Some General Terms Defined
Sexual identity - strictly biological, by definition. People here are
either male, female or intersexed (though the individual may or may not "fit"
the biology and therefore be cissexual or transsexual).
Gender identity - is socio-cultural, by definition. Here the
terms girl or boy and woman or man are appropriate. What it means to be a girl
or a boy, a woman or a man in any society can vary.
Gender roles - rules assigned by society that define what clothing,
behaviors, thoughts, feelings, relationships, etc. are considered appropriate
and inappropriate for members of a given gender. Which things are considered
masculine, feminine, or unisex varies according to location, class, occasion,
and numerous other factors.
Sexual orientation - denotes whom an individual is most typically
attracted to or aroused by. This usually indicates romantic and/or erotic
relation. Homosexual (gay, lesbian), heterosexual (straight), and bisexual
(attracted to both genders) are most common. However, the absolute values
androphilic (attracted to men), gynecophilic (attracted to women), ambiphilic
(bisexual) help to avoid confusion when speaking of transgendered, intersexed,
two-spirited persons et al.
- asexual - someone with no significant (to oneself) interest in
sexual activity, or who identifies as asexual
- autosexual - one whose significant (to oneself) sexual activity is
masturbation
- celibate - one who is not sexually active with anyone
else -- may abstain from all sexual activity, or may be autosexual
Trans - Across, Through, Beyond
Transition - change from one state to another
Transformation - change the shape or character of
Transexual (TS) - A person whose mental sex or gender
identity (i.e. "male" or "female") does not correspond to the sex or sexual
identity they were born with; this condition is considered a physical birth
defect
- gender identity dysphoria (GID) - clinically diagnosed
depression caused by the sex or sexual identity that one is born with
- genetic girl/woman/female (GG, GW, GF), genetic boy/man/male (GB,
GM) - individuals who are not transexual and do not experience GID
- transition; transitioning - process of changing one's sex
-- usually includes changes in name (and related legal documentation),
prefered pronouns, and clothing. Transition is the period of time in between
the start of the sex-reassignment treatment and the time when the individual
is living completely as a member of the desired sex.
- sex reassignment treatment - process whereby an
individual changes sex; includes hormone treatments, couseling, and real life
training -- culminating in genital reconstruction
- hormone therapy - used to change secondary sex characteristics,
including breast size, weight distribution, and hair growth
- real life training (RLT) - period where a transitioning
individual lives as a member of the desired sex for a period of time while
still having the genitalia of the former sex. This is to help the prospective
transsexual determine if becoming a total member of that sex is right for him
or her. Real life training (RLT) is required for a period of one year before
surgery
- sex reassignment surgery (SRS) - The final stage in the
sex-reassignement procedure, consisting of genital reconstructive surgery;
a.k.a. sex-change operation
- pre-operative (pre-op) - a transexual who has started sex
reassignment treatment (hormones, counseling, etc) and is anticipating sex
reassignment surgery (SRS)
- post-operative (post-op) - a transexual who has completed
the sex reassignment surgery (SRS)
- non-operative (non-op) - a transexual who has had all the
sex reassignment treatments, except genital reconstruction. Generally non-ops
have no desire (or are unable for other reasons) to proceed with genital
reconstruction (i.e. SRS)
- male to female (MTF, M2F) - describes sex to gender; an
individual with a physically male body, who identifies mentally as female; it
is considered rude to refer to a MTF as a man who wants to be a woman, because
a MTF considers themselves a woman
- female to male (FTM, F2M) - describes sex to gender; an
individual with a physically female body, who identifies mentally as male; it
is considered rude to refer to a FTM as a woman who wants to be a man, because
a FTM considers themselves a man. Female to Male SRS is dramatically more
expensive than the MTF procedure.
- related difficulties - identity-related depression;
perpetually misunderstood as people try to fit transexuality into male/female
and hetero/homosexuality categories; homophobia; physical violence; poor
health care (incl. insurance) which does not respect the unique situation of
transexuals; harassment during routine medical treatment by transphobic
medical staff; rejection, even from gay and lesbian folk who often judge
transexuals as "wannabes"
- note of clarification: Transexual identity in no way
determines a person's sexual orientation. Transexuals may be attracted to
and/or partnered with men or women, depending on personal preference. Not all
transgendered people are transexual.
