Transgender (trans) is the individual who does not identify with the gender assigned to him/her at birth. One transgender person is the one who doubts the gender (male or female) given to her when she was born.
It is important to remember that transgender it's not disease or psychological disorder.
According to traditional social conventions, there are two types of gender: male and female. for a long time the gender identity it was linked exclusively to the biological sex of people.
For example, if a certain individual was born with a penis, then he should behave and like them all. things related to the male gender (man), such as playing football, playing in cars, not wearing dresses etc. If the person meets these expectations, he or she is considered cisgender - that is, the individual identifies with the gender that was given to him/her at birth.
However, this individual may not identify with the male gender, which is conventionally associated with people who are born with the male sex organ. If this individual identifies with the female gender, it is a transgender woman.
Normally, transgenderism manifests itself during the first years of an individual's life. One of the signs that helps to identify a transgender child it is his personal interests in relation to the signs that are associated with the feminine and the masculine. For example, a boy who likes to wear dresses may be (or not) a sign of transgender.
Gender identity is not necessarily related to sexual orientation. In other words, a transgender man (a woman who identifies with the male gender) can be homosexual (if she is attracted to men) or heterosexual (if she is attracted to women).
See also:Gender Identity and Definition of Cisgender.
Difference between transgender and transsexual
In specialized literature, the word transgender has been used as an "umbrella" term - that is, a generic concept that encompasses all cases of individuals who do not fit into the cultural impositions of gender. So, transsexuals, transvestites, cross dressers, genderqueer, bigen, pangender, drag queen and intersex are considered transgender.
Specifically speaking, the transsexual is the one who opts for bodily modifications, through hormonal treatment and/or surgical intervention in order to transition from one sex to another. Thus, according to this point of view, the transsexual would be the transgender individual who undergoes hormonal treatments or sex change surgery.
It is important to say that these terms are the object of constant debate and their meaning, which is not consensual, changes over time.
See also:
- Difference between cisgender and transgender
- meaning of transsexual
- Definition of Gender
- meaning of pansexual