6 TRAI{SOIIIDtR }|ISIOBY

their birth-assigned genderor to live as a member of another gender have tended ro encounrer significanr forms of discriminarion and prejudice-even religious condemnadon. Because most people have great difficulry recognizing the humaniry of another person if they cannot recognize that persont gender,the gender-changing personcan evokein othersa primordial fear of monstrosiry or lossof humanness. That gutJevel fear can manifest itself as hatred, ourrage, panic, or disgust,which may then translateinto physicalor emorionalviolence directed against the person who is perceived as not-quite-human. Suchpeopleareoften shunnedand may be denied such basicneedsas housing or employment. \(ithin modern bureaucratic sociery many kinds of routine adminiscrative proceduresmake life very difficult for peoplewho crossthe socialboundaries their binh-assigned of genders. Birth certificates, school and medicalrecords,professional credentials, passports,drivert licenses,and other such documents provide a compositeportrait of eachof us as a personwith a pardcular gender, and when theserecordshavenoticeablediscrepancies omissions,all or kinds of problems 6a11 lgsuh-inabiliry to marry for example, or ro cross national borders, or quali$, for jobs, or gain accessro needed social services,or secure legal custody of onet children. Because transgenderpeople typically lack the same kind of support rhat fully acceptedmembers of society automadcally expecr, they may be more likely to engagein rislqy or harmful behaviors and consequendymay wind up having more health problemsor uouble with rhe law-which only compoundstheir alreadyconsiderable difficulties. In the United States,rhembersof minoriry groups often try to opposeor changediscriminarorypractices and prejudicial animdes by banding together to offer one another mutual support,.to voice their issues public, ro raisemoney to improve their collectivelot in life, in to form organizationsthat addresstheir specific unmet needs,or ro participate in electoralpolitics or lobby for the passage protective of legislation.Someengage more radicalor militant kinds of activism. in Some members of rhe minoriry group make arr or wrire literature that changesthe way others think of them and the issuesthey face.

1 TR[l{S0tll0ER T0 [|'l lllTR0DIJCI|0ll

the roots some do the intellectual and theoreticalwork of analyzing strategies of their Particular forms of social oppressionand devising their poli"i., that will bring about a better future' Others direct "rrd of self-worth and attention toward Promodng self-acceptance a sense community wh<l have internalized among membersof the minoriry from the disempoweringattirudes or beliefs about their difference movement dominant majoriry. In short, a multidimensional activist movementto for socialchangeoften beginsto take shape'Just such a addressffansgender.relatedsocialjusticeissuesdevelopedintheUnited after \7orld \il'ar II' Statesin the decades

ond Ierms Definitions

it would be of Beforemoving on to a discussion that history however' terms' wonhwhile to spenda little time defining someof the common that I will be using throughout this book' concepts,and assumptions of touch on fundamentalquestions human issues transgender Because carefully; existence, they take us into areas that we rarely consider about usually, we simply exPeriencethese things without thinking or breathing' them too much-as we do with graviry, for example' to ask In the everyday course of wents, most people have no reason such as "\(/hat makesa man a man' or a woman a woml?quesdons "How do I o, "Ho* is my body related to my social role?" or even everyday know what my gender is?" Rather, we just go about our that without causeto quesdonthe unexaminedassumptions business or breathing' form part of our working reality' But gender' like gravity breaking is a reallycomplicatedtopic when you start taking it apartand itdown-asthefollowingtermsanddefinitionsaftest.Inoffering ofhow I use certain'key concepts'I thesehandy thurnbnail sketches them and to begin hope to complicatehowwe understand nevertheless introducingsomeofthearsumentsthatwillplaythemselvesoutinthe ahead. chapters

i1t' .;r

people use the ,,-J, Sr", Sex is'not the same as gender,although many ''-'" considered in ..r-, interchangeably everydayspeech'Q91.i;generally

