Jun 5, 20203 min read

Transgender, You Heard It Right But You Felt It Wrong...

Transgender, you heard it right, many of you have questions and doubts about them. Let’s hope we can go through it. First of all we should be widening our minds as there are all kinds of unknown things in this world that could amaze us.

Transgender is just the tip of the iceberg term we know, there is a difference between transgender and transsexuals and they are not the same to used vice versa. Have you ever came across the term LGBT. Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and trans and we all refer and assume them as trans.

Who could be called as transgender?

Transgender is an umbrella term used for people whose gender identity or expression doesn’t match the sex that is assigned at their birth. Those people wish to change their gender by medical assistance to be identified as transgender, The question of identifying a person is not by their appearance, behaviour or not by their voice. And if a person’s gender may or may not line up with the society’s expectations of masculinity or feminine nature. Persons whose behaviour or expression doesn’t match male or female gender-based upon our society cultural norms they are referred to as gender non conforming. It implies that not all gender non-confirming are identified as trans.

People use many names to call transgender and they are all not the same, Common gender identity terms:

Cis-gender: it is the term opposite of transgender, a person born female is identified as girl and male born as a boy, For example, a boy born with a vulva, vagina and uterus, but are identified as male. Then these are considered as Trans.

Non- binary genders or gender queens:

They are independent of sexual orientations and are not specifically male or female. Those who don’t identify as straight male or females call themselves as gender queens. Non-binary genders include androgynous and bi genders. Androgynous have a gender identity that can blend both or neither of them. Bi genders feel themselves as bisexual, and can simultaneously identify themselves as both male and female.

Drag kings or drag queens:

The female performers and male performers who overstate opposite gendered behaviour and dress for the purpose of entertainment at bars, clubs or events are called as drag kings and queens.

Cross dressers or transvestite:

Persons wearing feminine clothing in order to have fun or entertainment to gain emotional satisfaction for sexual enjoyment are called crossdressers. They are majorly associated with transgender and identified as heterosexuals. Transvestite is a synonym of crossdressers who wears dresses typically opposite with gender. Transgender feel very insulting about transvestite as they wear dresses very masculine or feminine for sexual satisfaction.

Intersexual persons:

These people born with both male and female traits and assigned male or female at birth through surgery, if external genitals are not male or female. They are always given a legal sex, but sometimes through the age, the assigned sex at birth doesn’t match. So they become Trans. But not all intersex leads to becoming Trans.

Equality As A Fundamental Right

In general, they are all called Trans even though there is a lot of difficulty and difference. They are even called and humiliated by many means. Why so biased, why the stigma and labelling they deserve the same rights and respect. We must understand the person’s feelings and give respect like all others in society as they are all human beings like us. It is time for us to know the reality to live up to it. In this evolving world, people are gradually changing and adapting to survive so we should also evolve from the false beliefs and traditions. The movement of equality is raised through the ages and now we can know the truth.

Achieving the right to legal gender recognition is crucial to the ability of trans people to leave behind a life of marginalization and enjoy a life of dignity. A simple shift toward allowing people autonomy to determine how their gender is expressed and recorded is gaining momentum. It is long overdue -Kyle Knight and Neela Ghoshal