many of your tastes. I remember getting really frustrated at times when I'd hear my style described as "halfway" dressing. I felt like I was always dressing all the way... like myself. Based on that experience though it seems to me that people who self-identify as cross dressers don't just see ourselves as men in dresses because if that were the case then why the insistence towards dressing to present as a woman, outside of the safety issues, which I don't think is the primary motivation for most.

But since in the last several years I've moved away from using the term cross dresser to define myself, and I don't want to speak for other people, I'm legitimately curious: Do you think of yourself as transgender or do you think you fully identify as a man, and the cross dressing isn't about your gender identity but more the clothes than anything?

[AllieSF]

Now you are entering into that "I am" and "I am not" zone for a lot of people here. I call myself a Crossdresser who fits under the umbrella term of Transgender, which as I understand it includes everyone from panty wearers to partial dressers to full dressers to Transsexuals. Now many here will say that they are only crossdressers, or that transsexuals are not TG's and so on and so forth. Someone defined it that way, and I follow that definition. Now if someone doesn't follow that definition and groups of terminologies, then they can call themselves whatever they want. However, I will see them according to my definition and they will see themselves and me according to their definitions. Definitions and labels are actually good when used uniformly because they help people get an initial idea about where or what or who someone may be. So good luck and please provide your definitions for what you believe so that we can more or less understand what you mean.

[GaleWarning]

No. I'm a man who likes to wear certain items of female apparel.

[JenniferLynn0370]

I'm a woman who just happens to be stuck in a man's body; plain and simple (to me anyway).

[JiveTurkeyOnRye]

Now you are entering into that "I am" and "I am not" zone for a lot of people here. I call myself a Crossdresser who fits under the umbrella term of Transgender, which as I understand it includes everyone from panty wearers to partial dressers to full dressers to Transsexuals. Now many here will say that they are only crossdressers, or that transsexuals are not TG's and so on and so forth. Someone defined it that way, and I follow that definition. Now if someone doesn't follow that definition and groups of terminologies, then they can call themselves whatever they want. However, I will see them according to my definition and they will see themselves and me according to their definitions. Definitions and labels are actually good when used uniformly because they help people get an initial idea about where or what or who someone may be. So good luck and please provide your definitions for what you believe so that we can more or less understand what you mean.

For the sake of this discussion and to prevent it from devolving into an argument, I actually would rather not have it be about how we see others, but rather I'd like people to respond more about how they see themselves. As such I could provide my own personal views on what transgender means, which for me is an umbrella term and I tend to be someone who wants to include rather than exclude, because I think everyone's struggle is a little bit different.

[PaulaQ]

Yes, I consider myself transgender - absolutely yes. More specifically, I'm a transsexual woman. I think that's actually the problem with the term "transgender" - the media in particular has sort of picked up on it as a softer synonym for "transsexual". That really is NOT the correct meaning - but given how it's used, and how little most cis folks understand this topic, it's not surprising that it's come into this usage.

And if one really considers "transgender" = "transsexual", then I can completely understand why many on this forum, who are transsexual in no way, shape, or form, would disavow the term "transgender" as it's used by most people today. Hey, I notice myself that *I* use the term this way when I talk about myself, because people are just more used to it, and at least here in the states, lots of us are uncomfortable with *any* word that contains "sex", despite the fact (or perhaps because of the fact) that most of us spend a lot of time thinking about that very thing.

[bridget thronton]

Well I think myself as being trans - for lack of a better term to describe being partly on the female side of the gender spectrum

[LoriFlores]

I definitely don't consider myself as "male", and yes, I always self identify as "transgendered." For example on HRC messages I always select "transgender" :o

[thechic]

I don't, but my wife does

,

[JiveTurkeyOnRye]

Yes, I consider myself transgender - absolutely yes. More specifically, I'm a transsexual woman. I think that's actually the problem with the term "transgender" - the media in particular has sort of picked up on it as a softer synonym for "transsexual". That really is NOT the correct meaning - but given how it's used, and how little most cis folks understand this topic, it's not surprising that it's come into this usage.

Agreed, and it's not even just the media. I've noticed a lot of younger trans women actually doing it too. I think in many cases it's a generational thing, because so many have grown up hearing the two terms used interchangeably, they don't know there's a difference in what they mean. Which becomes problematic when someone starts trying to use it to define who is or isn't transgender, like cross dresers for example.

