Help me to understand transgender identity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The thing about a transgendered using the bathroom is that how do you know if they are in a stall?

Since the OP is panicking specifically about transwomen in the women's bathroom, the answer to "how do you know if they are in a stall?" is, because that's all that women's bathrooms have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am relatively liberal, and don't really "get" transgender identity either. I believe in science and genetics. Chromosomes are chromosomes and anything else is just wishing. However, I don't have to get it. There is zero harm done to me by someone who has decided to live as the opposite gender, and kindness never hurt anyone. And I'm really not going to do a "look-inside-the-pants" test nor require a genome sequencing to use a bathroom, so this whole thing is completely ridiculous and a total waste of legislator resources. What actual work needed to be done and wasn't because of bozo laws like this? That may actually be doing me harm.

Science is irrelevant to some liberals -feelings matter more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am relatively liberal, and don't really "get" transgender identity either. I believe in science and genetics. Chromosomes are chromosomes and anything else is just wishing. However, I don't have to get it. There is zero harm done to me by someone who has decided to live as the opposite gender, and kindness never hurt anyone. And I'm really not going to do a "look-inside-the-pants" test nor require a genome sequencing to use a bathroom, so this whole thing is completely ridiculous and a total waste of legislator resources. What actual work needed to be done and wasn't because of bozo laws like this? That may actually be doing me harm.

Science and genetics are considerably more complicated than xx=female, xy=male.

http://www.who.int/genomics/gender/en/index1.html

[Anonymous]

OP, I think your problem is that you are trying to make sense out of nonsense. There is nothing to "get."

Transgenderism is a mental disorder, disturbance, illness-- depending on severity level in the individual. Nothing has changed there; that has always been the case. The fact that there are now calls to recognize this condition as OK -- and in fact, to call on the remainder of society to treat it as OK, by adjusting laws that affect everyone -- says more about our current culture than it does about transgenderism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think your problem is that you are trying to make sense out of nonsense. There is nothing to "get."

Transgenderism is a mental disorder, disturbance, illness-- depending on severity level in the individual. Nothing has changed there; that has always been the case. The fact that there are now calls to recognize this condition as OK -- and in fact, to call on the remainder of society to treat it as OK, by adjusting laws that affect everyone -- says more about our current culture than it does about transgenderism.

So, even if what you say is true (and I disagree). We adjust laws for all sort of other disabilities/illnesses. Do you feel the same way about curb cuts, and braille on elevator buttons, and picture menus at McDonalds? Do these things lead to the recognition of illness and disability as "OK"? If not, why is transgender different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think your problem is that you are trying to make sense out of nonsense. There is nothing to "get."

Transgenderism is a mental disorder, disturbance, illness-- depending on severity level in the individual. Nothing has changed there; that has always been the case. The fact that there are now calls to recognize this condition as OK -- and in fact, to call on the remainder of society to treat it as OK, by adjusting laws that affect everyone -- says more about our current culture than it does about transgenderism.

As long as you

1. don't stand in the way of people using public bathrooms for their intended purpose.
2. treat everybody with respect and don't discriminate.

I don't really care whether or not you think that something is ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...and their desire to use the gender they identify with bathrooms.

I am a conservative. I don't think lesbian, homosexual, or bisexual behavior is morally appropriate. However, I respect their right to choose the lifestyle they want. Transgenders asking to use womens bathrooms when they are biologically male seems an entirely different application. The last thing I want to see is a man in the womens bathroom. What exactly will transgenders do- will they need/use urinals? Is this in our future?

OP, I don't understand your question. Are you asking

-what is transgender identity?
-why do people who are transgender want to use the bathroom appropriate to their gender?
-am I going to have to see a man in the women's bathroom?

If you want to understand transgender identity, then I think the best place to start is reading things that people who are transgender have written. You might try Jennifer Finney Boylan.

If you're asking the second question, then the answer is -- for the same reason that you want to use the bathroom appropriate to your gender. You need to use the bathroom, and you want to do so safely and with a minimum of fuss.

If you're asking the third question, then the answer is -- no, not if you agree that people should be able to use the bathroom appropriate to their gender. On the other hand, if you insist that people must use the bathroom that goes with the gender on their birth certificate, then yes, you might see men in the women's bathroom. Although more realistically the men will probably just try to avoid using public bathrooms altogether. And that's a cruel thing to do to a person, in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

I'll be very honest here, and I've looked online and found that there are many different things that can be interpreted as transgender. What is a transgender exactly? Some people elect to have medical procedures done to change the gender, some just dress differently, some choose same sex partners, some are have different sex partners? So there are gay transgenders and straight transgenders? Also what is transsexual then? I am not against it, in fact I am for people being who they want to be, have been at weddings of same sex partners and I approve of same sex marriage, but this transgender thing is just plain confusing for dumb old me. The way I first thought of it is that a person wants to change their sexual identity using medical procedure, but then I understand there is also just cross dressing way? Am I just too stupid?

[Anonymous]

I realize it is not the job of transgender people to educate others, but I do wish Laverne Cox would spend some time in the men's room at the NC legislature...just stand at the mirror, fixing her makeup, while those old guys try and pee.



Or Shawn Stinson insist on using the women's restroom. I'm sure the NC ladies would love that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll be very honest here, and I've looked online and found that there are many different things that can be interpreted as transgender. What is a transgender exactly? Some people elect to have medical procedures done to change the gender, some just dress differently, some choose same sex partners, some are have different sex partners? So there are gay transgenders and straight transgenders? Also what is transsexual then? I am not against it, in fact I am for people being who they want to be, have been at weddings of same sex partners and I approve of same sex marriage, but this transgender thing is just plain confusing for dumb old me. The way I first thought of it is that a person wants to change their sexual identity using medical procedure, but then I understand there is also just cross dressing way? Am I just too stupid?