- for more information: FTM International, Renaissance Transgender Association,
Translate - turn from one language to another
Crossing - intersect, pass over, go across
Crossdressers and Transvestites - persons who enjoy dressing
as a member of the gender “opposite” from their birth gender, but have no desire
to change their sex permanently.
- crossdresser (CD) - a person who, in order to relieve
strees, dresses in clothes usually reserved for people not of their birth
gender -- not the same as transvestitism
- transvestite (TV) - a person who is sexually aroused by
dressing in the clothes usually reserved for people not of their birth gender;
often referred to as a fetish -- not the same as crossdressing
- full-time - a person who presents themselves as their
non-birth gender in all aspects of their life
- part-time - a person who presents themselves sometimes as
their birth gender and sometimes as their non-birth gender
- passing - successfully presenting as your non-birth
gender
- female impersonator - a man who passes as a woman
- male impersonator - a woman who passes as a man
- related difficulties: misunderstood as people try to fit
crossdressing or transvestitism into male/female and hetero/homosexuality
categories; homophobia; physical violence; rejection; subject to outdated
gender-laws which facilitate arrest and/or harassment for impersonation
- note of clarification: Crossdressers and transvestites
may or may not by homosexual. These practices in no way determine a person's
sexual orientation. Many crossdressers and transvestites are happily married
heterosexuals
- see also: transgender - drag queen, drag king, butch,
femme
- for more information: Tri-Ess, International
Foundation for Gender Education
Between - in the middle of two, of space, time; in the
middle or intermediate space, midway
Inter - between, among, mutually
Intersexual - person born with mixed sexual physiology; an
actual medical condition exhibiting the physical manifestation of
genital/genetic/endocrinological differentiation which is different from the
cultural norm
- sex/gender assignment - in current Euroamerican majority culture
the assignment of sex/gender takes place immediately after birth and is
(presumed to be) unchangeably fixed -- not because of the needs of the newborn
but because of the needs of its social environment. Typically the only options
considered are male and female.
- genital mutilation - intersexed children are routinely
given surgery to make their genitalia unambiguous; such surgery is most often
medically unnecessary, and can cripple sexual response. This sex assignment by
surgery is referred to by many as genital mutilation and has come under
well-founded attack as a hurtful violation of the person’s well-being.
- trauma and identity crises - Many intersexuals live their
lives in the roles to which they were assigned -- but do not necessarily feel
at peace with them and frequently suffer from identity crises. Intersexuals
who are subjected to neonatal surgery undergo that early physical trauma and
resulting lifelong trauma on many levels. Intersexuals who miss early surgery
often grow up alone and confused... and often abused, because of their "in
between" status. Surgery as young teens and adults to "correct" their bodies
is also traumatic.
- hermaphrodite - (mythological) the son of Hermes and
Aphrodite, who became joined in the body with the nymph Salamacis; (sexual
identity) label used interchangeably with intersexual, but which is offensive
to some intersexuals. (1) Intersexuals are not creatures of myth (2) It is a
term used by medical doctors and researchers, whose overly clinical treatment
of intersexuals has been questioned (3) The term gives rise to a myth about
intersexed people. Intersexed people are not "both sexes in one" but are a
biological uniqueness of their own form.
- "true hermaphrodite" - label used in medical literature
for persons having a mixed gonadal structure, (ovo-testis, or sometimes one
ovary and one testis).
- "psuedo-hermaphrodite" - label used in medical literature
for all other intersexuals.
- "pseudo" vs. "true" - As far as intersexuality itself
goes, the seperation is arbitrary and of academic interest only. Gonadal
cellular structure is but one aspect of human biology which affects sex and
sexual identity.
- she-male - female with a penis, found in certain types of
pornography. These people are not intersexuals. They are women with carefully
done prostheses who are making pornography.