[PaulaQ]

I think in many cases it's a generational thing, because so many have grown up hearing the two terms used interchangeably, they don't know there's a difference in what they mean.

I'm not so sure about that - because the younger generation is generally much more aware of non-binary gender trans folks than the past generation tends to be. (With exceptions, of course.) The older guard tend to be the guardians of the binary gender - for very good reasons.

I like the term "trans" - I use that for myself too. Unfortunately, I think anytime a transsexual uses a generic term for "gender variant", the term just sticks to us, as if we're made of glue... (Helen Boyd used the term "trans" to mean anyone who's "gender variant", typically with a non-trivial amount of female identity, but not necessarily a transitioning transsexual. But many of the transsexual girls I know just use "trans".) Anyway, all these distinctions are way too subtle for people who have really no frame of reference for the notion of gender variance at all.

[Jenniferpl]

When I hear or see the term transgender, the vision of male living as a female pops into my mind. There is no plan in place to start living full time as a female so I have to say no to being transgendered.

[suzy1]

I see myself as a mix of female and male. And the word Transgender is quite descriptive in its own right is it not? so I am transgender. I feel, think and act as a mixture of the two sexes.
But then someone will come out of the woodwork and say “yes but you don’t know how a woman feels or thinks so you can’t say that” and the arguments start.:eek:
So we have to try and pin down what we really mean when we say “I am transgender”
For me its almost spiritual in a non religious way. A feeling, an awareness, a gut feeling if you like.
But the most important thing of all is I love who I am and how I am. Beyond that you can continue to argue the point to your hearts content.

A happy Suzy:)

[Joanne f]

Quite a simple question so it should be quite a simple answer but when I try to ask myself " What am I " i seem to get a bit lost ( well they say that there has to be an idiot in every village):D but the one thing that I guess is that I am not just a man who likes to wear female clothes otherwise I would not have this wanting for a female body to match how I think and feel so I guess that you will have to put me down a some sort of transgender .

[Rogina B]

I like the term "trans" - I use that for myself too. Unfortunately, I think anytime a transsexual uses a generic term for "gender variant", the term just sticks to us, as if we're made of glue... (Helen Boyd used the term "trans" to mean anyone who's "gender variant", typically with a non-trivial amount of female identity, but not necessarily a transitioning transsexual. But many of the transsexual girls I know just use "trans".) Anyway, all these distinctions are way too subtle for people who have really no frame of reference for the notion of gender variance at all.
Exactly,the "T" spectrum covers a wide spectrum. I refer to myself publicly as "transgender" while knowing that most that I am talking to have little knowledge of the "T" world..Whether you are "out" as "transgender" or "transsexual" matters little to most people these days..."You're a T something" is all they need to know in most cases..After all,they are most often taking it in "on face value" of your saying so..they can't check the "wiring of your brain"!

[confusedcder]

I would not classify myself as Transgender. I personally do feel that I am a man but I do enjoy lingerie and might want to at some point go dressed in female apparel outside. My belief is my clothes do not identify my gender although clothes are gendered I just have enjoyed going shopping and feeling comfortable and sexy before in female clothes. I don't fully want to TRANSFORM and be a woman and do identify that I am a crossdresser in my actions but do not feel a gender dysphoria making me feel transgendered. I don't have a female identity/name either

[Beverley Sims]

Transgender, TV, CD, Queer, Gay, and so it goes on.......
I have a label, Strawberry Jam...
It is on a bottle of home made preserves.
The recipe for using...
1/4 inch thick slice of bread.
Equal quantities of jam/jelly and cream on top to kill the taste of the bread. :)

No labels for me...
I am me, I have not been counseled or analyzed yet.

[stephNE]

I think that transgender is a very broad term that encompasses all of us. But since all of the various terms are not specifically defined (definable?) it ends up for the person who hears it to decide what it means, and each will apply a different meaning.

