C/D or Transexual

[switcheralso]

What do you think the difference is between a C/D and a transexual? My wife knows I C/D and yesterday referred to me as a transsexual.

[Gabrielle Hermosa]

I think your wife may have meant "transgendered" rather than "transsexual".

Crossdressers are regarded as transgendered, but the main difference between a cd and a ts is sexual reassignment surgery (SRS).

I believe if one has a male part and dresses like a woman, that is considered cd. If one has the male part altered surgically into a female part, that is considered ts.

Of course, much of it has to do with one's intent. If one's goal is eventual SRS, than I think that may classify as a ts, as in a pre-op ts (often just referred to as a "pre-op").

If you're planning on SRS, than your wife may be correct in her statement. If you intend to remain male and just cd, than a correction would be in line.

Somehow I find myself wondering "what's in a name?" All these terms, which are often necessary for people to figure out where others stand with things, but at the same time - what does it matter? Perhaps that dichotomy just exists in my own mind though. I find myself intrigued with all the terms and classifications myself at times.

[Nicole Erin]

Broad spectrum of how far a person takes CD'ing. Some just like to wear the undies in private, "enjoy" it, and be done, while some CDs go out into the word dressed en femme.

Wow, I really don't know the difference.
I do many things typical of a TS yet I call myself CD.

I guess a TS would be someone either hates their birth sex or maybe someone who tries to live as much as possible in the opposite gender of what they were born in.

[Lisa Golightly]

I didn't particularly hate my birth sex... I quite like boys... It was just it really wasn't me and it made me sad, grumpy and depressed... I'm much better off as a girl

[Carole Cross]

A TS is aperson who lives 24/7 in the opposite gender, but some do not go all the way and have srs, usually by preference. Most TS people have known from a very early age that they were born in the wrong gender.
A C/D is a person who switches between the two genders and goes not want to stay in one particular gender.
All people who wear the clothes of the opposite gender, whether full or part time are referred to as transgender.
Some TS people, such as myself, who are just starting the transition process, often have to switch genders until they have informed their employers/families and others they interact with before they can live 24/7 in their chosen gender. THis can take time because they may have to move or change jobs.
This is my personal view of the difference between the two which may not be totally accurate.

[Sheila]

IN A NUTSHELL: Transsexuality means having the wrong body for the gender one really is.

Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothing commonly associated with another gender within a particular society.

hope this helps

[Sara Jessica]

Another labels discussion. I should steer clear but some things said are a bit overly simplistic, even incorrect, and do not speak to me...an unable-to-transition ts.

CD = behavior, as in "I desire to dress like a woman"

TS = being, as in "I am a woman"

So at the risk of being overly simplistic myself, I'll just leave it at that...for now.

[Leanne2]

A stand up comic asks: What's the difference between a cross dresser and a transsexual? About six months! Bada Bing.

[marla01]

Sigh, I'll bite.

Transsexual - Individuals who change their PHYSICAL SEX typically by modifying their primary sexual organs and other physical characteristics. Such individuals may or may not be transgendered but most are since most also wish to change their gender (I've know at least one non-transgendered transsexual).

Crossdresser, Transgendered, Bigendered, Two Spirit, etc. - Individuals who change their GENDER typically by modifying their gender expression, interaction and other social characteristics. Such individuals may or may not be transsexual but most are not since most do not desire to change their physical sex.

Marla

[JoAnne Wheeler]

A transsexual has SRS - a CD does not

JoAnne Wheeler

[Lisa Golightly]

A transsexual has SRS - a CD does not

Not all transsexuals have SRS...

[Ballerina]

I think everyone is missing a big key word here. It's the want factor. A TS wants/needs to change their gender because they feel that they were born with the physical body; whereas, a CD/TG/TV wants to keep their birth gender, but use wearing of the other genders clothing as a form of "band-aid" to their emotions of the other gender.

[Sarah...]

What do you think the difference is between a C/D and a transexual?

It depends on what the user of the terms thinks the definitions are.

Sarah...

[linnea]

I think that she mistakenly said "transsexual" when she meant transgendered."

[marla01]

I think everyone is missing a big key word here. It's the want factor. A TS wants/needs to change their gender because they feel that they were born with the physical body; whereas, a CD/TG/TV wants to keep their birth gender, but use wearing of the other genders clothing as a form of "band-aid" to their emotions of the other gender.

