Questions I've always had about Trans people.

Post Reply New Topic

Learning about trans people is interesting to me, and I have a few questions I've always wanted answered. None of them are purposefully offensive I'm very open minded:
1. How do you know for sure?
2. How old is the average age someone suspects they are?
3. What are the different TYPES of trangender?
4. Is where you live accepting?
5. What is the MILDEST form of intersex condition?
6. How does the gay community react?

I'll come up with more questions as I go along. Anyone else can ask questions too of course

None of them are purposefully offensive I'm very open minded:
1. How do you know for sure? I don't.
2. How old is the average age someone suspects they are? No idea. 18 for me.
3. What are the different TYPES of trangender? Since gender is a social role perceived by the person, I actually tend to think there are as many genders as there are transgendered people.
4. Is where you live accepting? Depending on who you're trying to gain acceptance from. It's not totally oppressive, IMO.
5. What is the MILDEST form of intersex condition? I think transgenderism might be a milder form of intersex - one which affects the sex of the brain, and sometimes even having an hormonal manifestation.
6. How does the gay community react? I have no idea about how any 'community' reacts. I gave up on being affiliated with TG, anyway.

1. How do you know for sure? I know. Though I usually look at in terms of "the person I might have been, with a bit more luck."
2. How old is the average age someone suspects they are? No idea. I have vague memories of being socially stigmatised for engaging in "girly" behaviour as a young child (like primary school sort of age) and being heavily encouraged to be "boyish." *shrugs* I wasn't a normal child in any case.
3. What are the different TYPES of trangender? Difficult to answer. What do you mean by types? Terms you'll most often hear are FTM (female-to-male, transman) or MTF (male-to-female, transwoman); numbers are roughly even, though the media portrayal of transpeople is as overwhelmingly MTF; but that's a very crude approximation.
4. Is where you live accepting? Not particularly.
5. What is the MILDEST form of intersex condition? Any form of chromosomal abnormality (there's lots) that's resulted in no visible effects (it's very complicated - wiki it) would be an example.

Transgender should not be confused with intersex.

Intersex describes atypical presentation of physiological characteristics of sex. This can include atypical karyotypes like Klinefelter's Syndrome (XXY) or Turner Syndrome (X-). It can include incomplete or missing genetalia, ambiguous genetalia or hermaphroditism.

Roughly 1% of births involve some degree of ambiguity, and about 10-20% involve ambiguities significant enough to merit medical attention.

At a guess, I would say that the mildest form of intersex condition is probably mild androgen insensitivity syndrome, where a genetic male (XY) has some failure to respond to androgens. Presentations might include low or 0 sperm counts, and incomplete secondary sex characteristics, but specifically exclude normal genital differentiation and development.

But there are supposed scans that show TG's brain are different, ISN'T that a physiological condition?

I know but i heard sometimes someone is intersex but thinks they're trans, only SOMETIMES. I supposed even though they aren't the same this question would fit, kind of. Even though I'm probably not intersex, I have a cousin that is. He wasn't OBVIOUSLY intersex, but he was enough that doctors figured out and got him surgery. I don't want to give details on his condition.

People can be both intersex and 'transgender.' As usual with these subjects the terminology gets confusing because so many incorrect assumptions are built into them.

For example, there is Nikki Araguz. She's involved in a legal battle that hinges on whether she is "really a man" (her husband died and his previous wife is arguing that NA should not inherit from him because her marriage to him was invalid because same-sex marriage is not legal in Texas).

Nikki Araguz has "androgen insensitivity syndrome," and because her family was poor and her body naturally feminized at puberty (and she felt more comfortable living as a female) she didn't see any shrinks or need to get hormones from a doctor in order in order to "transition." She did in her 30's though get surgery due to having male genitalia, though.

But according to the DSM, if you have an intersex condition you can't have "Gender Identity Disorder," and thus can't be transsexual. Which doesn't make a lot of sense.

Ok, so the questions are, 1) is she "really a man," 2) is she intesex?, 3) is she a transsexual?

Doctors tend to use the view that transsexuals are physically normal males or females who change their appearance to appear to be female or male. The assumption is that transsexuals never have an intersex condition.

Some people, OTOH, hypothesize that transsexuals people are "neurologically intersex." That would mean that they are intersex in the sense that their bodies and brains are sexed differently. And since attempts to 'fix' the brain have historically failed, the idea is that the body is changed to match the neurological sex.

While there is fascinating research on this 'intersexed brain' idea it doesn't seem to be accepted as proven thing at this point. (It does make me wonder a bit what it would take for it to be a proven point.)