[KayleeTaylor]

I admire your posts Beverly :)

At first for me, I was confused which made me very angry and frustrated. I have now for the most part accepted who I am. But sometimes when I look in the mirror, that sense of acceptance is washed away and I get depressed because I feel like I have missed out on my life. But soon, I pick myself back up as I am beginning this new chapter in my life. I can't worry about what did or did not happen in the past, I need to live in the here and now. So I do what makes me happy, what makes me comfortable and that includes expressing my feminine side. Slowly but surely, my confidence is coming back. One day, I will live the life that I thought I had lost. :)

[kimdl93]

People are entitled to identify themselves as they wish. If I'm speaking or writing about my gender identity, I find that misunderstandings can be avoided by providing a definition of what that term means to me in its application. I'm not insisting that others agree with my definition, only that they understand the meaning as I'm using the term.

So when I talk abbot transgenderism I'm referring to the big tent encompassing many forms of expression, behavior and identity that reflect degrees of variation from the gender binary...male and female. I see myself as transgendered under that broad definition. I also think of gender identity as a spectrum and if the left (violet) representing occasional dresser and the right (reds) true transexual. My gender identity, as I understand it today, would put me in the orange area of the spectrum, although as I grow more comfortable with myself there has been a decided shift towards the red.

That's simply how I see myself. It has no basis in fact, can't be supported by irrefutable truth.

[linda allen]

Nope, not transgender. A straight male crossdresser. Some folks on this forum have insisted that a crossdresser is transgender by definition. I don't think so.

[DonniDarkness]

I identify as a Transvestite. I always have. Crossdresser was only a term i picked up from Cis people. I consider myself Transgender because i am a MtF Transvestite.

I dont like the term crossdresser as much because it separates us as a group from the Trans community in one word.

-Donni-

[GretchenJ]

Since I am coming to grips to the fact that I have dual identities, one that I help to tap in to by crossdressing, I consider myself gender fluid and thereby transgendered.

I consider those who are transsexuals also transgendered, since they still do not associate to the sex which they are born with.

The only people on this board that I would not consider transgendered are this who simply dress for either sexual sastifaction, or those that simply like the feel of women's clothing, as they still consider themselves male in this regard. "Drag Queens" for the lack of a better term , do not fall under the transgender umbrella either, since their drew MAY only be for entertainment purposes only, and not to associate to being female or partly female - but I can not speak on their behalf.

This being said, this is only MY opinion, and that from a psychological and/or social standpoint, I may be totally off base.

[donnalee]

Seems the term is pretty subjective, Why don't we agree that anything one chooses to call oneself is OK?

[DonniDarkness]

Sex, Gender, and Sexuality are three totally different things.

I see these threads once or twice a year. (maybe more) the reason we can never agree is because of the binary mentality on gender itself. Even TG people try to dissect gender identities into male or female. its not about that.....thats SEX not Gender. Gender is an outward and inward social expression of ones inner self. (super ego)

-Donni-

[Ressie]

Probably not TG. I'm not transitioning. I would be considered TF - transvestic fetishist. But there were times in my life that I felt that I should have been or wanted to be female.

[daviolin]

I consider myself as a man that just likes to wear what I want. I do lean toward feminine attire. Its more comfortable to me. Daviolin

[SheriM]

Only recently have I considered that I might be transgendered. I have always liked women's clothes, especially the underwear and considered myself a crossdresser. I sometimes think I would like to live at least part of my life as a woman (won't happen). Accepting that I might be transgendered actually gives some relief or legitimacy to how I feel. Telling someone that I am a crossdresser would be difficult but telling an SA that I am transgendered might be easier.
BTW, I have shopped both in male mode and female mode obviously shopping for myself without actually saying the word "crossdresser".

[Chickhe]

Here's my whole problem with signing up to a label. The label includes a huge range of variation. If someone says they are part of a group, then people who know almost nothing about that group will pick out certain items and use it to define you. For that reason, I don't claim to be part of any group, instead I just do the things I enjoy. I don't concern myself too much with fitting in and if you resist the urge to explain yourself people are forced to define you by only what they have experienced.

[NicoleScott]

For the sake of this discussion and to prevent it from devolving into an argument, I actually would rather not have it be about how we see others, but rather I'd like people to respond more about how they see themselves. As such I could provide my own personal views on what transgender means, which for me is an umbrella term and I tend to be someone who wants to include rather than exclude, because I think everyone's struggle is a little bit different.

JTOR, this is your response to Allie's post (#2), and I agree with Allie entirely. I don't see the point of a discussion that allows contributors to define, in this case, "transgender" any way they want. Without some agreement on what words mean, there is nothing communicated of any value. I don't see why people move away from words they don't like, even though they are perfectly good words with generally commonly accepted definitions by folks in the word business (Webster, et al).
I see myself as a pineapple, which falls under the transgender umbrella, in my mind anyway, and that's all that matters.