.ftr-'iil

I
IRII{SGiI{DtR l|ISTORY
fi,of9gi9al,and gender is generallyconsideredcultural (although that .G*uli';'r.f., chlng-ingtoo). Th9,words ,.male,' "*_d:_:::T*lB ig "rrj tg;g1, Se!.refers to reproducrivecafacity or potential-whether an in{i"v-id.ual bgdy producesone or rhe other of the mo specialized cells Sperm producers arrc said to be o-f.Sp rnq!9 s_ets;_and^ pgg.prod-,+p9-ts.a.re r"id io !i of *. f.t"J-g r.* lris should. be taken ro manthat not there are only two kinds of bodies (mareand femare)or that a[ bodies are either one or rhe other of only rwo possible kinds of bodies.Bodiesthat mix physical characteristicsof male or female, ofwhich there are many difFerent variedes, saidto be inrersex(definedbelow).The sexstatus are gjany pardcularbody is deqglgrrned pr.ao-i"*ity gengtically, Uyit. .i_dend$,ing labelsX *d g. Th! g.n.ti. or chromosomalsex of the -' t i i r " cannor (or at leastcannor yer) be changed.In the contemporary f_oo)i. united States, is still widely believedthat gender (defined it below) is also determinedby physicalsex-meaning that a personwith a mare body is automaticallyconsidered man and a personwith a femare a body is automaticdly considered v,'61n4n-hsncethe common tendency a to use the words "sex"and "gender" interchangeably. some ,r"rrrgarrd., people share this belief and assumethat their need to cross gender boundarieshasa physical,sexlinked cause. Other transgender p.opl. understandtheir sense ofbeing transgendered be entireryunr.lat d to to biological sexdifferencesand to be reratedinstead to psychological and cultural procsses. mentioned above,it's possible As to ,pi., _*y different theoriesabout why transgender peopleexist. Intersex:Typically, being an egg-producing body or a sperm-producing body carrieswith it a number of relatedphysicaltraits. Egg_prod,.r.ing bodies tend to have a ureruswhere rhe fused egg/spermcels grow into new individuals,and they aisotend ro havemilk-producing glandsthat provide nourishment for the young. sperm-producing bodies tend to have a penis, which is use&rrfor delivering the sperm to the uterus. Theseare, however,ontrythe mosr common ways rhar narurar serection t 'r

#
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iii

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e I0lnll{s0il{0tR Al{ ll{In00|Jclloll

'S7henan has organized the reproductive anatomy of human bodies. can eggand spermcell come togetler, their chromosomes combine in patterns (called "karyogpes") other than the two that result in typical male(XD ortypical female0O0 bodyrypes.Somegeneticirregularities XY cause body that is genetically (male)to look femaleat birth. Some a bodies are born with genitals that look like a mixture of typically mde and rypically female shapes.Some genetically female bodies QOQ are All wombs, or ovaries. of thesevariationson the born without vaginas, most rypical organization of human reproductive anatomy-along with many, many more-are called "intersex" conditions (and used to be calledhermaphroditism).Someintersexpeoplenow preferthe medical term "DSD" (for Disordersof SexualDevelopment)to describetheir sexstatus,but othersrejectthis term asundulypathologizing. Intersex

1i

n5gesgaryourspecieq fo. to-physical]y kg3: lqe1m) r.nrnju"rr*rriC

i:,'

t"il'J"f -*f s."o .il.d .h. .hio**o-., (*ii.i, h"* b..- ;;

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conditions are far more common than most people rcalizn;reliable put the number at about one in two thousandbirths. Some estimates peoplewho think their desireto crossgenderboundaries transgender to considerthemselves havean intersexcondition hasa biologicalcause in (currenttheoriesfavor sex-linkedneurologicaldifferences the brain). Politically and sociologically, however, the transgender and intersex activist communities are quite different' Intersex activism, which only tangendally in this book as it touches upon will be discussed issues, tendsto focuson ending the pracdceof performing transgender "normalization' surgery on infants born with noticeably ambiguous genitals; transgenderpeople are righdy consideredto face different kinds of problemswith the medicalestablishment' Morphology: .lJyLikegenetic sex, a persont morphology, or the shape with being male or female,ian of {. U"ay tn", *. typic"lly associate

' $ ;

in_:91e..19"sp:*c.ts be modified llj.g"gh_'_gjgS.fy,-.h,p",S*sns;r.=g-rsJei$., adullT{: l-:9-_lh:8:-j * and .iothing, othermetho-{1-$ S,pical li*"Jiitii""t_g"9igali1 pd..t99ticf99), th"egt,Jn9..!I-:f-,:J' (n9nis 1.-!g -*+ais.ro.hav*"i'nJl'", ":gftgJlp:t:f.-.-"+.--rypt."t-&-*-alghody,shape ,_1-'":h p.l"i:ygp:"!"gy_*T,L:-fT and a clitoris, bre3s_ts, l broad siz9 aq.the 9{ thehipsrelative bsdrshapg I,the wii;-t,{9 "t-Pe5p.9-f

