from
the OFFICE OF BISEXUAL, GAY, LESBIAN, AND TRANSGENDER CONCERNS
Unitarian Universalist Association
TRANSGENDER Our
culture tends to limit its understanding of gender to man and woman. OBGLTC believes
there are more than two genders. OBGLTC uses the word transgender as an umbrella
term to describe the following people: crossdressers/transvestites, third gender
people, transsexuals, intersexuals and any self-identified transgender people.GENDER
IDENTIFICATION Transgender
is a gender identification—not a sexual orientation. Gender identification
expresses how you identify your gender. Sexual orientation refers to whom you
are sexually, affectionally, or romantically attracted. A transgender person can
be of any sexual orientation.GENDER
v. SEX People
are assigned a biological sex, but define their own gender. Sex:
Male, Female, Intersexual
Gender: Man, Woman, TransgenderLANGUAGE
OBGLTC believes
that "transgender" is a noun equivalent to "man" and "woman", and as such should
not be spelled or pronounced with an "-ed" suffix. Just as we would not say a
person is "manned" or "womanned", we should not say a person is "transgendered".
Not all of the transgender community is in agreement about the use of “transgender”
and “transgendered."
When adding transgender
to the already long list of bisexual, gay and lesbian people, it is important
to include transgender at the end, preceded by "and/or". We do this because
it emphasizes that people can be bisexual, gay or lesbian, and transgender,
but are not always both.
WHOM
THE UMBRELLA COVERS (We solicited these definitions
from the communities they describe.)
- CROSSDRESSERS
(also known as TRANSVESTITES)
People who
dress in the clothing, partially or completely, of the societal norm for the "opposite"
gender. Most crossdressers are heterosexual men who
crossdress for pleasure. Bisexual and gay men who crossdress usually do so for
entertainment purposes, making fun of what it means to be a man.
DrAG Queens*—Dressed As a Girl
DrAB Kings*—Dressed As a Boy
* DrAG Queen and
DrAB King are historical terms. Currently, "DrAG" refers to either.
A person whose understanding
of her/hir/his gender identification transcends society’s polarized gender system.
OBGLTC believes that the dichotomized system of gender is limiting; therefore,
OBGLTC encourages everyone to think outside and beyond this schema.
Male-to-Third Gender (born
in body of male, believe self to be another gender)*
Female-to-Third Gender (born in body of female, believe self to
be another gender)*
* People who are
third gender often prefer "transgender" to "third gender".
People born
in the body associated with one gender but believe internally that they are of
another gender.
Male-to-Female (born in body
of male, believe self to be female)
Female-to-Male (born in body of female, believe self to be male)
Some transsexuals use hormones
and/or sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) to create the bodies they believe they
were born to have. There are potential health risks for some hormone treatments
and thus, more research is needed to allow for better health care for transgender
people. The Benjamin Standards are requirements set by a committee of
the American Psychological Association, and must be met in order for a transsexual
to legally change their external identity and body. Many transsexual/transgender
people who have completed sexual reassignment surgery no longer identify as transsexual/transgender,
but rather identify as their "new" gender.
Pre-operative (considering
or planning SRS)
Post-operative (has had SRS)
Non-operational (for personal and/or medical reasons—e.g., breast
cancer—has chosen not to have SRS)
- INTERSEXUALS (historically
called hermaphrodites)
A person born with
mixed sexual physiology, with a physical manifestation of genital/genetic/endocrinological
differentiation which is different from the cultural norm. Intersexuals
often are "assigned" a boy/girl gender, and surgery is done soon after birth to
"correct" their "problem." The problem may well be our society’s tightly held
view that there are only 2 genders.
*HOW TO BE MORE UNDERSTANDING AND WELCOMING
OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE*
10
BASIC ACTIONS
- Respect a person’s identity
and self-label.
- Create single stall bathrooms.
- Say the words: Bisexual,
Gay, Lesbian, Transgender.
- Do not use "-ed" at the
end of "transgender".
- Make no assumptions about
gender identity or sexual orientation.
- Do not assume a transgender
person is all-knowing and/or wants to speak about TG issues.
- Do not assume a transgender
person can speak only about transgender, nor that it is or is not an issue
at all.
- Hand out TG102 wherever
possible—make it available to all.
- Use the word "children"
instead of "boys and girls", "people" instead of "women and men".
- Create/include a TG box
on forms where gender is requested. Also, ask for "gender", not "sex".
10 ADVANCED ACTIONS
- Ask questions about transgender
issues.
- Do not tokenize persons
who are TG.
- Talk to children about
transgender issues.
- Talk about gender roles
you grew up with.
- Review member policies
for your men’s and women’s groups—do they make room to include transgender
folks?
- Realize that learning
about gender is a life-long process.
- Do not divide groups
(including in worship) into groups of men and women.
- Do not ask the gender
of a newborn child.
- Experiment: Spend a day
or week avoiding using pronouns when referring to someone important in your
life.
- Learn about the local
laws regarding:
- hate crimes
- name changes
- changing gender
- discrimination (employment,
housing…)
- impersonation of a
gender
Links to more information about transgender issues:
resources by
Warren J. Blumenfeld
FTM International
The International Foundation for Gender
Education
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