[minalost]

I like to present as female - wig, make up, the whole works. When presenting as female I want to be treated as female. I also "push the limits" when dressed as a man: long nails, plucked eye brows, mascara, jewelry... I think all this together makes me transgendered.

[Jubileee]

Ive researched this b4, No I don't consider my self transgender. (Not to be full of my self) even thou I think I make a pretty good CD I don't wanna do it forever or 24-7. I have so much success as a man, (hot gf and son) I just dont wanna ruin that. Although I do wonder about how much success I would of had if I dicovered all this as a teen. But all in all ....no. I get turned on too much when look in the mirror for it to be transgender. I don't think all of you get turned everytime you do it. I think some of us just feel more comfortable in the wardrobe and role, rather than it to be a just a sexual thing. After I (personally) *** I don't wanna be dressed or anything. It back to being a real boy.

[Rachael Leigh]

I do not consider myself transgendered no, I am a man and that I know but the part of me that loves the female style is just a part of my maleness I guess is how I see it. I would love to say if I really made the full our effort to look like a women I might pass but I can live with blending. I came up with my term and it's I'm cross gendered. I love and enjoy both sides of my style.

[Zylia]

As an individual that occasionally and/or partly crosses gender boundaries preset by society, I consider myself transgender. Why I cross those gender boundaries isn't really relevant. I do not think that I have a severe case of biological sex/gender identity misalignment.

[Annaliese2010]

Gee J, reading thru your text was a Magical Mystery Tour. Bur one that was... delightful.

What I think? What I wanna impart to you?

Be yourself. Dont worry. Live your long Life. Be honest. You SHALL find happiness. Dont worry about us screwed up twisted girl-guys. You carry the Future with You girl!

Amen.

Yeah duh. And there's nothing wrong with that! (trans lezzie I mean)

[GretchenJ]

Since I am coming to grips to the fact that I have dual identities, one that I help to tap in to by crossdressing, I consider myself gender fluid and thereby transgendered.

I consider those who are transsexuals also transgendered, since they still do not associate to the sex which they are born with.

The only people on this board that I would not consider transgendered are this who simply dress for either sexual sastifaction, or those that simply like the feel of women's clothing, as they still consider themselves male in this regard. "Drag Queens" for the lack of a better term , do not fall under the transgender umbrella either, since their drew MAY only be for entertainment purposes only, and not to associate to being female or partly female - but I can not speak on their behalf.

This being said, this is only MY opinion, and that from a psychological and/or social standpoint, I may be totally off base.

This opinion is only for how I feel as it relates to myself and myself only. As it relates to everyone else, I have only have two labels - generally nice people and jacka$$es. The easy part is that in these 2 categories they are both presented independently of sex, age, religion, gender identity, ethnicity or education

[boone]

No, I don't really. I still attracted to girls and (beautiful) gurls.

[Tina_gm]

As it was described to me by a gender specialist, I would classify myself as being TG. I am a mix of typical male and female, both in physical and emotional actions, reactions and desires. In Overall, I consider myself to be a man. I am not seeking to change this in any way. I am not seeking any permanent feminine modifications to my appearance. I feel equally comfortable in mens and womens clothing. I like to wear womens clothing as it feels like part of who I am, and it reflects my feminine side. I see certain women and I wish that I could look like they do. I see certain men and wish I could look like they do too. When in clothing stores, both mens and womens sections get my interest. Cross dressing is what I do, being TG is what I am.

[ReineD]

Based on that experience though it seems to me that people who self-identify as cross dressers don't just see ourselves as men in dresses because if that were the case then why the insistence towards dressing to present as a woman, outside of the safety issues, which I don't think is the primary motivation for most.

But since in the last several years I've moved away from using the term cross dresser to define myself, ...

After lots of arguments with people here over the years (:p) I've come to believe that there truly are "crossdressers" who fully identify as men. These are the people who put on articles of women's clothing for thrills perhaps, only to take them off when done. They identify as a man who does not present as a woman but who instead occasionally just puts on a few articles of women's clothing: a crossdresser.

