So what do you think?

[JessHaust]

Last night I had some girls over for a friendly card game. We got into a discussion about the term Transgender, with some going with a Umbrella term taking in everyone from cross-dressers to full transexual. This side believed that they were all transgender, but some were cross-dressers and some were transexuals, etc.
The other side of the discussion went with a definition that transgender was only when you truly believed that you were in the wrong body, regardless of how you handled it. Meaning that even if you 'just' cross-dressed but believed that you were female then you were transgender. But if you were happy being male some times and expressing Female other times then you were a Cross-dresser but not transgender.
So what about it girls, what do you think?

[AllieSF]

Since these definitions sometimes vary by country, I will stick with the TG being all inclusive of crossing genders no matter how you do it. If I understand your definition of TG, being in the wrong body, that to me, is clearly a transsexual (TS), regardless of where one goes with it, i.e. stay and live the same to going all the way to post op living full time.

[Nicole Brown]

Hi Jess, My understanding is the same as yours being that transgenered is an umbrella term which covers all aspects of the terms beneath it. Thus, transsexual, crossdresser and all of the less appropriate or equally offensive terms are included.

[kimdl93]

The term transgender is indeed meant to refer to the broad spectrum of individuals who to varying degrees associate the opposite sex. Those who suggest that 'transgender refers to being born in the wrong body have confused the term 'transgender' with with transsexual. Simple as that .

[Karren H]

Does it matter? What ever position you choose its going to give someone ammunition to let one person degrade another.. Making a hierarchy means someone's iis on top and someone's on the bottom. "Ohh your just a crossdresser!". Or "your not committed enough to go all the way!". Pffftttt.....

How about we just all like to wear the same clothing but for different reasons?

[~Joanne~]

Does it matter? What ever position you choose its going to give someone ammunition to let one person degrade another.. Making a hierarchy means someone's iis on top and someone's on the bottom. "Ohh your just a crossdresser!". Or "your not committed enough to go all the way!". Pffftttt.....

How about we just all like to wear the same clothing but for different reasons?

I most certainly second what Karren said. It's good enough for me and makes my head hurt a lot less lol

[sarahcsc]

Does it matter? What ever position you choose its going to give someone ammunition to let one person degrade another.. Making a hierarchy means someone's iis on top and someone's on the bottom. "Ohh your just a crossdresser!". Or "your not committed enough to go all the way!". Pffftttt.....

How about we just all like to wear the same clothing but for different reasons?

yeah... I think there had been some disagreement on the forum historically whereby transsexuals have expressed on more than one occasion that crossdressers are "fence sitters" and are in some ways "lesser" individuals.

I agree with Karen that we shouldn't aim to categorize ourselves but having said that, a classification system is needed to address the public. Crossdressers are simply different but not in any way inferior. I don't think the public views us CDs and TGs very differently anyway so why bother?

[Acastina]

The term has certainly migrated around. Back in the 1980s it generally referred to non-op transsexuals. Then it lost the "-ed", as in "transgendered person", and its life as an adjective, becoming a descriptive noun, "transgender", denoting a transgendered person. Then it morphed into the umbrella term of all cross-gendered behaviors (CD, TV, TS, non-op, etc.). Finally, I understand it today (and I think it's the best conceptual view) to encompass all behaviors that transgress gender norms. That would include gay (M and F) and bisexual, since they transgress gender norms in their sexuality. Makes more sense than conceiving of trans behaviors as a subset of gay, since so many CDs can't be said to have sexual orientation variance and thus are something else. In other words, transgender includes those who transgress sexual-orientation gender norms and those who transgress gender identity/presentation/clothing & related/social-role norms.

We live in societies that have and enforce (to some extent) gender binaries grounded on anatomy and behavioral norms: masculine males mating with feminine females is the normative model, with a pretty broad range of acceptable masculinity and femininity. Anything that can't be shoehorned into the binary, from drag queens to once-a-year closeted panty fetishists, and all of the variations our members know so well, is transgendered.

IMHO...

[Richelle423]

Does it matter? What ever position you choose its going to give someone ammunition to let one person degrade another.. Making a hierarchy means someone's iis on top and someone's on the bottom. "Ohh your just a crossdresser!". Or "your not committed enough to go all the way!". Pffftttt.....

How about we just all like to wear the same clothing but for different reasons?

I totally agree with Karren.We all do it for different reasons.Wether it be full dressed or just underdressing.

[Teri Ray]

I vote for a whole new set of terms to define people who choose to wear clothing designated for the opposite gender. That would be "men who dress as girls" or "women who dress as men". I am with Karren on this one Pfffffffff who cares. The only label I care about is the one on my can of pork and beans that lets me know "CONTAINS NO TRANS FAT"

[Kate Simmons]

I think that we are who we believe we are. Everything else is just a cleaning up of the details.