I think you used the wrong term here. There are many different groups of transgendered individuals that change their gender. That doesn't make them TS. Instead the basic definition of TS is an individual who wants to change their physical sex. And note, I have known at least one TS that did not want to change his gender (he was a bit strange but fascinating conversations )!

Marla

[<3 Keri Lynn <3]

A stand up comic asks: What's the difference between a cross dresser and a transsexual? About six months! Bada Bing.

*Hugs*Kisses*

[Byanca]

Gender - psychological
Sex - physical
Transition - on a journey.

Crossdresser - from one to another from the socially established men/women clothes in that culture.

Strictly speaking-just reading the words here.
---

Maybe there is no such things as man or a woman. But degrees. And you find out yourself where you are;

Like 60/40-Grrr-man. But then you find out, oh my-this body does not look like a man-you change... Yaayy-75/25-thats more like it. And you live happily ever after.

Another might see 55/45, and look down. Right, looks good-but maybe a little more. So she give birth. Oh 65/35- Ah-look at this-this is me.

and so on
---

..I find the labels to be..simplistic. It does not really say much since it is not accurate. I like better this, not -1(male-[insert your views])/0(androgyn..)/1(female..). But -1.0/0.0/1.0

So then it is just jo make yourself a Cartesian coordinate system, and draw some axis's and letters. And woopsy-you'll have a cross somewhere there. Maybe one every week? then you can even, after a bit, plot it as a graph That'll be fun, remember pretty colours.

[battybattybats]

I think the difference between CD's and TS's and GAYS and LESBIANS and Schizophrenics is how much of their brain neural architecture is cross-sexed!

We know that gays and lesbians have cross-sexed neural structure and brain function. We know that Transsexuals do in different parts of the brain. And now we know that Schizophrenia is also associated with cross-sexed neurology too!

http://aebrain.blogspot.com/2009/03/...of-puzzle.html

So the difference that I expect for CDs is what parts of the brain are cross-sexed and how substantially.

[marla01]

We know that gays and lesbians have cross-sexed neural structure and brain function. We know that Transsexuals do in different parts of the brain. And now we know that Schizophrenia is also associated with cross-sexed neurology too!

Are you kidding? We know nothing of the kind!

And where exactly did you get your psychiatric degree?

(And when too, this sounds like 19th century claptrap).

Your statements are totally false from all sorts of directions, but most scary is your implication that being gay or transgendered is a mental disorder like Schizophrenia.

Marla

[DarleneCD]

Wow, this is getting interesting......

I'm sure there is a clinical definition of what a CD or TS is but I don't have a lot of faith in a clinical definition in a field which I believe is very understudied.

Science always tries to put things into some category even if it is not well understood. If I had a nickel for every time the field of science changed a perspective based on new findings, I would have enough money to conduct my own research.. lol.

my point is lets try not to be so black and white with something that is clearly gray...

[Katelyn]

Wow. This topic is starting to heat up. If it gets too heated, there's always the chance of the thread being closed by a Monitor or administrator. Before this happens, I'd like to throw my in...

This is my personal belief:
A crossdresser is someone who likes to wear clothes of the opposite gender either for comfort or sexual gratification, or other reasons. That person just loves the clothes/accessories of the opposite gender, but does not feel like they are trapped in the wrong body nor have the need or desire to become the opposite gender.

A Transsexual is someone who is not the appropriate gender they were born as. They are the opposite gender inside and are given an ultimatum. Transition or face a lifetime of confusion and depression which may lead to suicide.

I believe a transgendered person is sort of in between the two. I wish I was born a girl. I'm becoming more feminine little by little. I don't think I'll ever transition because I don't feel like I was born in the wrong body, but I don't like being a man either. I also consider myself androgynous.

These are My definitions. Other people may give you different definitions and that's ok because everyone's different. Hope this helps.

[Karen__Starr]

Perhaps checking the definition out at Wikipedia is a good idea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender

[Byanca]

My father believes something was broken when I crashed on a sledge on the snow with a pile of concrete with the head making the first impact. Rendering me unconscious for most of that day,about 5-6, and not so long after when I fell down a hole on the floor, landing 3m's further down again on my head, and unconscious for most of that day to. This he have told several times during the years. All of these is my earliest memories-but I cant remember what came first of my awareness of the gender issue or the accidents.