The members who DO identify as men yet who present fully as women with wigs, forms, makeup, etc, engage in what I call cross-gender expression, which in my view makes them cross-genderists. They do fully present in a gender that is opposite (cross) the gender they identify as.

And then there are people like you, who dress a certain way all the time because this is who they are (all the time). I take it that you still prefer to present as a genetic male whose preference it is to wear feminine articles of clothing? They used to call people like you genderqueer which I took it meant people who cross the gender barriers on a permanent basis. The genderqueer designation might have been appropriate in the past when the general population might have been more shocked by seeing a guy in a skirt, but I think this is now passé. There is such freedom of expression today that I no longer believe it is shocking to see a male who wears a skirt that could be defined as a man-skirt (not too feminine looking). So I guess the designation 'transgender' fits you, since your mode of presentation is not something that you keep private nor do you switch back and forth in secret. Nor do you identify as "a woman" when you have a skirt on.

So I guess it all boils down to intention and individual gender identity. Is the goal to deliberately include softer fashions in one's permanent and regular attire, as a statement that says that one identifies as a gender that is not fully one or the other, male or female? Then the person is outside the gender binary and is transgender. Other words that fit are gender fluid, bigender (maybe), gender non-conformist, gender variant, etc. Is the goal to put on feminine clothes just sometimes and in secret from a significant amount of people in the person's life, while still identifying and presenting as a male? Then the person is a crossdresser. Is the goal to occasionally present fully as a woman for other reasons than thrills, while still identifying as a male? Then the person is a cross-genderist. Is the goal to live fully as a woman 100% of the time yet still identify as a male? Then I have no idea. :p

:2c:

[Jaylyn]

I feel that there shouldn't be words describing folks. By this I mean I enjoy wearing and dressing up sometimes to the top. Sometimes I want heavy makeup sometimes just hose and heels, I am a man and will never change that fact. A man the enjoys the feel of a silky dress, silky hose, and sometimes my forms bouncing or just a pair of panties underneath. I also enjoy manly things from hunting to beautiful sunsets, many GGs enjoy those also and we don't try and reclassify them. Why not just be yourself and each enjoy the depth that each wants to pursue in their interests. I play a guitar and am happy in the level I play. I don't call myself a guitarist, because I feel to be a guitarist I must be a great guitar picker, now to the no guitar player I might be a guitarist. My point here is where and who has the authority to put a meaning on any one else. We can't even figure out what we are because every one takes it to different depths. Wether picking a guitar or dressing. What determines a gender change except maybe a surgery and still you could be considered a crossdresser in a TG body. Just be yourself, seek your own level, and be happy at the level you feel you need to obtain to make you happy. If you don't please yourself inside, then you won't please others outside. I hate this term will I pass? If I choose to wear cowboy boots and wrangler jeans with a blouse and red lips, then that's what I am going to do. I really don't care what others think. Out of respect though for my family I won't go out dressed as such. Another factor comes into play and that's love and respect for the ones I care about. I hate labels and always have. Be yourself the majority of your life on earth and you'll die a happy person. Sorry for the rant..... Lol

[Suzanne F]

I consider myself transgendered. I believe that umbrella covers most of us. However, I also acknowledge that it is more than clothes for me. I am more at peace when being treated as a female. I do have the need to interact with the world as a woman. So I respect those who adamantly proclaim they are just men in dresses I just don't fit into that category. I want to be totally honest and accepting of who I am. I am someone who was born biologically male but would have preferred to be a woman. There I said it!
Suzanne

[Tina_gm]

I do agree that the term transgender has been turned mostly by the media to mean someone who is dressing and living entirely as the opposite gender they were born as. I live and dress 95% of the time as the gender I was born as. That number might be different today by a little if I had come to terms with this much earlier, but still I would regard myself as TG, simply because of how I do dress at times and how I feel, which is at times more aligned with the way women feel.

[Annaliese]

Yes I do, this site has help me come to this, but was not the cause, this site is not a carrier, does not cause one to be a crossdresser or transgender just helps one fine there way.