So, back to Nikki Araguz. The media calls her a transsexual because they don't want to think hard enough to understand the complexities and contradictions of her situation (and because the opposing lawyer is trying to win by screwing her over with the media). And what I mean about built-in assumptions: she had "transsexual surgery" -- that's what most lay people think defines a transsexual. OTOH, transsexuals according to WPATH (the standards of care of TS people, originally called "the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care"), transsexuals are supposed to see a shrink and take hormones, neither of which she did (since her body did it on it's own). But then could she even see a gender-shrink if according to the DSM she can't be diagnosed with GID? But if she doesn't have GID then why when she was raised as a boy did she change to living as a woman in her teens?

The terminology and conceptual foundations here are a mess.

So, is she a transsexual or does she have an intersex condition? In her case it seems to be both, even though that is supposed to be impossible. And the same might also be true for others, but the science to make that case isn't quite there yet. --

(It's interesting to consider that the history is intersex conditions is dependent on the fact that people only bring children who are obviously different to the eye to a doctor (and if they can afford a doctor). The mildest grade of "androgen insensitivity syndrome" is only known (I think, I could be wrong) because there is a genetic test for it and the more severe grades of it are obvious. So, there may be a lot of intersex conditions that exist that don't have names and aren't written about in medical textbooks. I.e. there's a case that was discovered by accident of a woman with XY chromosomes who gave birth. She appeared to be a normal woman in every way.)

Yes, but it is not an intersex condition. A transgendered person can have a very clear, unambiguous physiological and genetic sex--even though that sex is inconsistent with the person's understanding.

To be described as "intersexed" a person's physical sex must be compromised, to some extent.

Would a woman be considered intersex if she naturally has a low voice, more hair on her body (especially the stomach and chest) than other women, and a developing Adam's Apple, and felt like a guy?

I don't know the answers to all of these questions. I am not very well versed on intersex, which I suppose I should remedy.

But I'll answer the ones I can answer for sure, from my own experience.

1. How do you know for sure? There is no test I can take that will clearly indicate I am transgender. I believe that I know I am male just like any random cis-male knows he is male. That is my gender identity, and I am sure that I am male. It's just what I am. Every step along the transitioning journey has made me happier and the people around me have noticed that I am more approachable. I don't need any more proof. I accept that I am male as surely as I accept that I have brown hair.

2. How old is the average age someone suspects they are? I don't know what the average age is. I started suspecting around puberty that maybe something wasn't right.

3. What are the different TYPES of trangender? I don't know what you mean by types. Transgender people can be as varied as cis-gendered people. (Cis is a prefix to identify people who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth)

4. Is where you live accepting? I'm currently a university student, and I have found overwhelming support not only from teachers, but also from fellow students. I live in Ontario, Canada, in a city with a large university student population at least during the school year. Earlier on in my transition, a barber shop tried to deny me services because I "wasn't a man", and twice someone has yelled a homophobic slur out their car window at me (which is funny, because I'm trans, but I'm not gay), but when I started coming out to people, I found a lot of support. There is an active LGBT organization on my campus, and I've found friends there, as well as trans accepting friends in my other classes.

5. What is the MILDEST form of intersex condition? I don't know the answer to this question.

6. How does the gay community react? I think that varies by location. The only gay community I am familiar with is my university campus community. The current co-ordinator of the LGBT centre on campus is a trans woman. She is respected, and I have had very respectable online discussions with people from the centre. When I was first coming out as trans, they accepted me, called me my male name without question even though I didn't pass yet. I have been accepted by the LGBT centre on my university campus. I have heard of LGBT people being less accepting, though. I believe there is actually a thread in this forum of that nature.

#1 the same way you know you are the gender that you are. and if your questioning your gender thats fine... gender much like autism is a spectrum.
#2 many children first self identify around age 3-4. depending on parental reactions the child can then go on to repressing their identity for a while, typically until early / mid adolescence. where they begin to realize that it is not something that goes away and they begin to panic over the effects puberty is having on their bodies.

at this point it really depends on how economically supported the trans individual is. treatment and care after adolescence is progressively bleak for those that continue attempting to repress their gender identity with many lives ending in suicide. coincidentally there is a third period in life where a trans individual typically begins or attempts to transition, that is retirement.

#3 there are as many other "types" of transgender individuals as there are autistic individuals. each individual is their own "type" and just as unique (lawl) as everyone else.