I've been unconsious maybe 10 times so far due to impacts to my head, voken up 3 times on the intensive care. Not once it's been intentional.

There is something different with me, I've never ever met a person that think I am normal. Some say I am unique. That's nice, but I don't think so.

I'm born like this, that is the only thing that make sense of this. And I'm not healthy, the whole system is working the wrong way. People will be looking for excuses. For me it is a wonder I am still alive. If this had been found out and handled when I was tiny. I am sure all the things that have happened to me would not have happened. Every incident I look at leads back to hormonal imbalance and teachings that work the wrong way.

[battybattybats]

Are you kidding? We know nothing of the kind!

And where exactly did you get your psychiatric degree?

(And when too, this sounds like 19th century claptrap).

Your statements are totally false from all sorts of directions, but most scary is your implication that being gay or transgendered is a mental disorder like Schizophrenia.

Marla

Try following the link! http://aebrain.blogspot.com/2009/03/...of-puzzle.html

from the Fernand-Seguin Research Centre of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital :
The brain of a schizophrenic woman possesses masculine qualities while that of a man with the same disease hasfeminine attributes, according to a recent study by Dr. Adrianna Mendrek fromFernand-Seguin Research Centre of Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital.
...
"We have noted a masculinization of the female brain and a feminization of the male one in schizophrenics. There is a real sexual reversal in men and women with schizophrenia in terms of neuronal circuits, the dimensions of certain cerebral structures and the production of hormones. We therefore sought to find out whether there are similar differences in terms of cerebral functions," explains Adrianna Mendrek, who is also a researcher associated with the Université de Montréal's Department of Psychiatry.
"We thus studied cerebral activation in people with schizophrenia in terms of emotional processing and cognitive analysis. The results are surprising. When we show a sad photo to men with schizophrenia or when we ask them to perform a spatial skills task, they display cerebral activation similar to that of healthy women performing the same tests. Conversely, women with schizophrenia show cerebral activation similar to that of healthy men."
"These results will help us to better understand this complex disease and revise therapeutic and pharmacological treatment methods. It's still difficult to explain what underlies the sexual reversal mechanisms. Could abnormal production of intrauterine sex hormones be the cause? Could this phenomenon arise from social pressures or differences related to sex and gender in our society? Many questions remain unanswered for now. That's what motivates me to continue my research," concludes Adrianna Mendrek.

So schizophrenia is not a psychiatric condition but a neurological one. Deal with it. It's unsurprising as neurology is eroding away and replacing much of psychology and psychiatry because brain scans are more measurable and quantifiable.

And elsewhere from the same blog http://aebrain.blogspot.com/2008/06/...and-brain.html and with pics of brainscans and all (which also were in New Scientist amongst many others)

Striking similarities between the brains of gay men and straight women have been discovered by neuroscientists, offering fresh evidence that sexual orientation is hardwired into our neural circuitry.

Scans reveal homosexual men and heterosexual women have symmetrical brains, with the right and left hemispheres almost exactly the same size. Conversely, lesbians and straight men have asymmetrical brains, with the right hemisphere significantly larger than the left.

Scientists at the prestigious Stockholm Brain Institute in Sweden also found certain brain circuits linked to emotional responses were the same in gay men and straight women.

The findings, published tomorrow in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest the biological factors that influence sexual orientation - such as exposure to testosterone in the womb - may also shape the brain's anatomy.

Further links and references to peer reviewed neurology journals and far more updates on the subject can be found on that blog.

[sometimes_miss]

What do you think the difference is between a C/D and a transexual? My wife knows I C/D and yesterday referred to me as a transsexual.

Despite what all the definitions say, if your wife knows the difference, she may be seeing signs in you of desiring to transition, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. Lets face it, we love our female clothing, and we love wearing it. Many of us also go to great lengths to do everything we can to appear and act female, and want to be loved for the female part of us as well. So, to an outsider who has never experienced what we feel, it's a very small leap to see us as either wanna be TS's or real TS's. Yes, there are some who stand fast and say that they would never, ever consider the possibility of transitioning, but ask any of us about our fantasies, or if we'd be willing to permanently switch places with a beautiful girl like Miley Cyrus who has their whole wonderful 'girl life' in front of her, and you can see how the outside world might believe that we're basically all just non-op wanna be TS's.