iti
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10TRiltSGtl't0tR ]|tstORf
breadth of rhe shouldersrerariveto height, the thicknessof the limbs, and other gender-signifying features. secondary characteristics: sex certain piysicar traits tend to be associated geletig se,x reprodugtive.pgggntial, asskin texture,body fat such 1f1_h. 9r distribution, pafterns ofhair growth,or rerative overalr bodf size.Many of rhesephysical traits are the effectsof varying levelsof hormones, the 'themical messengers" such as esrrogen and testosterone that are producedby variousendocrineglandsthroughout the body.Adjusting hormone levels can changesome (but not all) sei-liiiked I p.grgon's o"i.* S..ona".y ,i* .orrriit,rte perhap!ihe ,rr;r, ,oli"Uy "ii"r"....irti., significanr part of morphology-taken together,they are the bodily 'tigns" that othersread to guess our sex,attribute genderto ar us, and assign to the socialcategorythey understandto be most appropriate us for us. Secondary characteristics the aspectof our bodiesthat sex are we all manipulate in an acempr to communicateto othersour own sense of who we feel we are-whether we wear clothing with a necklinethar emphasizes our cleavage, whether we allow hair or stubbleto be visible on our faces. this In sense,all hlrman bodies are modified .aq 4r9 shaped -bodieq; "..orJi.rg'_.o

1l T0 IRlllSGttl0tn All ll{ln00IJCI|0ll

many membersof society of moral or ethicaljudgment. Consequently, body modificadon and opinions about transgender havestrongfeelings Practices.

'

'idr

Gender:Gender is not the same as sex, though the .two lerms-1re often used'iiiiiiihangtably, .,r.n in technical or scholady literature, tiezitfii$ d ffeiit-d&rfof todfusion. Gender is,e;nglally consideredto be .yl$fd, theoiiCJPo;i?;di biolgglcal (though ;;;d;"t 3ld qex, well),. Thg.woq$s mal] and "woman" refer to ' "l 1.q11.*fl-:*t9g9ry ". *o*4t o, *"5r-.".h"t \io orr. i, fqrt ihi Uyil; g;Es' ffldd "t " " of procegg, locialization' Glnder a.c.gmp.lex "oge-!9co-qn99 .o".]1.!tp$h the,soeial org+n.izali9n., ditre1-en1-kinds bodigl inlo different is-. 9{ 9f people-(TheEnglishword "gender"is derivedfrom genre, categories.of therehave meaning"kind" or "typ."). Historically and cross-culturally, Some of been many different systems organizingpeopleinto genders. three or cultures,including many Native American cultures,havehad four social genders.Some attribute social gender to the work people do rather than to the bodiesthey live in. In someculturespeople can changetheir social gender basedon dreamsor visions' In some they The important things to bearin mind arethat changeit with a scalpel. through time), that it variesfrom place genderis historical (it changes on to placeand culture to culture, and that it is contingent (it depends unrelatedthings coming together).This a lot of different and seemingly politics-that the of takesus into one of the central issues transgender relationship. or sexofthe body doesnot bear anynecetsary dzterrninistic drawn to the social c tegory in which that body lives.This assertion, from the observationof human socialvariability, is political precisely it because contradictsthe common belief that whether a person is a is man or a woman in the social sense fundamentally determined by the sex of the body. Itt political in the additional sensethat how a basedon their unchosen its societyorganizes membersinto categories physical differencesis never politically neutral' One of the main tend to be organizedin ways that points of feminism is that societies are more exoloitativeof female bodiesthan of mde bodies.\fithout

reprelen_r. oneself to others is such an important part of human culture'ihr'i it's _viriually impossiblet. p1e"d9_3_"y kind ofbody modification without other membels of .99ciity h"irlg m,-;.p.ijt_i_"_ll *n.,,n.r rhe pracriceis good or :O:r, Anonymous mab cross-dresser Cesd bad, or right or wrong, dependingon at Susanna, piuate resortfor cross-dressen howa in 91_wi1 one does it. Everl,thing New Yorh's Catskill Motuntainsfrom the late from cutting onet nails to cutting off 1950s until the early 1960s. one'sleg falls somewhere a specuum on

