Transgenity And Transgenderity

Transgender is ‘an umbrella term that refers to those with identities that cross over, move between,or otherwise challenge the socially constructed border between the genders. While this can include medical or social transition, it may not.’ There is a difference between transgenders and transsexuals. Transsexuals do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth and wish to ‘correct’ their gender through the use of medical intervention. These two terms however, are nearly synonymous in our culture and we tend to refer to people who wish to live as a different gender than the one they were assigned when they were born as transgenders, since the term is broader and more recognizable.

Fifty years ago, nobody could ever have imagined how widely accepted transgender individuals would be in modern times. Countries all around the world had only ever known about the social distinction between men and women, which is known as ‘masculinity vs. Femininity’. However, now it is much more complex than that; as transgender and gender confused individuals are more widely accepted, it has become more of a case of sex vs. gender. “Sex is the biologically based distinction between men and women centring on sexual organs, while gender is the social and cultural rendering of masculinity and femininity.” (Oakley, 1972) And even though transgenders are accepted into society they still face inequalities such as not being accepted into a particular community, ostracised by families and friends,

Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and

According to Jonathan Alexander’s chapter “ Transgender Rhetorics: Sex and Gender” he notes that “acknowledging the presence of the transgendered is useful not only for understanding those who are differently gendered or whose presentation … falls outside our ‘norms,’ but also for helping us interrogate the constructs of gender that we often take for granted as ‘natural’” (Alexander, 2008, pg. 130). Ways that the cisgendered public attempts to normalize gender roles is through literature where “male authors… depict a young woman as frightened and helpless, and the female authors… poke fun of the muscle-bound idiocy of a “macho” man”( Alexander, p. 137). The idea as the female being weak and terrified and the man as muscular moron help to reaffirm the cycle of “gender tied narrations” that are tied to society’s dominant public. This is important because society’s cisnormative narrative teaches that gender expressions have strict guidelines that are “innate” in us at birth. These instincts dictate a lot about an individual; however, the recognition of transgender individuals cause the cisgendered to think that “gender is not necessarily an essential and natural given, but rather a sociocultural construct whose repeated performances—as masculinity and femininity” (p. 131). The transgendered attempt to create a discourse to disrupt these social categories and show that there is more to one’s identity than what is socially constructed and self

In a world moving advancing with near instantaneous publication worldwide the fringe edges of society have become more visible. One group of people that has had the spotlight shined on them is those suffering from gender dysphoria–persons who are not comfortable living in the bodies that they are born with and are often referred to as transsexual. As of 2010, there was an estimated population of less than 1,000 of these fringe members of our society incarcerated in state and federal facilities. (Brown)

“I am transgendered. I was born female, but my masculine gender expression is seen as a male…it’s the social contradiction between the two that defines

For transgender individuals whose gender identities may be visibly different from the norm, there are questions and assumptions from other people about their gender identities in their daily lives (Serano, 2013). For example, during childhood and young adult life, Green (2013), a transsexual male, was constantly judged and questioned by others based on his lack of physical femininity and “inappropriate behaviors” for a female. Additionally, in a male-dominated society, trans women become victims of trans-misogyny, which is defined as a trans person being ridiculed for their expression of femininity (Serano, 2013), because it is inconceivable that a male “inheriting male privilege [would] ‘choose’ to be female instead” (2013, p. 445). Thus, trans women are subjected to violence (Stryker, 2013) and stereotypes (Serano, 2013). During the 1960s, trans women working the Tenderloin district of San Francisco were abused by the police (Stryker, 2013). Transgender women were arrested on suspicion of prostitution, humiliated in front of other prisoners, and placed in men’s jails, where transgender women were susceptible to physical harm including assault, rape, and murder (2013). In the media, trans women are often depicted as sex workers and objectified when they pursue medical transitioning

