Transgender

Sapphic, transgender, inverted, homoerotic, transsexual, queer – there are so many terms to consider when talking about homosexuality. Knowing what to use when and how can be confusing for the gay and straight alike.

“Transgender” and “transexual” are two terms that have been used interchangeably by heterosexuals and by unknowing members of the gay community.

“People consider ‘transgender’ and ‘transsexual’ interchangeable because people often use the words interchangeably,” says Sarah Wilcox, an assistant professor of sociology at Kent State. “The difference between them is subtle.”

Wilcox defines a transexual (also spelled “transsexual”) as “someone who identifies as male or female but whose gender identity conflicts with their biological sex – that is, they were born male or have XY chromosomes, but experience themselves as female.”

Wilcox explains that “transexual” is a more restrictive term that describes people who sometimes get medical treatment – for example, hormones or surgery to “align their internal gender identity with their physical self.”

The term “transgender,” though, applies to a wider range of gender alignment issues.

 “Transgender refers to the spectrum of gender ambiguity – the various ways in which our gendered behavior, activities, dress and identities do not match up neatly with the assumption that there are two biological categories – ‘male’ and ‘female,’” Wilcox says.

She says ‘transgender’ is a broader term that can include transexuals, cross-dressers, people who are intersexed (who have some of the biological characteristics of both sexes) and “anyone from across a spectrum of gender ambiguity or non-conformity.”

 Wilcox explains that the two terms cannot be used interchangeably as most people use them. While ‘transexual’ is a medical term developed by psychiatrists and psychologists, ‘transgender’ describes a social movement.

“(Transgendered) is the political component – working to create a world where greater fluidity of gender expression is welcomed and valued,” Wilcox says.

Either way, both terms describe a section of the sexual minority population seeking only to feel comfortable in their own skin.

“Some people have a strong, internal, deeply felt sense of themselves as being either male or female, while some people feel themselves to be something other than or in between entirely male or female,” Wilcox explains. “Having both words allows people to express both kinds of identities.”