_S-!ap,!ns ""lr5"! -n_1191199p, +e bodyto

12IRtilSGIil0tR lilSI0Rt
disagreeing with that basic insighr, a transgenderperspecdve would also be sensitiveto an additional dimension of gender oppressionthat our culture today tries to reduce the wide range of livable body typesinto two and only w^ genders, of which is subjectro greater one socialcontrol than rhe other,with both gendersbeing based genital on sex.Lives that do not conform to this dominant pattern are generalry treatedas human garbage. Breakingapart the forced unity ofsex and gender,while increasingthe scopeof livable lives, is an important goal of uansgender feminism and socialjustice activism. Gender An increasingly role: outdatedterm in conremporary sociecy, but one that nevertheless continuesto surfacein perniciousways, ,,gender role" refersto socialexpectations ofproper behavior and activitiesfor a member of a particular gender.It,s where srereotypes come from. It is t[e social script that saysa man should be a doctor and a woman should be a nurse, rhar a woman should be a flight attendant and a man should be a pilot, that mothers should stay ar home wirh their children and fathersshould havesteadyjobs outsidethe home. \7hile it is certainly possibleto live a happy and fulfilled life by choosing to do things that are socially conventional (such as being a s*y-arhome mom), genderrolestell us rhat ifwe dont perform the prescribed expectations, arefailing to be proper women or men. we Gender comportrnent:veperformour socialgenderthrough our gender comportment, bodily actionssuch ashow we useour voices,crossour legs,hold our heads, wear our clothes,dancearound the room, rhrow a ball, walk in high heels. These are things that each of us learns to do during the courseof our lives by watching and mirroring others with whom we identiry as well as by being subdy (or nor so subdy) disciplined by other members of our sociery (particularly by our families) when we perform the "wrong" thing or perform rhe "right,' *ring poorly.

ffi iffi
tr

13 I0TR[l{SGtll0tR ll{TR0D|J[Tl0l{ All

sense fit with a particular of identiry:Eachpersonhasa subjective Gender this is oriet gender identiry. For most people, there gender category; is a senseof congruence between the category one has been assigned to and uained in, and what one considersoneselfto be' tansgender that this is not alwaysthe case-that it is possible peopledemonstrate of to form a sense oneselfas not lihe other membersof the genderone to' has been assigned or to think of oneselfas properly belonging to another gender category.Many people who have never experienceda peoplecan really ofgender incongruencedoubt that transgender sense it peoplewho experience often havea this, and transgender experience hard tirne explainingto otherswhat this feelslike. Onet genderidentity as could perhapsbestbe described how one feelsabout being referred to by a particular pronoun. How genderidentity dwelops in the first place and how gender identiti6s can be so diverseare hody debated topics that go straight into the controversies about nature versus cultural construction.Some nurture and biologicaldeterminismversus people think that uansgenderfeelingsare causedby inborn physical characteristics;others think that they are causedby how children are raisedor by the emotional dynamics in their families.

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Genderidentitydisordcr:FpSli$t*9f-g1t}.ppl$:l,,9tdisge9q1!99tthe o...-t9'qbcdy.t999t incongruence-betw.een.dre.gender'giguf-yir.rg-p.A$.s--9f sometimescalled gg*dg idp-+tirf'"ar-ldgn-ej :g:l* g.*gi.(a condition

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6frffifiIlffiA]ffi":ii'i" *" "[rd., dysphorid') "mliJ5''ir"ttin.a p'.r*'i"iJ io +u Unoi{f,elif g "*:.*I-qiieis"fin6wii"ii.Giiider i'*.gi"J"t io"ii"i'iiii"l D.GID ia:+f-'.tf-*p-g-e.r.9r-cf isvery -iihi" of genderlabeled Somepeopleresenthaving their sense
communides.

while others take greatcomfort from believing they havea asa sickness, condition t'hat can be cured with ProPertreatment. Generally,a person who wants to use hormones and surge- . to .9.f*g_:_!if9f *l]-ei"tr*d.gt *, qf t"t".q-qp-|,.?.F.9jS. tti9'o....,tter,t9,g4. ,tg ct ange"pl*35?.S-c,*ni.,"ho."asti

hae*rgh:.*i*g*g.'*qd--v-i$SlP,.lhi: I-e.glli{9'!-3f-qv"e}9]*e-c*-*:*y3:l9n
granted rclp gcnder b-efore e-c"pess-ts anda periodof lryinq 4 th9 dggiled