[Krissyrotogirl]

I dont have a problem with having a label. If society wants to call me a transgender or a crossdresser or just plain wierd. I will wear that label. My problem is that those labels come with negative conotations and are not accepted by society. I don't know what I am. I know I am not a rough and tough boy that just doesn't care about his hair or nails and i know I am not a female.....who really would want to have a period or hot flashes. I do know that i like to wear female clothes and be treated like a female. I know I like to shoot guns, get dirty, work on trucks and occasionally spit tobacco. I know I like to dress up in a formal dress in really high heels and have a man treat me like a girl. I know I like the feel of a breast wether it is mine or another females. I will be who I am and be myself. I wish I could be myself to society but that will never happen.

[Cami.Aeris]

I think labels can be good provided they are open and all-inclusive. When people try to divide and conquer by labels, they are less effective!

So with that in mind, I support the transgender label. :)

[JiveTurkeyOnRye]

JTOR, this is your response to Allie's post (#2), and I agree with Allie entirely. I don't see the point of a discussion that allows contributors to define, in this case, "transgender" any way they want. Without some agreement on what words mean, there is nothing communicated of any value. I don't see why people move away from words they don't like, even though they are perfectly good words with generally commonly accepted definitions by folks in the word business (Webster, et al).
I see myself as a pineapple, which falls under the transgender umbrella, in my mind anyway, and that's all that matters.


I do see the point in it, because the most interesting part of this discussion so far for me has specifically been seeing how many different versions of what transgender means there are, even here on this forum which is dedicated to a form of dress that expresses gender variation. I wasn't really interested in telling everyone how I define transgender and then asking them if they fit my label, I was curious how they define themselves, and how they define transgender.



Is the goal to deliberately include softer fashions in one's permanent and regular attire, as a statement that says that one identifies as a gender that is not fully one or the other, male or female? Then the person is outside the gender binary and is transgender. Other words that fit are gender fluid, bigender (maybe), gender non-conformist, gender variant, etc.

Reine I've reduced a lot of what you wrote for simplicity's sake, but I'm really responding to all of it. I'm quoting the above lines though because I believe this describes how I feel and how I identify more accurately than the way you described me in the previous paragraph, which was closer to how I phrased it when first coming out for lack of a better way to say it at the time. I think genderfluid is the term that best sums up my viewpoint. It's not that I actively want to present a male image in my skirts and dresses, and it's not that I don't identify as a woman because I frequently do. It's that mentally I do feel I shift from man to woman and points in between, that my gender isn't a fixed point on the spectrum but rather a fluid one. It's just that for me the accoutrements of dressing to pass don't really do anything for my dysphoria. I said something on my blog recently about it that when I get myself all made up and feminine without trying to "pass," I get really happy when I catch myself in the mirror and for even a second feel like I see a girl there, but when I do the full on en femme thing and I see myself in the mirror and I see the "boy" just forcing his way through, it really bums me out.


As far as everyone who doesn't like labels, that's a whole other discussion. I do notice that a lot of you who say you don't like labels actually used labels in your own responses and probably don't even realize it because many of the things that we just take for granted in language are actually labels and boxes. For me it is important to define myself as transgender and to keep awareness growing that transgender is an umbrella term, and that it does include more non-binary identities, because there has been a slow push towards issues involving human rights with transgender people and I have noticed the occasional erasure of identities outside of a select known few. Personally I'd rather be on the bus than thrown under it.

[Desirae]

I have no problem with the transgender label. I mean if there weren't words to describe things or ideas on our planet we wouldn't be able to communicate at all. Its just a big umbrella term that encompasses many other more descriptive specific terms. Many use the term improperly. That's true for many, many words in our language. Nothing new there. Where under the big umbrella, transgender label I am, I haven't figured out as of yet.

[Marissa V]

Transgender? most definatly...

[Michelle789]

Yes, I'm definitely transgender.

I think a lot of confusion comes with what the word transgender means. Whenever the media uses it, they're referring to someone who's transsexual, so commonly TG = TS. The umbrella term transgender includes all forms of gender-deviant behavior, including:
* a person who identifies as one gender but was born in the body of the other (transsexual)
* a person who identifies as somewhere in between male and female, and may switch between male and female presentations (dual gender)
* a person who identifies as androgynous or gender non-conforming (bigender, androgynous, genderqueer)
* a person who identifies as a gender other than male or female (third gender)
* a person who identifies as gender-less
* all cross-dressers
* all of the above may include MTF or FTM

Therefore TG not = TS, but rather TG includes TS
TG = {TS, DG, BG, GNC, GQ, AG, 3G, AG, CD, MTF, FTM}
or TG = {all of the above}

Confusion over what the term transgender means may influence whether or not we identify as transgender.

