Answers to some
Frequently Asked Questions
About Transgenderism and Gender Dysphoria
- What is a Gender
Dysphoric?
- Gender Dysphoria is unhappiness with your
given sex or sexual identity. There are mild to severe cases of Gender dysphoria. Many
people will experience some form of Gender Dysphoria at some point in their lives.
- What is a Pre/post/non-op
transsexual?
- These are all transsexuals in various stages
of the procedure. A pre-op transsexual is someone who has begun the procedure to reassign
the sex, but has not had the surgery. This covers people who have just begun the procedure
to those who are very close to the actual surgery.
- A post operative transsexual is someone who
has had the actual genital surgery done. It is very difficult to tell a m-f post op
transsexual from a genetic female.
- What is a Shemale?
- The term 'shemale' is a word coined by the pornography
industry to refer to a pre-operative transsexual who does porn. As a result, it is not a term which
is necessarily flattering to most non-fetishist transgendered women.
- What is a
Transvestite/Cross-dresser?
- This word has a few different meanings. In
it's purest form, transvestitism means "Cross-dressing". However, many people
make a distinction between dressing for sexual stimulation (transvestitism) and dressing
for stress relief (cross dressing). Many people use the words interchangeably.
- There are many different categories of
transvestitism. There are fe/male impersonators, who dress as members of the opposite sex
for a show; there are Fetishistic transvestites, who are stimulated by certain objects;
there are drag queens/kings, who dress with the intent to amuse or offend; there are
shaman who cross-dress during religious/spiritual ceremonies; there are transvestites who
dress only for an hour a week; there are transvestites who live almost full time as women
or men.
- There are people who present extreme clashing
male/female characteristics (Such as a bearded man in a miniskirt and heels). Extreme
gender clashes are used by females quite often.
- What is an intersexual?
- An intersexual is a person who is born
between (inter) sexes, having partially or fully developed pairs of female and male sex
organs. There are roughly 80 types of intersexuality known.
- Intersexual is preferred over the word
"Hermaphrodite".
- What does transgendered
mean?
- Transgendered was a term put into general
usage by Virginia Price. It originally meant a pre-operative transsexual who has no desire
to have the SRS. It later became a catchword for Transvestites, transsexuals, female and
male impersonators, drag queens/kings, Intersexuals, gender dysphorics, and those that do
not fit any gender label.
- What causes the urge to
crossdress or to change your sex?
- There is a great deal of debate in the
medical community as to what causes transsexualism and transvestitism. Transsexualism is
thought by some to be caused by a area in the brain called the "Sexually Dimorphic
Nucleus". Others claim that it is caused by a hormonal imbalance during pregnancy.
Some types of transsexualism (xxxy syndrome) are genetic.
- The two main types of Transsexuality are
called "Primary" and "Secondary" transsexualism. Primary
transsexualism occurs in young adults who are gender dysphoric from very early childhood.
- Secondary transsexualism occurs between the
ages of 12 and 20 and is thought to be linked to hormone changes in the body at that time.
- There are also cases where people are forced
into alternative sex roles due to religious, social, or family pressures. Some men dressed
as women to avoid draft or get out of the army. Very religious male homosexuals may feel
the need to change their sex in order to correspond with their religious beliefs. Parents
may dress their children in clothing of the opposite sex because they wanted a child of
that sex.
- Transvestitism has no definite cause. F-M
cross dressers sometimes cross dress because it feels more comfortable than male clothing.
Female cross dressers are much more accepted than male cross-dressers.
- M-F transvestites cross-dress for stress
relief, sexual pleasure, and for entertainment. Male crossdressers are not very well
accepted in society. One possible reason for this is that a crossdressing male is
going down the social power scale, while a crossdressing female is going up the social
power scale.
- Can Transgender urges be
changed?
- Usually, no. Some transvestites
and transsexuals (usually male) go through phases where they throw out all their clothes,
makeup, shoes, etc and refuse to dress as women anymore. This is called
"Purging". These people frequently go out and purchase entire new wardrobes
soon afterwards (called "Binging"). Some people do stop crossdressing
altogether.
- Sometimes there is a physical
manifestation of certain conditions that cause transgendered behaviour. Young males
with XXY chromosomal structures may sometimes begin developing as females rather than as
males. Many of these males are perfectly happy to be male and get on hormone shots to
achieve a more masculine appearance.
- Sexual identity is usually set for life at a
very young age. Hormone injections or other treatments cannot alter sexual identity in
Adults.
- Is everyone who wears
opposite sex clothing a transgenderist?
- No. Many people wear clothes of the opposite
sex daily and are not considered transgendered. Men who work in very cold conditions
routinely wear pantyhose, as it helps keep in the heat. This is an accepted practice in
such professions. Many women wear men's clothing on a daily basis, saying that they are
more comfortable and cheaper.
- Some men wear silk panties because they are
allergic to cotton underwear.
- There are many reports of Men wearing the
full-body wraps worn by muslim women in the middle east. This enables them to conceal guns
and explosive devices and to smuggle them into restricted areas (muslim women are not
searched as often as men are).
- Where can [TG's] go
to get clothes, shoes, makeup, etc?
- There are many sources of clothes and apparel
for transgendered people. Most department stores offer catalogue shopping, which will give
you the chance to purchase what you want without fear of embarrassment.
- Mail order firms are best left avoided. Some
Transvestite mail order boutiques are grossly overpriced and prey on the transgendered
community.
- Sometimes, a young lady will offer her
services to purchase clothing, makeup etc for a price.
- Shopping for that 'special someone'
always works. If you are worried that the cashier will catch on, go during a busy time.
Christmas is a great time.
- Makeup companies such as Avon, Mary
Kay, etc will be more than happy to sell to a transgendered person. Again, this
depends on the area, but most salespeople will put sales ahead of their own feelings towards transgenderism.
-
- See also: Kathy Lynn's TG Excuse
List and also my eBay
Auctions...
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