Thursday, March 26, 2015

Tranifesto: Trans-lations

By Matt Kailey

What follows are some of the most commonly used words on this blog and website, as well as definitions of words that you might find when reading other, related material. Please understand that definitions can vary, and that different people may use different definitions. These are mine. I have tried to cover variations as much as possible.

It is also important to respect a person’s individual identity and not to impose an identity or an adjective onto someone who appears to meet a certain “definition.” This is sometimes difficult, especially when reporting news, but every attempt should be made.

Sex: refers to a person’s physical body, such as genitalia and secondary sex characteristics, and physical makeup, such as chromosomes. Because a person’s body is usually consistent with a person’s gender identity and chromosomal makeup, some people say that a person is “born male” or “born female” (terms that I generally use). Because a person’s body is not always consistent with a person’s gender identity, and because there can be variations in genitalia and chromosomal makeup, some people say that a person is “assigned male at birth” or “assigned female at birth.” This is accurate, because sometimes that assignation is incorrect.

Gender: refers to various aspects of a person and contains both biological and social components. While some people consider gender to be strictly a social construct, I maintain that there is a biological component, because if there were not, all people could be socialized into or “taught” the gender that matches the physical body. Gender involves gender identity, or how a person sees him- or herself; gender expression or presentation, which includes behaviors, mannerisms, appearance, clothing, and outward presentation; and gender expectations, which includes gender roles designated by a person’s culture.

Transgender: Transgender is an adjective, not a noun. Someone can be a transgender person, but no one is “a transgender.” While some people use the term “transgendered,” and I have done so in the past and actually prefer it, I use the term “transgender” now because it is broadly accepted, and many people find the term “transgendered” offensive (I am not one of them). There are many variations on this particular term. Here are several:

1. Refers to a person whose gender identity and physical body (sex) are not in alignment or do not agree, either all or part of the time. This is a narrow definition that I prefer, but many people prefer a broader definition.

2. Refers to a person who transgresses the gender norms of Western culture’s binary gender system (two-gender system), either all or part of the time and either intentionally or unintentionally. While everyone transgresses gender norms at some time or other, this definition generally encompasses those people who are viewed negatively or who are discriminated against because of their gender identity or gender presentation.

3. Encompasses both definitions above and also includes transsexual people, or those who have made changes to their physical body to bring the body into alignment with the gender identity.

Transsexual: Transsexual is generally used as an adjective (transsexual person), although some people, including myself, use it as a noun (a transsexual). It is probably best used as an adjective, although I slip up sometimes, because I identify as a transsexual and sometimes call myself “a transsexual” instead of a transsexual person. Definitions of this term also vary. Here are some:

1. Refers to a person who has made changes to the body through hormones and/or surgery to bring the body into alignment with the gender identity, or a person who lives full-time in the gender that matches his or her gender identity without hormones and/or surgery.

2. Refers to a person who is born with a medical condition that causes incongruity between the gender identity and the physical body. Using this definition, a person is born transsexual.

In either of the two definitions above, there are some people who consider themselves to be transsexual even after bringing the body into alignment with the gender identity through hormones and/or surgery (transition). There are other people who do not consider themselves to be transsexual after transition, but are men or women after the corrections are made.

It should be noted that there are some people who consider themselves to be both transgender and transsexual, and there are some who separate these two concepts completely and do not see them as related.

Trans man or transman: refers to a person who was born female (or assigned female at birth) and identifies as or has transitioned to male. Other terms include FTM (female-to-male), trans masculine or transmasculine person, transsexual man, transgender man, and man.

Trans woman or transwoman: refers to a person who was born male (or assigned male at birth) and identifies as or has transitioned to female. Other terms include MTF (male-to-female), transsexual woman, transgender woman, and woman.

Transition: refers to a process that includes changing or correcting the body or physical sex to match the gender identity through hormones and/or surgery, name change, legal paperwork changes, social adjustment, and other changes and adjustments necessary to live in the gender that matches the identity.

Trans: short for transgender, transsexual, or both. Because of variations in the definitions of transgender and transsexual, it is sometimes easier and more appropriate to use “trans” as a general term.


Non-trans: refers to a person whose gender identity and physical body (sex) are congruent or have matched since birth. Many people prefer the term cisgender or cissexual (“cis” meaning “on the same side as”). I prefer the term non-trans, and at this point, that is the term I use.

These are just a handful of definitions. There are many more. If a person you are talking to uses a word that you don’t understand, it is okay to ask that person to define the word for you. Even if a person uses a word that you are familiar with, he or she might mean something different from what you have seen here or have been told by someone else. It’s okay to say, “I know what that word means to me. What does it mean to you?” That way, you are not making assumptions about someone else’s identity or language.


This post originally appeared on Matt Kailey's award-winning website Tranifesto.com. Republished with permission.