In society, social categories are based on “real or assumed physical, biological, or genetic differences” (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2013, p. 12) to create privilege, a desired cultural currency, for particular groups (Taylor, 2013). Hence, gender and sexual orientation are two of these social categories (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2013), and transgender people, “whose gender expression, gender identity, and/or sex identity does not match the expectations of the dominant norm of society” (Catalano, McCarthy, & Shlasko, 2007, p. 219), are placed in the subordinate groups of these social categories (Kirk & Okazawa-Rey, 2013). Hence, the subordination of transgender people is based on the misguided premise of the sex/gender binary, which states there are only

Transsexuals rank lowest in overall wellbeing (Gates). SIRS researcher writes, “The American Psychiatric Association uses the term ‘gender dysphonia’ as the medical diagnosis for people who feel their birth-assigned sex and their gender identity do not match.” Civilians need a better understanding that transgender people need better protection. People against transsexuals believe that transgender are “ghastly” and are having an “identity crisis.” Transsexuals need protection in the workplace, public facilities, and in athletics/sports.

I chose to explore the definition of masculinity from the perspective of a female-to-male transgender individual. Often times, masculinity is one of the biggest validations a man can have. However, feeling less masculine than one would want can be detrimental. In terms of transgender men, feeling masculine can be a struggle. In searching for scientific journals and articles pertaining to both subjects, transgender and masculinity, there were only a handful of articles written. There is little research about how female-to-male transgender individuals feel about masculinity. However, there was enough evidence to gather an idea of what studies years from now may continue to uncover on this subject. This lack of research should suggest a need for

“What’s transgender?” Transgender means an individual that physically looks like one gender, but identifies themselves as the opposing gender. Unfortunately, transgenders’ individuals haven’t been the most accepted in today's society. However, I believe transgender individuals’ shouldn’t be discriminated, prompted on “modesty”, nor restricted; because “Trans lives matter”(Pratt 1).

The word “transgender” is a broad term inclusive of many subgroups. Currently there is no single universal definition. For the purposes of this paper, transgender is defined as an individual whose gender expression is different from their birth sex. Sex, for the purposes of this discussion, is defined as the physical anatomy that currently defines male and female. Gender identity refers to the individual’s internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither. Transgender individuals feel discomfort between what the gender they identify internally with and their outward physical sex characteristics. Gender expression refers to how an individual presents themselves to society. Sexual orientation the physical or emotional attraction towards another person, whether male or female. This is different than gender identity. Transgender individuals may be attracted to persons of the same sex or opposite sex. This paper will address specifically the transition of those individuals born anatomically male but identify their gender identity as female. Male-to-female transgender individuals are often referred to as MTF individuals.

The article addresses what are transgender and are they reinforcing sexist stereotypes. This article reviews the aspect of gender and whether or not transgender individuals are trying to change modern gender roles back to traditional roles. As transgender are individuals who were born as a men but, changed to be a women. For them to be a women they would go to the extreme of portraying the true self of a women. This follows up with the stereotyping of women because not all women go to the extreme to be a women. There are even females that are tomboys but are still women at heart. At the same time, this articles evaluates what become of transgender as they are also the ones who became nonconformists against the roles they are born with at birth.

Currently the dispute has given rise to two dichotomous (and therefore co-constitutive) factions within the transgender community: the “true transsexuals” (also known by the sometimes derogative “truscums” or “transmedicalists”) and the queer-theory/social-approach minded “tucutes”. The former ideology understands transgenderism primarily through the transsexual standpoint as pivoting on a profound biological/psychological disorientation that can only be remedied through medical intervention; conversely, the latter claims that given that gender is contingent on exterior social indexes, changeable external influences such as culture, and internal understandings relevant to the individual alone, it can only be described through a framework of liminal

In recent years, a growing body of research and literature from a variety of professional organizations, such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), has attempted to better understand and meet the needs of transgender individuals and the clinicians who provide their care. This is reflective of a societal shift towards inclusion, as well as a growing number of transgender individuals on the caseloads of clinicians. The APA, for example, made changes to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2013 to reduce stigma and improve clinical care available to the transgender community. Specifically, the DSM-5, “changed gender identity