“ Typically, in the past, people used to think of a transgender individual as someone being trapped in the wrong body. And, indeed, for quite a number of people that is the case. But younger people today are having the opportunity to explore their gender identity and gender experience, and they are more willing to try out other identities and roles
—Carol McCord, physcotherapist with The Kinsey Institute Sexual Health Clinic ”
Understanding What "Transgender" Means: An Expert's Perspective
By Christina Breda Antoniades
When Carol McCord's patients first seek her out, it is usually because they want to make a drastic change in their lives. For them, the road ahead is potentially rocky — filled with difficult decisions, awkward moments and possible conflict with those closest to them. The patients are transgender, and the help they seek often relates to their wish to transition from one sex to the other, explains McCord, a psychotherapist with The Kinsey Institute Sexual Health Clinic, based in Bloomington, Ind. We talked to her recently about what transgender is, the challenges transgender people face and the medical interventions that are available to them.
Q: What does the term "transgender" mean?
A: It is an interesting term and one that is in flux: It is becoming more inclusive over time. So people will hear the term used in different ways by people with different levels of experience. But the term transgender was specifically coined to describe someone who is a member of the cross-dressing community who lives a gender role that is opposite the gender role society would assign to them based on their anatomical, genetic or chromosomal makeup. So, for example, it may refer to a man living as a woman.
Q: How does that differ from transsexual, transvestite or gay?
A: In clinical terms, transsexual is a further extreme of transgender. A transsexual is someone who makes the choice to have either hormonal or surgical intervention to change their gender. So the term transgender is the broader term, which includes all of the interpersonal and societal ramifications, while transsexual relates specifically to the genitals. Transvestite is in a totally different category. Transvestites are people who don't actually live their lives as if they are a different gender or feel they are a different gender. When we think of transvestite, most of us are actually thinking of a fetishistic transvestite, which is most often a man dressing in women's clothing, usually for sexual pleasure. So a transvestite is usually a man who gets turned on by being in contact with women's clothing.