14IRfiiS0ft't0tR t|tst0RY

15 TRAt{S[tl{DIR Al{ lttIR0UU[Il0]lT0

Gender Disorder ldentity

The Diagnostic and statisticalManualof MentalDisorders, Fourth Edition, in 2000,i n c tu d e s e fo U .o w i nd i a g n o sti c teri afor gender th g cri l :b tl: h" 1 identity disorder. 3^A26 Gender ldentityDisarder Children in 302.85 Gender ldentityDisorder Adolescents AduLts in or A . . . s t r ong A t and p e rs i s te nc ro s s -g e n d e d e n tiifcati on ir {not merel y a desirefor anyperceived curturar advantages beingthe other af sixJ. In children,the disturbance manifested four (or moreJ is by of the f oLlowing: {l) repeatedly stateddesire be,or insistence he or she is, the to that othersex; nory' preference cross-dressing simurating t2! i.n for or female attire: in girLs, insistence wearing on only stereotypical masculine clothins: t!,.stron1 and persistent preferences cross_sex for roles in-make_ beLieve or persistent pLay fantasies being the othersex; af l4l intense desire participate thestereotypical to in games andpastimes of othersex; .the strong preference praymates the othersex. adolescents 15) for of rn and aduLts, disturbance manifested symptomssuch a stated the is by as destreto be the other sex, frequentpassing the othersex,desire live as to or be treated the othersex, the conviction he or she has as or that the typicalfeelings and reactions the othersex. of

with hisor her sexor senseof inappropriate' discomfort B. Persistent is ln nessin the genderroleof that sex. children,thedisturbance manior that his penis testes in by fested anyof the following: boys,assertion that or or are disgusting will disappear ass'e:rtion it wouldbe betternot pLay towardrough-and-tumble and reiecor a to have penis, aversion girls, reiection and activities;:in toys,games, tionof matestereatypical that shehas ar will grow a assertion in of urinating a sitting position, penis, assertion that shedoesnot want ta grow breastsor menstruor ln clothing. adolesfeminine toward normative or ate, markedaversion such as by is centsand adults,the disturbance manifested symptoms sex rid with preoccupation getting of primary andsecondary characteror surgery, otherproceayreln..nlfji-. for istics [e.g.,request hormones, the to callvalter sexualcharacteristics simulate other sexlor beliefthat he ir snewasbornthewrongsex. conditian. intersex with is c. The disturbance not concurrent a physical or significantdrsfress impairment clinically D. Thedisturbancecauses of areas functioning' or in social,occupational, otherimportant matureindividuals): if Specify [for sexually Attractedto Males Sexually to Attracted Females Sexualty to Attracted Both Sexually Attractedto Neither SexuaLly

to medical rrearmenrs, which then alrow for a legarchangein gender status. Some transgenderpeople question why gender change needs to be medicalized in the first prace, whire others argue that they should have access healthcareservices to without having their need to do so be consideredpathologicar.In spite of its being an official psychopathology,"treatments,,for GID are nor covered by health insurancein the united staresbecause they are considered"elective,,'

"cosmetic," or even "experimental." This is a truly inexcusable double bind-if being transgendered is not considered psychopathological, it should be delisted as a mental disorder; if it is to be considered psychopathological, its tratment should be covered as a Iegitimate healthcare need. The status of GID and the rationale for transgender to access healthcare raise important questions about the U.S. healthcare industry moie generaily, and about the increasingly powerful ways that

i'rl
15IRAIISGII'IDIR l|ISIORI
medicine and sciencedefine our bodiesand lives. Struggles revorving around GID form an important part of transgender political history and contemporaryactivism. tVhat we find Sexualiry: erotic and how we take pleasure our bodies in consdtute our sexuality,For most of us, this involves using our sex organs(genitals), sexualitycan involve many body partsor physical but activities,as well as rhe erotic use ofobjects. Sexualirydescribes how (and wi*r whom) we acr on our erodc desires. Sexualiryis analytically distinct from genderbur inrimately bound with it, like two lines on a graph that haveto intersect.The most common terms we useto label or classifyour eroric desires depend on identifying the genderof the person toward whom our desireis directed: "heterosexual,, (toward a member of another gender), "homosexual"(toward a member of the same gender), "bisexual" (roward a member of any gender). These terms also dependon our understandingof our own gender-hornoand.hetero-make senseonly in relation to a gender they are the .tame as"or "different from." \(/e can alsobe "asexual" (not expressing erotic desirefor anyone)or "autosexual" (,"kirg pleasure our own bodies in rather than in interacdng wirh others). Becausemany uansgender people dont fit into other peoplet sexualorienration categories(or because they dont havea clearsense themselves ofwhere they might fit in), thereis a relativelyhigh proportion ofasexualityand autosexuality in transgenderpopulations. Some people are specifically arracted to transgender people. A transgender person may be of any sexual orientadon,just like a nonffansgender person. TTansuestite: is an old word, coined in 1910 by rhe German This sexologistMagnus Hirschfeld. He used it to describe "the eroric urge for disguise," which is how he understoodthe motivation that led some peopleto wear clorhing generallyassociated with a socialgenderother than the one assignedto rhem at birth. For Hirschferd, 'transvestites" wereone of many different rypesof 'texual intermediaries,,, including homosexuals and hermaphrodites, who occupieda spectrumbetween
Cross-dresser:A term intended as a nonjudgmental replacement for
.t:

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I

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"pure male" and "pure female.l' Initially, this term was used in much the way that "transgender" (seebelow) is usednow, to convey the sense of a wide range of gender-variant identities and behaviors.During the

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courseofthe last century however,to the extent that it has not fallen entirely out of favor, it refers primarily to people who wear genderin atypicalclothing but do not engage other kinds ofbody modification, It usually refers to men rather than women and usually carrieswith it for ofcross-dressing erotic pleasure. the association

,tt.

ya"--ffi LIKE A BROTTIER SOMETHING

FLoRA! "What a verv Prctty waictcoat. Emilvl" gocc lr bctongt to mv brothcr Chsrter' Whcn hc ErrulY: "Yee, dcgr' lcn't out of town, h. Duts mc on the Frcc Lirt, ac he calta it, of hig wardrobe' it kind l

linked ferninist dressrefornz Popuhr opinion in the nineteenth cenrury sometimes dressing. actiuism with cross-gender

"transvestite," it is usually considered to be neutrally descriptive ofthe practice of wearing gender-atypical clothing rather than associating that practice with an erotic imPulse. The practice of cross-dressing can

1
1SIRAIISGIIIDIR l|ISTORI
have many meaningsand motivadons: Besidesbeing a way to resist ot move away from an assigned socialgender,it could be a theatrical practice (either comic or dramatic), part of fashion or politics (such as the practiceof woment wearing panrs once was), part of religious ceremonies, pan of celebrating or public festivals and holidays(suchas Mardi Gras,Carnival, or Halloween). Iranssexual: Anorher term sometimestraced to Magnus Hirschfeld, i, trpglfy r9fer9 pop_l_e, fegf g ylro d-esire to change their 99r-ogg J9 members ol the gender other than the one tl-reyw_ere asrign.d to

le T0 TRillS0[l{DtR lil lllTR0DUCTl0l{

and cultural gender categories. complicatedbiological sex differences The breakdown in familiar distinctions between who is a transsexual with GID) is considered on and who is not, and who (based diagnosis recipient of medicalizedbody modification procedures, an acceptable topic. The rapid evolution of new motives is anothervery hotly debated for changingone'sembodiment (for example,a woman with a known or geneticrisk for breastcanceropting for a "preventive"mastectomy, drugs-neither a professionalathlete taking performance-enhancing but transgendered, who do someof of whom may considerthemselves people do to theirs), the samethings to their bodiesthat transgender for doing so, is part of what coupledwith new biomedicalpossibilities field. drivesthe rapidly developingterminology in the transgender

as full_dme '."11 T:?l:1,*o_q1.,il ::d.-r.t. _!iy"-q_"9::ir.ty -p-e1manent, ti4g iticre uf o. o.

" eJdwell, "Psychopathia Transexualis,', ir was popularizedby Dr. but Harry Benjamin in the 1950sand becamewidely known as a result of the spectacular publiciry given to the 1952surgical,,sex change,, of Christine Jorgensen, former photographerand film editor from a the Bronx whosegenital conversionoperationmade headlines around the world. The term "rranssexuar" was introduced to draw a distinction between those 'tranwestites" who sought medical interventions to changetheir physicalbodies(thar is, their "sex")and thosewho merery wanted to changerheir genderedclothing (the 'vestments"in rhe root of'tranwestite"). Historically,the practiceoftranssexualityhas involved surgicalmodification of the reproducriveorgansand chest, hormone useto changesecondary characteristics, permanentremoval sex and of facial and body hair for individuals moving from male embodiment toward socialwomanhood. Thesemedical procedures have then been the basisfor legalor bureaucratic changes genderdesignation. in More recently,peoplewho dont considerthemselves be transsexual to have increasinglysfarred using these same body modification practices, and they may do so without trying to change their legal gender. (For example,a personborn with a femarebody mighr use tesrosterone or have masrecromies but stirl rive legafiy or socialryas a woman with traditiondly masculine attributes). The result of such practices is anotherlayer of human-generated complexiryaddedon top of alreadv

at birth.Thetermwis used'in iiii. or ir,l

,{

ITansgenfur: The key term around which this book revolves, although 'transgender"hasbecomewidespread only in the last decade, the word has a longer history (which will be discussedin later