What gender do you feel that you are? If you feel that you are the same gender as the gender on your original birth certificate that you got at birth, then your gender identity is cisgender. If you feel that you are a different gender from the gender on your original birth certificate that you got at birth, then your gender identity is transgender.

You can be transgender and have surgery, or you can be transgender and not have surgery.

Transgender is who you are, sexual orientation is who you want to get busy with. So you can be transgender and straight or transgender and gay, just like you can be cisgender and straight or cisgender and gay.

Cross-dressing refers to the clothes you wear, not your gender identity. I am a cisgender woman; if I wore white tie and tails and a top hat, a la Marlene Dietrich, I would be a cross-dressing cisgender woman.

Transsexual is an outdated term for transgender.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll be very honest here, and I've looked online and found that there are many different things that can be interpreted as transgender. What is a transgender exactly? Some people elect to have medical procedures done to change the gender, some just dress differently, some choose same sex partners, some are have different sex partners? So there are gay transgenders and straight transgenders? Also what is transsexual then? I am not against it, in fact I am for people being who they want to be, have been at weddings of same sex partners and I approve of same sex marriage, but this transgender thing is just plain confusing for dumb old me. The way I first thought of it is that a person wants to change their sexual identity using medical procedure, but then I understand there is also just cross dressing way? Am I just too stupid?

Gender and sexual identity are two different things. So, just like a cisgender man or woman can be straight/gay/bi/pan/asexual/whatever, a transgender man or woman can be straight/gay/bi/pan/asexual/whatever.

Not all transgender individuals choose to have "bottom surgery" for various reasons, including the astronomical cost.

Not all people who dress as the opposite gender are trans*. The comedian Eddie Izzard, for example, dresses in female-identified clothing because it's pretty and feels good. He's a straight man who identifies as a man. (He also dresses in male-identified clothes much of the time.) There are also plenty of straight, male-identified men who wear women's underwear because it feels good. You'd never know it from looking at them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be very honest here, and I've looked online and found that there are many different things that can be interpreted as transgender. What is a transgender exactly? Some people elect to have medical procedures done to change the gender, some just dress differently, some choose same sex partners, some are have different sex partners? So there are gay transgenders and straight transgenders? Also what is transsexual then? I am not against it, in fact I am for people being who they want to be, have been at weddings of same sex partners and I approve of same sex marriage, but this transgender thing is just plain confusing for dumb old me. The way I first thought of it is that a person wants to change their sexual identity using medical procedure, but then I understand there is also just cross dressing way? Am I just too stupid?

What gender do you feel that you are? If you feel that you are the same gender as the gender on your original birth certificate that you got at birth, then your gender identity is cisgender. If you feel that you are a different gender from the gender on your original birth certificate that you got at birth, then your gender identity is transgender.

You can be transgender and have surgery, or you can be transgender and not have surgery.

Transgender is who you are, sexual orientation is who you want to get busy with. So you can be transgender and straight or transgender and gay, just like you can be cisgender and straight or cisgender and gay.

Cross-dressing refers to the clothes you wear, not your gender identity. I am a cisgender woman; if I wore white tie and tails and a top hat, a la Marlene Dietrich, I would be a cross-dressing cisgender woman.

Transsexual is an outdated term for transgender.

That is actually very helpful, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be very honest here, and I've looked online and found that there are many different things that can be interpreted as transgender. What is a transgender exactly? Some people elect to have medical procedures done to change the gender, some just dress differently, some choose same sex partners, some are have different sex partners? So there are gay transgenders and straight transgenders? Also what is transsexual then? I am not against it, in fact I am for people being who they want to be, have been at weddings of same sex partners and I approve of same sex marriage, but this transgender thing is just plain confusing for dumb old me. The way I first thought of it is that a person wants to change their sexual identity using medical procedure, but then I understand there is also just cross dressing way? Am I just too stupid?

What gender do you feel that you are? If you feel that you are the same gender as the gender on your original birth certificate that you got at birth, then your gender identity is cisgender. If you feel that you are a different gender from the gender on your original birth certificate that you got at birth, then your gender identity is transgender.

You can be transgender and have surgery, or you can be transgender and not have surgery.

Transgender is who you are, sexual orientation is who you want to get busy with. So you can be transgender and straight or transgender and gay, just like you can be cisgender and straight or cisgender and gay.

Cross-dressing refers to the clothes you wear, not your gender identity. I am a cisgender woman; if I wore white tie and tails and a top hat, a la Marlene Dietrich, I would be a cross-dressing cisgender woman.

Transsexual is an outdated term for transgender.

Thanks for explaining, it does make it easier to understand when you separate sexual orientation and gender orientation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you guys seen FTM transgender people. They look like men. If your concern is your kid asking "Why is there a man in here?" You are still going to have to field that question if FTM are in the ladies' instead of MTF.

No one is expressing concern about females who decide to live as males.

All of the concerns, not just bathrooms and locker rooms but also sports teams, physical standards like in PE classes or the military, and sexual assaults, perverts using the new transgendered laws to prey on women and young girls, and more have to do with men deciding to act as and live as females.

Even among very conservative or very religious circles, the concerns about the new transgendered bandwagon is almost unanimously about men portraying women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize it is not the job of transgender people to educate others, but I do wish Laverne Cox would spend some time in the men's room at the NC legislature...just stand at the mirror, fixing her makeup, while those old guys try and pee.



Or Shawn Stinson insist on using the women's restroom. I'm sure the NC ladies would love that.

Lavern Cox looks like a man in women clothing with fake boobs.