[suchacutie]

I fall into the group that feels they are in a duality. The best description is probably bi-gendered, which I see as a subset of being transgendered. I know most are not in this situation, but there really seems to be two sides of me, one masculine and one feminine, and they enjoy their separate worlds. The best part is that my wife completely understands and might even be said to prefer my little form of transgenderism :)

[LilSissyStevie]

I'm just a fairy. A male but not a man.

[BeckyW]

Definitely transgender. Just cross dressing right now, but maybe fully transitioning someday.

[DonniDarkness]

Everyone wants their individuality.

Transgender is just a basic descriptive for an individual with a specific gender identity/expression.

[Sister Rachel]

I think of myself as dual-gender, rather than "trans". I fluctuate ;-)

[Asche]

In my own mind, I'm neither transgendered nor cisgendered, I'm just me. Physically, I am male, but I don't have a "male identity" -- being male is not a big part of how I see myself, any more than my eye color or my street address.

Whether I would describe myself to someone else as transgendered, gender variant, genderqueer, or whatever depends entirely upon how I think they're likely to understand it.

Here at CD.com, where gender essentialism and binary thinking reign and most people can't conceive of people in any terms other than "s/he's a man" or "s/he's a woman", I resist the term "trans" because it's understood as meaning you're a man with a female identity, and that my gender-variant behavior must be my way of telling the world that I have some inner female identity, which does not describe me at all.

However, in a context in which "trans" is understood as simply a shorthand for "does some stuff that we usually associate with the other gender," I'm willing to go along with it.

[Krystalina]

Years ago, I would have considered myself transgendered. But nowadays, I'm just me. I adore women clothing and things that are considered feminine, like shaving my body and painting my toes...yet, I'm very much glad to be a male, and now look at the world as something all messed up...a place where people are desperate to hammer down true individuality into labels.

Would we all agree that even labels like crossdressing and transgendered are pointless in the end?

[Julie Gaum]

A transgender here in that I fit under that large umbrella that includes Ryan on one edge and those still transitioning on the other.
Why do some hate using "trans" but use "cross" instead? I do hope that Ryan, the OP, realizes that during all this time that he has been away those that posted in the last few days are great examples of all the different views and lifestyles that can freely exhibit themselves to the rest and say "This is me --- like it or lump it" --- and have been doing it for years here, on this Forum. Are any of us able to say that, since we don't like a description, we'll throw it away? I think Homo Sapien is a horrible label for me so it isn't me. Really?
Julie

[Kate Simmons]

I think of myself as myself. Gender doesn't necessarily play a role in that. What I choose to look like and how I act is totally my choice when it comes right down to it. In the end, the only real person I have to please is myself.:battingeyelashes::)

[Carlene]

I have more questions than I do answers.........so, I don't really have words for who I am or how I feel. I suppose, I feel like me, a person who has a need to imitate certain female traits. I wish that I could better express how I feel.

[Taylor Ray]

I think a key aspect of the label/definition has to do with the word identity. There are many individuals who identify as a member of the opposite sex and experience stress because of it. There are other individuals who feel they are "expressing an inherent feminine side" of their male selves, similar to the Jungian notion of anima/animus.

Of course, the entire spectrum of unique individuals is a glorious expression of diversity. The arguments seem to arise when people don't feel comfortable in their place on the spectrum, so they are left to defend themselves (usually by attacking and judging others.)

I thoroughly enjoy my sexual male anatomy and love being a male. And I love wearing women's clothing and wigs and being with other men as a women.

Please don't judge me. If you are going to call me anything, make it a cab ride home!

[Lucy_Bella]

I do not.. I say this because I do not believe "Gender" is something you can turn on or off.. I act very masculine in drab and I do not feel I act any different while dressed as a female because I am a fetish dresser.. Gender identity seems to be a majority on this site ( or maybe some are mistaken the fetish-ness for G.I.) .. I can not say I never or even wanted to lived my life as a female to compare but I have lived with plenty.. I can see a difference between them and I..

The way you present .... Is without a doubt G.I. you ( I do not know you at all just taking a stab at it) present a good balance of a natural G.G. not only physically but mentally there is nothing masculine about you or very little.. That's not an insult BTW I am just answering to your post and a good post it is..