Of e1-p9-gl3gglrj. course,given that all gender,as defined above,varies in through placeand time, defining "transgender" this way inevitably brings up the related questionsof "\7hich norms and expectations?" $7hat counts as nansgender and "\fhose norms and expectations?" varies as much as gender itself, and it always dependson historical and cultural context. It seemssafeto say that the differencebetween in genderand transgender any given situation, howevef,involvesthe betweena dominant or common construcdonof genderand difference a marginalizedor,infrequent one. Recently,some people have begun to to use the term "transgender" rcferon$ to thosewho identify with to a genderother than the one they were assigned at birth, and to use gender other terms for people who seekto resisttheir birth-assigned without abandoningit, or who seekto createsomekind of new gender 'transgender" referto the widestimaginable to location.Thii book uses and identities. practices rangeof gender-variant

r l r I r I
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20IRIIISGTIIOTRl|ISIORY
Tiansrnan or ttansuotnan: In transgender communities, people commonly use the words .transmen," ,.transgendermen,,, or "transsexualmen" when they are taiking about people who were born with femalebodiesbut considerthemselves be men and live socially ro as men. Likewise, the words .transwomen," .transgender women,,, or 'lffanssexual women" refer to peopreborn with mare bodies who consider themselves be women and live socialy as women. to The "man' and "woman" refer, in keeping wirh the definicion of gender given above,to the social categorythe person belongsto, not his or her original biologicalsex.pronoun usesimilarly refersto sociar gender and gender identity: "she" and "her" are appropriatefor transgender women, and "he" and "him,' for ransgendermen. In a lot of medical lirerature,especially older literature, rhe reverse often true. Doctors is and psychiatriststend to use "transsexualmale" to refer to transgender women (and will often say "he") and'transsexual female,'to refer to transgender men (and often say "she").In keepingwith more generar socialedquette,it's considered polite to usethe genderterms preferred by the person to whom t}ey refer. Genderqueer: the early 1990s,somepeople startedto usethe In word "queer"' which had been a derogatory term for homosexuarity,in a positive way. Although itt now often used as a synonym for gay or lesbian, the people who first reappropriatedthe term *.r. ,ryi.rg ,o find a way to talk about their opposition to hererosexual socialnorms without automatically assumingthat meant they were gay; ,.queer,, was less a sexual orientation than it was a political one, *h"r th. "queer theorists" of the day called being "antiheteronormative,, (a term discussed more fully in chapter5). "eueer" is usually associated with sexualiry but from the beginning a vocal minotiry insisted on the importance of rransgender and gender-variantpracticesfor queer ..genderqrl..rr.,, politics. Many suchpeopletook to calling themselves Peoplewho use "transgender"to refer only to those kinds orpeople who want to live in a gender other than the one assigned to them ar birth sometimesuse "genderqueer" mean the kinds of people to who

21 TBll{s0tt{D[R T0 All ll{ln00ljcll0l{

resist gender norms without "changing sex," but this is not always the case. A Alphabetsoup: lot of acronymsareusedby membersof the T section intersex,queer, transgender, gay,bisexual, of the LGBTIQQIA.(lesbian, questioning,and allies)communiry' MTF and FTM refer,respectively, in&cating the direction of and "female-to-male," to "male-to-female" it would be more accurateto tdk about "male-togender crossing; woman" or "female-to-man,"but the fact of the matter is that nobody people resentand resist actually saysthose things. (Sometransgender these "directional" Iabels,claiming they make about as much sense man or "heterosexual-toas calling someonea "heterosexual'to-gay" lesbian"womatl, and that they serve only to marginalize transmen and transwomen within the larger populations of other men and TS women.) CD (or sometimesXD) means "cross-dressing." refers be Pre-oP or Post-oP' or even no-ho who might to a transsexual, /no-op (electingneither hormonesnor surgerybut sdll identifring as to a member of the genderhe or shewas not assigned at birth). A TG which, when usedas an identiry label rather than a is "a transgender," broadly descriptive term, often refersto those who live permanently in to a socialgenderthey were not assigned at birth, might or might not but might not havechestsurgery, who usually usehormones,might or dont have genital surgery. The right term to use in referenceto any particularpersonreallyisnt in the eyeof the beholder-itt determined by the personwho appliesit to him-, her-, or itself. pronouns:Given that the English languagedoesnt allow Gender-neutval us to refer to other individuals without gendering them (we have to choose between "he," "she," or "it," with the latter not considered it because doesntindicate to appropriatefor reference humansprecisely a gender), some transgenderpeople favor the use of newly coined, "gender-neutral"pronouns. They might use "ze" or "sie" in place of "he" or "she,"or the word "hir" insteadof "his" or "her." Sometimes, "s/he." Appropriate in writing, people will use the unPronounceable