[Marleena]

Does it matter? What ever position you choose its going to give someone ammunition to let one person degrade another.. Making a hierarchy means someone's iis on top and someone's on the bottom. "Ohh your just a crossdresser!". Or "your not committed enough to go all the way!". Pffftttt.....

How about we just all like to wear the same clothing but for different reasons?

Good answer Karren! That sure simplifies matters.

[Jilmac]

I'll go with the umbrella definition.

[PretzelGirl]

How about we just all like to wear the same clothing but for different reasons?

Dang! And here I was wearing my own clothing and not sharing.

Words are just used to convey a thought to others that is clear. Obviously this one is never clear since we can never agree. But we do have to realize that the general public hears TG as part of LGBT so it ends up being all encompassing in their minds since we are all one "letter".

[docrobbysherry]

Last night I had some girls over for a friendly card game. We got into a discussion about the term Transgender, with some going with a Umbrella term taking in everyone from cross-dressers to full transexual. This side believed that they were all transgender, but some were cross-dressers and some were transexuals, etc.
The other side of the discussion went with a definition that transgender was only when you truly believed that you were in the wrong body, regardless of how you handled it. Meaning that even if you 'just' cross-dressed but believed that you were female then you were transgender. But if you were happy being male some times and expressing Female other times then you were a Cross-dresser but not transgender.
So what about it girls, what do you think?

One quick question, Jess. Were these "girls" CDs, Trans, or GGs? Karren and I need to KNOW!

[Jacqueline Winona]

I'm with Karren as well- too many labels. We all are who we are, we care for each other regardless of what the rest of the world thinks, and we all understand each other. That's enough for me.

[DonnaT]

From the GLAAD Media Guide‘s Transgender Glossary:
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The term may include but is not limited to: transsexuals, cross-dressers, and other gender-variant people.

Transgender people may identify as female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF). Use the descriptive term (transgender, transsexual, cross-dresser, FTM or MTF) preferred by the individual. Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically.

Virginia Prince coined the term transgenderist, i.e., a crossdresser who lived full time enfemme. The term transgender is derived from that.

Personally, as a CD, I consider myself to be transgender. This is because something unexplainable is inside me that drove me to crossdress, to continue to crossdress and won't let me stop.

[Vickie_CDTV]

It is a poorly defined term. Depending on the context, the user may intend to include TV & TS, or use TG as a "polite" term for TS. I noticed within the immediate TG community it usually intends to mean TV & TS, and outside it tends to intend TS only (those who transition, change their gender etc., and not the occasional dresser.)

I wish we'd go back to using "TV/TS community" when meaning both, as they did before the mid-90s.

[Sammy777]

You want to see something equal parts sad and scary?
Go to: Yahoo Answers and type in " transgender transsexual ".
You will see pages of people asking the question -
What is the difference between a transgender and a transsexual and other such variations.
The huge amount of misunderstanding and misinformation given out by regular people and by so-called "experts" makes you want to throw-up.

[taís]

I'm one that would like to ban each and every label, believing that it would bring joy throughout the world and etc ^ ^. but to answer clearly to the OP, please allow me to subscribe what Allie and Kim said:

being in the wrong body, that to me, is clearly a transsexual (TS), regardless of where one goes with it, i.e. stay and live the same to going all the way to post op living full time.

The term transgender is indeed meant to refer to the broad spectrum of individuals who to varying degrees associate the opposite sex. Those who suggest that 'transgender refers to being born in the wrong body have confused the term 'transgender' with with transsexual. Simple as that .

[Krististeph]

Yes. That's my answer. I like using the terms as accepted in there differential descriptions. Guess i'm 30/70 TV/TS, i prefer TG, for various reasons, though i am not a full time CD. Not that I would be opposed to it, but i have other circumstances to consider.

[ninapuella]

First of all i dont think it is that important. I dont know what I am.

But my feeling is that transgenders are more "specialized" in the world of crossdressing. A transgendered takes it all to another level but still want to be a male. A crossdresser is more crossdressing for fun or satisfaction, can be very good at it but it is just crossdressing and then nothing more.

A transvestite dress only for the sexual pleasure.

A transexual feel that he/she wants to live as the opposite sex, its more complicated.

[JessHaust]

One quick question, Jess. Were these "girls" CDs, Trans, or GGs? Karren and I need to KNOW!

The girls were all CD and my future son-in-law, not CD, was also with us, so we had his opinion too.

[Julogden]

In order to carry on discussions with each other, we have to have at least some labels, and as far as I'm concerned, using the term transgender as a catch-all makes sense when discussing issues surrounding gender identity issues with people who aren't like us. I really don't see how using "transgender" as an umbrella term in any way forces a restrictive label on anyone.

The term originally referred to a specific group of people who live as a member of the the opposite sex without undergoing sex reassignment surgery, originated by Virginia Prince, if I'm remembering correctly.

Carol

[sonna]

i see this discustion over and over again. knowbody will ever completley agree to the terms
of what means what. so (lets just be who we are) and stop trying to put a lable on it.