- herms, merms, ferms - These terms were used by Anne
Fausto-Sterling in her 1993 article in The Sciences "The Five Sexes:
Why Male and Female are not enough". Herm refers to "true hermaphrodite"; a
merm would be a person born intersexed whose karyotype was XY and a ferm is an
XX intersexed person. These delineations serve to educate people that sex is
not a bipolar dichotomy, but they do not really classify intersexuals in a
meaningful way.
- some medical terms for intersexuals - clitoromegaly, micropenis,
hypospadias, ambiguous genitals, early genital surgery, adrenal hyperplasia,
Klinefelter's, androgen insensitivity, testicular feminization.
- note of clarification: Some people identify themselves as
"intersexed" when perhaps what they mean is "intergendered". Intersexual is a
medical condition, not a point of self-understanding.
- for more information: ,
Intersex Society of North
America
Other - not the same; alternative, different
Transparent - letting light pass through
Bend - to curve, bow, turn
Blend - to mix or combine, and to harmonize.
Transgress - to break (a law); to sin; to cross a
boundary
- transgressive - challenging the accepted expectations and
rules of propriety
- queer - deriving from the expected, unconventional; often
refers to gay, lesbian, bisexual, trangendered community at-large, but is
often used to define transgressive individuals more broadly speaking as well
- nonconformist - one who does not comply to a rule,
pattern, custom
Transgender - A general term which refers to anyone who does
not fit into the sterotypical two gender labeling system. Transgressive of
gender norms. Gender identification and/or presentation does not conform to
culturally standard patterns. This term is commonly used as an umbrella term to
include all manner of gender transgression, including transsexuals,
crossdressers, transvestites, and intersexuals, as well as other self-defining
people.
- transgender community (T*): A loose association of people who
transgress gender norms in a wide variety of ways. Celebrating a recently born
self-awareness, this community is growing fast across all lines, including
social, economic, political, and philosophical divisions. A central ethic of
this community is unconditional acceptance of individual exercise of freedoms
including gender and sexual, identity and orientation.
- camp - a form of humor, in which one makes fun of one's
oppression by taking on and exaggerating stereotypes; makes fun of the
stereotype and laughs at the sting of the oppression
- drag queen - female-emulating male; usually campy; often
but not always a gay man
- drag king - male-emulating women; often but not always
lesbians
- femme - feminine-appearing person (male or female)
- butch - masculine-appearing person (male or female)
- gender-bender - a person who clearly identifies and knows
themself as a particular sex (male or female) concurrently with gender
presentations that often do not successfully communicate these facts to others
- genderf*ck, genderplay - sending mixed messages about
one's sex/gender, usually through clothing (e.g. wearing a skirt and a beard)
- gender outlaw - person who defies traditional gender
roles
- gender-blending, androgyne, inter-gendered, poly-gendered,
bi-gendered, non-gendered, other-gendered or third-gendered - persons
who feel that they belong to more than one gender, that they have no gender at
all, or that they are their own gender -- something neither male nor female.
These folks might dress differently than is typical of their birth gender; try
to "pass" as another gender on a daily basis; or take hormones or get
operations to modify their bodies -- the details will vary dramatically from
person to person. They may present as male, female, mixed, neutural, or
whatever they prefer. Such identifications are an attempt to transcend the
male-female polarity altogether.
- note of clarification: Transgender folks may or may not
have any interest or need for sex reassignment surgery (SRS). Transgendered
identity in no way determines a person's sexual orientation. Transfolk may be
attracted to or partnered with men or women, depending on personal preference.
- for more information: International Foundation for Gender Education
Native American Sacred traditions
Support - offer your unconditional love; educate yourself;
help your loved one communicate with significant and/or supportive individuals,
including yourself; respect their self-definitions
Reconcile - adjust; settle; harmonize
Healing - restore to health; make well
Whole - complete; healthy; all complete thing or system
Otherwise - differently; in a different way
OtherWise
Bent - inclination; or turn of mind
Shape-shifting -
Holy - free from sin; set apart; sacred
Profane
Mundane
Intercourse - mutual dealings; communication; connection
radical - root; fundamental; thorough