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Trans For Dummies
Hi Mom and Dad!!!

I finally found a definition by someone else for "trans" that I liked! Here we go:

In simplest form, "trans" refers to transgender, transsexual, intersex, cross-dressing, drag, butch, femme and all other forms of gender variance. Trans individuals seek gender rights allowing them to present their gender identity as best suits them. "Trans" is not limited to individuals who change their "sex" or their bodies, but includes everyone who desires a greater freedom of gender expression.

(Definition courtesy of the Trans Activist Network)

I don’t always use certain terms like others do, so here is my definition of certain terms that you’ll find used throughout this website. Oh, and it’s not in alphabetical order, because I’m lazy.

• transgender - This is a term I use to signify someone like myself who transgresses the man/woman dichotomy and rejects the binary gender system. Transgender in this way can mean cross dressers, butch/fem, transsexual, third genders, androgynes, queergenders, genderbenders, genderblenders, and whatever other terms folks prefer. The following terms fall under the umbrella of "transgender" at least for me...
  • transsexual - Someone who is going through surgery and/or hormones to become the "opposite" gender. Kinds of transsexuals include MtF (male to female) and FtM (female to male). I respect these folks a lot. They have guts, courage, and a great amount of mental strength to go through this process, especially considering the idiotic Standards of Care they are forced to comply with.
  • butch/femme - Just read Stone Butch Blues, for gods’ sake! Butches basically dress like traditional men, and femmes dress more like traditional women. However, as I’ve discovered, lesbian femme, bi femme, and straight femme are very different things.
  • crossdresser/transvestite - Someone who wears the clothing of the "opposite" sex.
  • third gender - There’s a growing number of people who reject the either/or binary gender system and prefer to consider themselves the "and" of the gender world. You could almost say, historically speaking, that berdaches were third gendered.
  • androgyne - Someone who combines the characteristics of men and women’s gender roles.
  • genderqueer - Someone who rejects the gender binary.
  • genderbender - Someone who expresses their gender in nontraditional ways.
  • genderblender - Someone who blends the characteristics of traditional gender roles.
• gender binary - The social rules that state that one must be a boy or a girl, a man or a woman. It enforces the outdated and repressive concept that there are only two genders.
• SRS - Shorthand for Sex Reassignment Surgery. I.e. gives a bio-male a vagina and removes the breasts of a bio-female. For FtMs, the breast-removal surgery is referred to as "top surgery" and the lower area procedure is referred to as "bottom surgery." I’m gonna assume the same terms are used for MtFs, but I’m not sure.
• bio-male/bio-female - The complex distilled into the simplistic. Basically, for those who are anatomically considered "male" this means having a penis at birth, and for those who are anatomically considered "female" this means ovaries, womb, breasts, etc. at birth. Also refers to chromosomes. The terms are used to refer to what gender roles people were assigned at birth.

Does that clear things up a bit, Mom?

So... how do I define myself? Well, my name is Alex, and I’m a dyke... which sounds like an oxymoron, because Alex is the name of a "boy" and dyke would imply I’m a lesbian (gack, *mock upchuck* I hate that word). I believe the term "genderqueer" fits me the best, and it sounds cool too. I’m a genderqueer dyke called Alex, yet formerly known as Beth and still going by that name in some circles. I'm an FtM, too, in many ways. I'm a boy who considers himself just your average queer. There. Does that answer your questions, Mom?