#4 i live in eastern washington state... near the idaho border. and i find that the area is not to bad... its definitely more conservative then id like but im not typically afraid of getting attacked at random (though it has and does happen).

#5 well you should feel in good company, there is intense debate within the medical and psychiatric communities about just what is and is not an inter-sexed condition. with some arguing that being trans is itself an inter-sexed condition (the argument runs that the brain is just as sexually dimorphic as the rest of the body).

#6 well... the gay community is not know for its... solidarity with its own non-white non-ablest components... so you can imagine how it reacts to gender non-conforming and neurological diverse members. many in the gay community are wonderful and supportive in all aspects of the equal rights movement... but there are pockets of vocal discontent. they dislike being associated with trans individuals because they feel that we cost them the protections they fight for. but they forget how often the trans community has been used as a bargaining chip to cater to the right wing... selling us out to get employment and housing protections where none exist in many places (writing about my own country, though some may apply to yours as well). all the while happily and gleefully using the hate crimes statistics of trans individuals (40% of LGBT hate crimes were committed against trans individuals).

1. How do you know for sure? Its obvious to me. I feel bad as a girl, perfect as a man.
2. How old is the average age someone suspects they are? People think I'm about 14. I'm 17. Once I get hormones, and my voice breaks and I grow facial hair it will be fine.
3. What are the different TYPES of trangender? There are FTMs (female to male, me), MTFs, Neutrois (trans people who transition from a gender to neutral), cross dressers and gender benders.
4. Is where you live accepting? No. Haha. Where I live doesn't know, and never will. I transitioned before I moved here.
5. What is the MILDEST form of intersex condition? Mine! Dunno, tbh. I'm not 'true intersex', but physically, I'm not completely eh, female.
6. How does the gay community react? On my forum, good. IRL? where is the gay community?

1. How do you know for sure? Because I am. It's just something that is - it's who I am - it helps to understand the perspectives of other gender-variant people, though, and realize that yes, you share some similarities and thus, you could identify as belonging to that group.
2. How old is the average age someone suspects they are? This is one thing that always annoys me. People say that trans people "always knew" they were female/male, from an early age. I don't believe this - it depends on your surroundings. For my part, I had very little gender-conformative conditioning when I was a child - children were children, so I never considered it. As a teenager, I was just all-around freak so didn't bother then, either. It's only as an adult that I felt the need for active medical transition.
3. What are the different TYPES of trangender? Types? I'm going to agree with as many types as there are people, but if you want some common trans boxes that people may want to use to understand their identity, there's Female-to-Male, Male-to-Female, Male-to-Queer, Female-to-Queer, Queer, Genderqueer, Neuter. Some people just go with "male" and "female" depending on how they feell, and don't identify with being "trans" anything.
4. Is where you live accepting? They just avoid directly facing the issue, where I am. Which suits me just fine. I'm not out there to be an activist. A neighbour recently asked my dad when I was visiting "is this your son - or daughter?" Heh.
5. What is the MILDEST form of intersex condition? Another pet-peeve - I don't agree with the whole transgender-people-have-a-mental-disorder position. Yes, I accepted that label from the gender psychiatrist who authorized me for transition because that was the only way he would give me what I wanted. But I don't believe gender variant people have any kind of condition. As said above, intersex is a whole other category, and may well be viewed as a physical condition - but I don't believe transgender is a "condition."
6. How does the gay community react? Unfortunately, I'm the only queer person I know, so I couldn't really say. I've been trying to get involved with the queer side of life for a while, but never seem to get there.

I hope the OP doesn't think I'm derailing the thread, but this seemed as good a place to post as any. Realize I'm not trying to minimize anyone's experience - I just want to understand.

Exactly how does one "feel like a man" or "feel like a woman"? I honestly don't understand the concept.

"Exactly how does one "feel like a man" or "feel like a woman"? I honestly don't understand the concept."

i has to do with your sense of self, and really it is not something that is easily described if you have not experienced it yourself... its similar to having your arm asleep... you look down and you know that is your arm... but it feels foreign and odd... well that is basically how it is for trans individuals... just with our entire bodies (mainly secondary sex characteristics).

the condition of having the mental gender and physical gender match is known as being "cisgendered" which is essentially latin for matching (cis) and gender. basically being cisgendered gives you a blind spot, in that you would never know what its like to feel uncomfortable with your gender identity because your body never caused you to have problems in the first place. conversely... trans individuals try as we might... will always be trans and our mind / body will never be completely in synch... but with hormones, surgery, and therapy... most trans individuals lead healthy and productive lives.