Transgender vs Gender Nonconforming
I've been doing some research into the two terms Transgender verses Gender Nonconforming as it relates to myself. Both terms are prominently in the Standards of Care version 7 some of us might use. And seeing how many persons dislike the term transgender I decided to research it. Before this I thought I was transgendered CD, cross-dresser. I did not understand why many were rejecting it. Now I don't think transgender applies to myself either given what I found.
Transgender's purest meaning is...
1. A person appearing or attempting to be a member of the opposite sex, as a transsexual or habitual cross-dresser.
So seeing this it seems transgender is the wrong word to describe myself. It has it links in the gender binary which is not what I'm trying to present as. I'm not trying to be the opposite but a mix of male and female.
Gender Nonconforming is two words and so I'll look at them separately.
Gender's purest meaning is...
2. Sexual identity, (which I see as gender identity), especially in relation to society or culture.
Nonconforming's purest meaning is...
a. 1. Not conforming; declining conformity; especially, not conforming to the established church of a country.
So putting Gender Nonconforming all together I get...
1. Gender identity that is declining conformity.
So for myself a Gender Nonconforming CD seems to be the better terms. Now keep in mind I know who I am. I don't like labels very much. But if I'm going to describe myself to someone I want to use the closest terms possible with these least possibility of being misunderstood. I also use these terms / words as a starting point and not a definitive definition of myself.
So given this information... what words might you use... or do you have another term(s)?
Transgender... Gender Nonconforming... or ... your word(s)
This is straight from the WPATH
WPATH: World Professional Association for Transgender Health
I should think that no one will argue with the WPATH definitions located in the Glossary, on page 222 of "The Standard of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender-Nonconforming People, Version 7" (2011)
http://www.wpath.org/uploaded_files/...0SOC,%20V7.pdf
Quote:
Originally Posted by WPATH Glossary
Gender-nonconforming: Adjective to describe individuals whose gender identity, role, or expression differs from what is normative for their assigned sex in a given culture and historical period.
Transgender: Adjective to describe a diverse group of individuals who cross or transcend culturally define categories of gender. The gender identity of transgender people differs to varying degrees from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Gender-nonconforming describes an individual.
Transgender describes a diverse group of individuals, among whom are the gender-nonconforming people.
People get confused, because the media uses the term "transgender" extensively in stories that describe people who have or who are transitioning, or who appear in public presenting as their target gender. I suppose using the term "transgender" in the media makes sense. It's not up to the person writing the article to come up with a determination as to whether the subject is transsexual or not, since everyone's circumstances are different. So even in this sense, "transgender" is a catch-all term.