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useofgender-neurralpronouns can be trickr. The practice often worla well within transgender communides,wheremany peopleunderstand whar's being said, but it can get confusing for outsiders. Changesin languagestructure usually happen very srowly and pronouns ".. "irorrg the linguistic elementsmost resistantto change,so trying to speed up a changeof usagecan somedmessound forced o, ,rr*g.. So_. transgenderpeople-often those who have worked very hard ro attain a gender sratus orher than the one assignedro them at birth-take ofFensewhen gender-neutral pronouns, rather than the appropriate genderedones, are applied to rhem because they perceivedri, ,rr"g. ", a way that others fail to acknowledgetheir atrained gender. cisgenderor cissexual:Two other recently coined words that aregaining a following are 'tisgender" and .tissexual,"which some p.oplJ prefer to the-words "nonransgendered"or'honffanssexual." The prefix czsmeans"on the sameside as" (thar is, the opposite of trans).The idea behind the termsis to resistthe way that "woman' or "man' can mean "nontransgenderedwoman" or 'hontransgendered man" by default, unlessthe persont transgenderstatus is expricitly named; irt the same logic that would Iead somebodyro prefer saying.,white woman, and "black woman" rather rhan simpry using "womari' to describe white a woman (thus presenting white as the norm) and ,.black woman, to indicate a deviation from the nor.m. similarly, 'tisgendered" or 'tissexual" namesthe usudry unstated assumpdonof nontransgender status contained in the words .,man" and ..woman.,, Subculnral terms:In an imponanr sense, rhe terms all mendoned in this section on definitions are subcultural 1sffns-$r6rcls that originate and circrrlatewithin a smarlersubsetof a largerculrure. Ho*.u.r, th. t.r*, listed here are also the onesmosr often usedby currural elites,or within massmedia, or within powerfirl professions suchasscience and medicine and academia.They are often derived from the experiences of white transgender people.But there are hundreds,ifnot thousands, oforher specializedwords related to the subject marer of rhis book that could

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just aseasilybe listedin rhis secdonon rermsand definitions.A number of thesewords come out of gay and lesbian subcultures-for example, "drag' (clothing associared with a panicular genderor activity, often worn in a parodic, self-conscious, theatricalmanner); "drag king' and "drag or queeri' (peoplewho engagein cross-gender performance,either on the stageor on the street,usually in subculrural spaces such as gay-friendly bars,nightclubs, neighborhoods,or commercialsexzones);"burcfi' (rhe expression traits, mannerisms,or appeiuances of usually assoiiatedwith masculiniry,particularlywhen expressed lesbianwomen or gay men); by or "femmd' (the erpressionof traits, mannerisms,or appearances usually associated with femininiry particularlywhen expressed lesbianwomen by or gay men). Many terms, such as"bulldagger" for a very butch woman, originate in queer communities of color. The "housd' subcultures of many urbanA-fricanAmerican,Larino, andAsianAmerican communities (suchasthe onesrepresented inJennie Livingstont frIm ParisIs Buming) have large cosrume balls in which panicipants "walk the categories," compedng for best enacrment of a multitude of very highly stylized gender categories.Some words referring to practicesor identities thar are termed 'transgender"in this book areculturally or ethnically specific, such as rhe hijra in India, the Polynesianmahu, South Ameitr;Lntraaesti, or Native American "two-spirit." The seemingly ino<haustible global caalog of specializedterms for gender variery showshow impossible it really is to group such a wide range of phenomenatogether under the single term 'transgender" without keeping that wordt definition very flexible and without paylng closeattenrion to who is using it to refer to whom, and for what reasons.