[Jenniferathome]

I am not transgender. I'm a guy. Sometimes, that guys wears a dress and presents as a "woman" but I am a guy at all times.

[xdressed]

I absolutely consider myself Transgender, as I am BiGender which as most of us know is a subset under the Transgender Umbrella. In fact I almost never use the term crossdresser in reference to myself anymore because it just doesn't seem to fit how I feel.

[Michelle51]

Yes, I consider myself transgendered since it seems more of an umbrella descriptor embracing the the genderfluid or genderqueer. My gender is fluid and queer.

[docrobbysherry]

Thanks for returning for a visit, JT. I've often wondered how you're doing.

I've always appreciated your way of dressing. Because both of us dress completely differently from most others here. And, completely different from each other!

I'm a CD. Don't feel I'm trans. Know I'm a man in a dress. But, don't wish to look like one!

[Cara Lacey]

I am a cross dresser. or a transvestite, using the old medical term, trans meaning across as inTrans World Airlines (how's that for a blast from the past) and vest meaning clothing was a term for some one who derives pleasure by wearing the clothes of the opposite sex.
That's me in a nut shell. The word transvestite has taken on other meanings, mostly from misinformation, but is basically a synonym for cross dresser which has been adopted for its less clinical sound.

Transgender, would indicate that my sexuality crosses over into the female side. That is not me.

[PretzelGirl]

I tend to go with generally accepted terminology for everyone and just not in our community. So since the alphabet soup is LGB*T* and no more letters, then I am transgender. I am big on teaching other people and the more complex you make a subject, the more people are less likely to want to try and understand. Calling myself Transgender keeps it simple.

[S. Lisa Smith]

I identify as a Transvestite. I always have. Crossdresser was only a term i picked up from Cis people. I consider myself Transgender because i am a MtF Transvestite.

I dont like the term crossdresser as much because it separates us as a group from the Trans community in one word.

-Donni- Interesting, I never thought of it in this way. I consider myself transgendered because I love dressing and appearing as a woman (just not all the time because I also love being a man.). I call myself a cross- dresser never thinking about the "separation" that the term crossdresser might cause. I guess I use it to describe myself because that is term cis gendered people understand.

[Candice Mae]

Well I'm barely a man, but not a woman either. Some where in between so transgendered works for me.

[JenniferYager]

Definitely not, crossdresser is a fine label for me. I don't want to be a woman full time, and I'm happy with my sex as a man, but like to occasionally cross that boundary to present as a female. I don't see anything negative about the word.

[Rogina B]

I am not transgender. I'm a guy. Sometimes, that guys wears a dress and presents as a "woman" but I am a guy at all times.
It is ok! When you are ready,there is space for you and Linda Allen under the "Trans" umbrella!!! When you are ready...So,why do you need a female name to do as you do?? Just wondering..

[Genny B]

Ouch! Rogina made me think! And here I didnt care what you called me, I just knew I was happier when wearing a dress...
Genny B


It is ok! When you are ready,there is space for you and Linda Allen under the "Trans" umbrella!!! When you are ready...So,why do you need a female name to do as you do?? Just wondering..

[LelaK]

My body is my vehicle in life. It's male, but I'm not. I'm not a female body either, but I identify much more with female beauty etc than with male anything. If it were easy to trade in my male vehicle for a female one, I would do that gladly, but the female body still wouldn't be me either. But it would represent me (and my good taste) better than does my male body.

I wouldn't say I'm "transgendered", because "gender" these days refers to the sex of each person's body, which I don't identify with. My body belongs to me. I don't belong to my body.

[Candice Mae]

Transgender, would indicate that my sexuality crosses over into the female side. That is not me.

Being transgendered has nothing to do with your sexuality.

[Jilmac]

I think gender ID has just as much to do with being a crossdresser as it does to being transgender. In and of itself, the term "transgender" could be an umbrella term for all those who are in transition, dress and present as female, occasionally wear women's clothes, or just wear select feminine items, I prefer using transgender when describing myself as a crossdresser. For as long as I remember it has been a gender issue more so than a sexual one. If you were to break the word down, "trans" could mean a journey but it could also mean a crossing, so for me the journey to the crossing of my gender ID helps me to reach my feminine side. The ultimate result is that I am transgender.