What is GLBT? &rarr Differentiating Between Biological Sex,
Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, ...
What is GLBT? Many legislators - and others - naively believe that the rights of transgendered people are already included under the "GLBT umbrella."
However, while we (the transgendered) share many of the same issues and concerns, we form a distinct minority even within the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual community, reflecting the fundamental differences between:
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Gender Identity: "Between the ears" - Our psychological cognizance of ourselves as male, female, or transgendered
Sexual / Biological Identity: "Between the legs" - Biologically / anatomically male or female, and
Sexual Orientation: Our sexual preference or attraction - gay, straight, bisexual ...
Transgendered people comprise a distinct subgroup that faces discrimination to a higher degree than most other groups, including GLB people, due to ignorance, fear, and intolerance. This demonstrates the unique need for recognition and protection of the rights of the transgendered. Education and knowledge will be crucially important for fully attaining transgender rights and protections.
In a very basic form, I defined some of the key differences between gender identity, sexual identity and sexual preference, above. In addition to this, I tend to agree (more-or-less) with Bobbi Brown, who wrote in her brief "The Gender Matrix" essay that:
- Transsexuals: Those who are considering surgically changing their sex called pre-operative, and those who have already done so, called post-operative. They can be female-to-male (transsexual men) as well as male-to-female (transsexual women).
- Transgenderists: Persons living full-time in a gender opposite their birth sex but who have no desire to pursue surgery. Transgenderists can be female-to-male (transgendered men) as well as male-to-female transgendered women)
- Transvestites (the clinical term) and Crossdressers (the colloquial term): Those who express their gender in a way that differs from their birth sex, as well as "mannish" women, whose gender expression is masculine and who are often assumed to be lesbians, though this is not necessarily the case and "effeminate" men, whose gender expression is feminine and who are often assumed to be homosexuals, though this also is not necessarily the case.
"The term "transgender" is used to refer to a person whose gender identity differs from their physical sex or whose expression differs from conventional expectations of masculinity or femininity. Transgendered persons include:
To this, I would add that virtually without exception, bone fide transsexuals recognize - often from a *very* early age, that they were "born in the wrong body," and are *driven* to resolve this "birth defect." In my opinion, this differentiates them from transgenderists (like myself), crossdressers, etc.
Of, variations exist with all of these "classifications" (above), contributing to the diversity within the GLBT-Straight communities.
Victoria,
December 30, 2007
The GLBTIQ "Alphabet Soup"
Here goes (updated April 2009): GLBTTQQIAATS:
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G: Gay
L: Lesbian
B: Bisexual
T / TT: Transgendered / Transsexual (sometimes the second T = Two Spirit)
Q: Queer
Q: Questioning (uncertain)
I: Intersexed
A: Ally (allies)
A: Androgynous
TS: Two Spirit (Native Americans)
- Transgender Alphabet Soup: SRS, HRT, RLT ... What Does It All Mean?
- America In Dire Need of Education On Gender Identity - Commentary from a 'lay-person' (December 07, 2007)
- What is Gender and Who is Transsexual / Transgendered? (original source; also saved here)
- What Is Gender?: Jennifer Boylan elegantly discusses gender in her essay published in the NY Times [August 03, 2008] entitled "The XY Games"
- A "Transgender "Declaration of Rights" [June 2008], from the World Gender Coalition
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