Isn't it time to change the name of the "Transsexual" forum?

[pj]

I can't speak for anyone but me, but if someone called me "transexual" they would get an education on why that's not a good term to describe anyone anymore. I mean, even the foot-dragging medical community stopped using it almost 30 years ago.

I'm here as the result of an automated birthday email. I've started medically transitioning since my last visit to the forums, and it kind of shocked me to see the term is still being used here.

[Laura912]

Please give some examples of names that you would suggest for the section.

[pj]

Hi Laura. :)

Haven't we adopted transgender in place of transsexual like, everywhere else in life? When I hear "transexual" these days it feels out of touch with modern LGBTQ+ life.

Of all the communities online, I would think this would be the first to adapt to new, better, more inclusive, and life-affirming ways of referring to ourselves.

I say this out of love, not to insult or stir up controversy. :)

[Laura912]

Replacing “transsexual” with “transgender” may be more modern and would hopefully stimulate a bit of discussion. As a retired member of that foot-dragging community of whom you speak, perhaps a small historical note is in order. The term to which you object was used quite commonly until around ten years ago, even among reproductive endocrinologist who had a lot of trans patients. But our language evolves, so it will be interesting to see if anyone else picks up the discussion.

[pj]

As a retired member of that foot-dragging community of whom you speak, perhaps a small historical note is in order...

Forgive me, I misspoke. It was the psychiatric community that replaced “transsexualism” with “gender identity disorder in adults and adolescence” when DSM–IV was published in 1994 in an effort to reduce stigma.

So 30 years ago the psychiatric community was telling us there was a stigma attached to the term "transsexual."

Trans people didn't need to be told there was a stigma because we lived with it (and continue to live with it) every day.

So to me, the name of this forum is less about the evolution of language than it is about people being made to feel that they have a place in a world that's becoming increasingly hostile every day.


The term to which you object was used quite commonly until around ten years ago, even among reproductive endocrinologist who had a lot of trans patients.

And that's the problem for a lot of trans people. It's also one of the many reasons why most trans kids are afraid to disclose their gender dysphoria to their doctors.

I'm just one (trans) person, so what do I know? But I would expect this forum to be a leader in acceptance and inclusivity for all gender-nonconforming people. We should strive to be more progressive than the medical or psychiatric communities. Their diagnostic labels will never accurately fit most of us. And they should not be allowed to define any of us.

[JessicaMW]

I'm not sure that it has disappeared from the medical community. My last annual physical in September lists several diagnosis codes. The one that I noted with the most interest was: "Transsexualism [F64.0]"
It's definitely a current code: https://icd10coded.com/cm/F64.0/

I was actually quite happy to see this and hope that it will help smooth my transition related medical expenses submitted to my insurance company. Now, do I personally use the term "transexual" to describe myself - no, I prefer the term transwoman. Each of us may have our own preferences. However this is what the current National Center for Health Statistics – ICD⁠-⁠10⁠-⁠CM uses. So until the "official" terminology changes, the name of our forum seems correct.

[LeaP]

The move to "transgender" is a problem, in large part because of its widespread use for conditions and identities beyond that of the more narrowly-defined "transsexual." Every non-binary person, crossdresser, drag queen, gender queer person, experimenter, etc. is lumped into the transgender category, unfortunately - at least in the public mind - dragging along with those who have been termed transsexual in the past. The result is political polarization and cultural warfare over a lot of things that have little or nothing to do with fundamental cross-sex issues, i.e., those that are increasingly looking likely to be physically intersex in nature. Hence we have teens flocking to join the non-binary cliques until they mature out of it (along with surgery and puberty delay controversies), male criminals who suddenly find they need to go to women's prisons, intact male self-declared women in women's locker rooms, males not on hormones competing in women's sports, endless restroom controversies, a flood of detransition stories from those who never should have transitioned, and more. Before "transgender" became a cause celebre (at least in some quarters), transsexuality was starting to receive attention as a serious issue in its own right. It is now effectively erased.

