Explaining Transgenderism, It's Terminology and Categories
Crossdressers:
People who wear clothes and assume the identity of a gender other than that assigned to them
at birth. Usually crossdressing is not done on a full time basis. Crossdressing is done for a
number of personal reasons: to lend a sense of completeness to one's Identity, to express a
feminine/masculine side of personality, to express oneself erotically, etc.... there are different
types of crossdressing that do not relate to transgenderism. The Crossderssers we are
identifying here are people born with the need, desire and compulsion to crossdress due to
developements of the fetus during the gender assignment process in the mothers womb.
this type of Crossdressing can range from just wearing the under garments of the opposite
gender to just tetering on the edge of Transsexualism. A few of the other types of Crossdressing that does not relate to Transgenderism involve Actors who portray a part as the opposite gender, Drag Queens and Drag Kings who dress in opposite gender clothing to entertain in gay clubs. Most
of the time these people are usually from the gay community but may also be bisexual or even
straight, dressing as the opposite gender in Halloween costumes on Halloween, crossdressing
as a sexual fetish, (usually a heterosexual male).
Intersexed (preferred over hermaphrodite):
People who are born with genitals of both sexes (ranging in degree); often an infant who is
born intersexed will be surgically altered to represent one gender. Unfortunately, this is done
before the child has had a chance to express which gender he or she is or would choose to
be. To learn more about Intersexuality, go to the Intersex Society of North America website.
Multi-gendered (or sometimes, genderqueer, third gender, etc.):
Those who reject the over-simplicity of a polarized, two-gender system: often believe that there
is a multiplicity of genders which are fluid in expression.
Intersex Issues: The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) is a peer support, education, and
advocacy group founded and operated by and for intersexuals: individuals born with
anatomy or physiology which differs from cultural ideals of male and female. Please
access http://www.isna.org/ for further information.
Androgyne:
Main article: Androgyny .... An androgyne is a person who cannot be classified into the typical gender roles of their society; androgyny is independent of orientation. Androgynes may identify as beyond gender, between genders, moving across genders, entirely genderless, or any or all of these, exhibiting a variety of male, female, and other characteristics. Androgyne identities include pangender, ambigender, non-gendered, agender, gender fluid or intergender. Androgyny can be either physical or psychological and is independent of birth sex. Occasionally, non-androgynous people adapt their physical appearance to look androgynous. This outward androgyny has been used in fashion, and the milder forms of it (women wearing men's pants or men wearing two earrings, for example) are not seen as transgender behavior.
The term androgyne is also sometimes used as a medical synonym for an intersex individual.
Genderqueer
Genderqueer is a recent attempt to signify gender experiences that do not fit into binary concepts, and refers to a combination of gender identities and sexual orientations. One example could be a person whose gender presentation is sometimes perceived as male, sometimes female, but whose gender identity is female, gender expression is butch, and sexual orientation is lesbian. It suggests nonconformity or mixing of gender stereotypes, conjoining both gender and sexuality, and challenges existing constructions and identities. In the binary sex/gender system, genderqueerness is unintelligible and abjected
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