Thousands of people across the planet feel that they simply don’t belong in their skin. A lot of us feel this way growing up but for some it’s a lifelong thing that doesn’t go away. It’s all about gender. Sometimes our gender assignment at birth based on our apparent biology doesn’t fit right, it’s a bad call and we want to change it.
The Lingo. Okay so there are lot of words to describe trans terms, here’s a few:
Transgender -An umbrella term used to describe all trans individuals
Transsexual –These are people who feel that their biological and psychological genders do not match up, as if they have been born into the wrong body. These feelings can often be experienced from an early age, although it is not usually until puberty, when the body takes on more obvious physical sexual characteristics that it becomes a prominent issue. A person who is physically female but psychologicall male is known as a female-to-male (FTM) transsexual, or transman. The opposite, a person who is physically male but psychologicall female is known as a male-to-female (MTF) transsexual, or transwoman.
Transvestite – These are often men who enjoy wearing clothing that is traditionally considered female, for example lingerie and skirts; for a variety of reasons; sexual gratification and feeling more comfortable are just two of many. Transvestites however do not wish to change to the opposite gender.
Drag King/ Drag Queen -These are people who dress and act as the opposite gender for entertainment purposes, with no desire to change their physical gender but may invent personalities and histories for their drag persona.
Pre-op – A person who hasn’t yet had an operation to change their biological physicality.
Hormones –The hormones Testosterone & Oestrogen are often prescribed to aid the growth of hair (testosterone) and soft tissue such as breast tissue (oestrogen).
M-F –Male to Female transition.
F-M –Female to Male transition.
Androgynous –A person who looks gender neutral.
Intersex -These people are often considered as ‘transgender’ but this is often not the case, intersex people are both biologically male and female, either by having two sets of genitalia or having a genetic sex that is different to their physical sex. However as a child’s gender is often decided at birth, it may cause gender identity issues later on in life.
Issues surrounding gender identity are hard to comprehend at first but trans issues are at the heart of the modern LGBT movement, forcing a focus on a new era of progression in trans rights and understanding. The main thing to know is that you aren’t alone as a person who self identifies as trans and there are many things Belfast and our society can help you with.
September 28, 2008 at 4:05 pm |
As one of Belfasts best known T,S,s im interested in any promotion of trans issues, have also been involved in Pride- Interpride for many years and was an active member of many Gay-Lesbian organisations, past and present. Somewhat of a television personality these days i try to promote understanding on trans-issues within the media and press, and also within the Gay and Straight communities, as even within the gay-community there still is a lot of suspission and ignorance. Tina
December 10, 2008 at 4:08 pm |
I would hardly say Tina McCombe is a TV Personality or even one of the best known Transgendered people in Belfast.
In fact – a lot of transgendered people in UK and Ireland have a real big problem with Tina for misrepresentation and the behaviour this person continues to display, including the company kept by them of adult men with interests in teenagers.
A lot of the transgender community is also very annoyed with McCombe’s broadcast of transpeople as being part of the gay community – to most transgendered people, this is completely unheard of and a deliberate lack of knowledge of what transgender means. Transgender people make connections with the Gay community at the very early stage of transitioning, most times because it provides a more neutral territory. For that matter a lot of transpeople take themselves to other more open minded communities other than the LGB one. Most transpeople admire the LGB community as much as anyone else does.
This is why transgender people question McCombe’s own thoughts on what transgender actually is… McCombe leads this misrepresentation through the media and most people who are transgendered are annoyed and feel rejected when they see someone claiming to be like them who clearly isn’t.
December 10, 2008 at 4:14 pm |
For the record, the comment ‘even within the gay community there still is a lot of suspicion and ignorance’ would be considered an insult to the gay community which in a lot of transpeople’s experience has been very uplifting and supportive and in a lot of cases, helped them pull through the shadows as teenagers or young adults. And though not everyone in the gay community is perfect, it would be more knowledgable and honest to say that realistically, the gay community have been supportive through oppressive times when even people like Tina McCombe were turning on people Tina claimed to be ‘her own kind’.