Does your sense of physical sex not sync with your physicality as commonly understood? Does it come from *below* your conscious mind and is it unrelated to how you feel about it, whether or not you experience dysphoria or what you think of "gender"? All are indications of cross sex identity and the only real solution, which may or may not be sufficient, and which may or may not make you "feel" any better about it, is what someone who is truly cross-sexed is compelled to do, which is to physically address the issue with hormones and/or surgery, following which they are properly termed transsexual. What in God's name do all the conditions and phenomena included in "transgender" have to do with that?

Mind you, I have no issue at all with all those who call themselves transgender. Their issues and identities are theirs, their problems are theirs to deal with. But distinction matter too, more so when their controversies affect me.

My HRT administration was recently shifted from Mayo Clinic Primary Care to the Mayo Clinic Transgender Care Practice (sigh ...) when my PCP felt she could not properly address stabilizing my hormone levels. I made it clear in the screening interviews (3, including an RN admin, social worker, and APRN), that I termed myself transsexual in a medical context, not transgender, and why. Interestingly, Mayo follows WPATH, which is more aligned with "traditional" (whatever that means) transsexual treatment.

Distinctions matter, especially in medicine.

[mbmeen12]

No, the name/title of this is of thread is fine....and splitting hairs. For example, when initially you open the web page you knew exactly were to hone in on as to: transgender posts...

[HelpMe,Rhonda]

I agree that the transsexual name seems dated, but it does give you a clear indication of what the vibe of this site is.

[Jeri Ann]

Hey pj,
It never occurred to me that the name of this section should be changed. It seems to serve its purpose and I really can’t think of a better title. Transgender certainly isn’t it. As stated in the definitions sticky at the top of the section page Transgender is an umbrella term, not specific to the intended content of this section, also specified in the guidelines and definitions for this part of the forum.

Even in “The Gender Book” transgender is an umbrella term. Among the book’s 97 pages I can’t recall a better term for the content in this section. The authors of the book researched everything in print that discusses gender variations and compiled data from 300 surveys to cover the subject.

Personally, I have occasionally referred to myself as transgender. It may not be specific but when I use the term, being specific is not necessary. When I do need to be specific I will refer to myself as a trans woman. I made this clear in my bio on a dating site a couple of years ago. My life changed when I acknowledged that I was transsexual. To my knowledge there is no term as specific as that.

Most of the time I use the term female, just a single woman living in a cul de sac with my little dog.

[pj]

Alrighty then.

[Nadine Spirit]

Fairly recently I had my GCS and I was very surprised to read the letters I had to get. If you don't know, thats 2 from mental health professionals and one from your HRT doc. And all throughout all of those letters was the word transexual, and transexualism. I guess what I'm saying is, if anyone is going to go that far then you better be prepared to be okay with the word transexual. Personally I am fine with it. It helps to define my group of people as something a bit different than the generic transgender does.

[MarinaTwelve200]

Confucius said "To call things by their PROPER NAMES is the beginning of wisdom." As a Scientist, I agree. Homosexuality, Bisexuality, Transsexuality, Transvestitism, etc. are all DIFFERENT conditions, some not even related. Lumping all of these things into the same basket does nothing but cause confusion at best, and outright hostility at worse. ----- Indeed any Scientist or psychologist knows that if you don't have a name or Label for something you cannot talk about or properly analyze it.--As we think in words.

I DO like how this site is set up and it's title----As it addresses separate issues in separate forums. Crossdressing is common between these conditions, but for different reasons.

[April Rose]

I read this section often but seldom if ever comment, because I am reasonably certain that I will make it to the grave without having to undergo GCS. So I agree with Marina and others on this.

I think Michael Faraday and Nikola Tesla would as well. They were both very particular about nomenclature.

[Rebecca147]

The problem here is that if you replace transsexual with transgender because you think it's an outdated term, in twenty years or so someone else will decide that transgender is outdated. Where does it all stop? They are only words and there are far more important things in life to worry about.