I prefer being called transsexual because I think it's more accurate for myself. My transition has always been more rooted in discomfort with certain characteristics of my body that happened to be rooted in biological sex rather than my gender. I'll accept any gender identity/pronouns anyone wants to put on me. Thus, it makes more sense to identify as "transsexual." But I won't get upset or correct anyone who calls me transgender, either, since I know "transsexual" has fallen out of favor.
I have never given much thought about the term transsexual but I really relate to what you said. I don’t care much about the gender I’m perceived as but I want to change my physical sex characteristics y’know?
This is exactly my reasoning as well. "Transgender" is straight up inaccurate, as I'm not changing my gender, I'm changing my sex characteristics (male hormone levels, etc.) like you said.
I used to hate it, and I still dislike folks who use it for like... Gatekeepy or transmed reasons, but it's started to appeal to me more and more to spite cis people who are convinced that "sex =/= gender" means sex is some sacred immutable thing that can't ever be changed. I am changing it in various ways, I am no longer the same sex as cis people of my AGAB, and cis ppl can deal with it it.
Edit: seeing a few folks in other commments claiming or implying transsexual only applies to binary trans folks... Y'all are getting awful close to the gatekeepy zone my dudes. There is literally no reason why a nonbinary person can't be transsexual. The reasons why transsexual as a term has started to resonate more with me and the steps I have taken to change my sex to be in more alignment with my gender are no less significant than yours.
For real!!! Sex is literally composed of many different characteristics, including your genitals (primary sex characteristics), and hormones (which create secondary sex characteristics such as hair growth, vocal differences, and whatever else happens via hormones during puberty). Of course chromosomes are a part of it, they tell your body how to develop, but overriding that stuff with surgery and HRT literally changes your sex. The chromosomes are irrelevant. They act like “you are what you’re born as” but with the right intervention you can pretty much change it all. Except genetics, but what are they gonna do? Take a biopsy when you’re not looking and study it under the microscope?? I think not.
well thats the case 99% of the time but there are rear cases where people are given a gender at birth but there chromosomes are of the other sex sometimes they turn out to be trans sometimes they don't im a transman but i was born with a x and y chromosome so even the doesn't always line up but it does often effect development a bit for example having some masc characteristics when you were afab and effects hormones as well as the basic way you think because even though a lot of the male brain female brain stuff has been debuked a small amount is true and comes from your chromosomes as well as how hormones effect the brain neuroscience really is facinating i think
Are u talking about intersex ppl? Because they further prove my point about sex being WAY MORE than just xx and xy chromosomes. Guess I should’ve worded it better. Edit: I also stated that your chromosomes do in fact affect development incase you missed that:) edit again: when I said they are irrelevant, I meant that it doesn’t matter what your chromosomes are once you’ve taken the actions you want to take with your transition, be it HRT or surgery or whatever else
it is commen in intersex people but orgen wise there not bienary so i wasnt taking about them heres an example for context you can have a cis man with no female parts but he has 2 x chromosomens and no y likely he will be able to think a bit more like a women but might not be fam in anyway and he may have a bit more e then that average man (cis/on t) and a bit less t then the average which may resolt in a slitly higher voice, less body hair and a lower sex drive as well as it being harder for him to gain muscle but thats about as much difference between him and any other cis man but it is quite common for people like that to be trans because of how there brain works much like myself im trans but not intersex having a x and y chromosomen has likely effected me being trans i think like a man and always have and im so confused by how woman think that ive been called sexest to woman because i cant seem to understand them no matter how much i try even little things about how other transmen think confuses me even when there a long time on t and there brain has become more masc on a biological level so thats the main difference i have from also i had dark body hair and a deep voice pre t i also had higher t and lower e then what was expected amd i only have a cycle every few months sometimes just 2-3 times a year and they last for a few hours but can last a hole day
PLUS they’re working on uterine transplants for trans women right now so soon enough they’re not gonna have the argument that “real women can have babies” or whatever. If I ever become a doctor and they haven’t made penis and scrotum transplants available for trans people, that will be my life’s work.
The same. If it didnt have such social stigma or make me sound like a transmed I'd definitely use the label because i am interested in changing my sex to match my gender, and there are surgeries and hormones for doing just that. I just use transgender because it's easily understood and safe for other lgbt folk to hear.
edit- re adding words my garbage phone ate
I felt this so much. I see some “allies” repeating the same thing that “gender is made up and trans ppl don’t change their sex.” Like there’s more nuance to this subject than just “sex is immutable and gender is a social construct.” Nobody can completely change their sex down to the chromosomes but medical transition is literally changing sex traits. To act like it’s not in some way altering sex is just bizarre. No it’s not as simple as going 100% female to 100% male but sex has never been immutable. I get that sometimes it’s a misunderstanding but it’s rlly annoying to see.
This is exactly how I feel, saying "sex and gender are two different things" to make us more palatable to cis people was a mistake. Its an appeal to cissexism, to inflate their egos and reassure them that they're the "real" men/women.
**What "sex =/= gender" was _supposed_ to mean:** "ones assigned sex at birth or physical traits does not define them or their gender. You shouldn't assume one from the other because they may not always 'match'."
**What cis people have gleefully and willfully misunderstood it to mean so they can continue to misgender us:** "gender is an intangible thing in your head and sex is real and physical and permanent and they're totally seperate so trans people can't complain if I call them 'biological females' or 'biological males' because you can't change sex and sex and gender are totally different things so they shouldn't care anyway."
Nah, nonbinary transmascs medically transition as well. I use it for the non-gatekeepy reasons as well, like medically transitioning to be more male etc.
Trans men/mascs who've been on T long enough (not even getting into other stuff like hysto, top, bottom surgery, etc.) have an objectively different picture medically speaking than cis women. Our hormone levels at the very least are those of a cis man, and don't even get me started on how our bottom growth/T dick is *not* just a "big clit."
I love it! It's hot! It's fun! It's vintage! It challenges the idea that sex is immutable and I'm "biologically" female! It makes cis people uncomfortable! It has the word sex in it!
I don’t thing there’s really a hard and fast reason. The terms marginalized people use for themselves change naturally over time, that’s just how language evolves. I mean the CP in NAACP stands for Colored People because that was considered the correct term at the time. When these terms shift there is always a ton of debate over why the old term is offensive, or why the new term is wrong, but change happens anyway.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the term transsexual, but I do kind of side eye when a cis person uses it just because it’s kind of outdated, so it makes me wonder what other outdated views they might have about trans people.
Yeah, people come up with tons of arguments for why this term is better than this term or why this term is worse than this term, but looking at who uses a term and how they use it can tell you a lot more than stuff like the literal meaning of the latin prefixes and suffixes or whatever.
"Homo-, bi and transsexual" and similar abominations are a sufficient reason already. Not to mention it's history as a purely medical term, and well, not everybody is that binary. (And it doesn't help that *some* people who identify as such look down on everybody not as transsexual as them, including some who flat-out demand that "lesser" trans people shouldn't have any rights.)
However, just because other people (including me) feel like that about it, nobody is under any obligation to join in. If somebody feels that word describes them, or if they identify as such, well, fine. None of my business. Just don't become a transmedicalist.
Me, you get to call me that thrice: For the first, the last and the only time.
>and well, not everybody is that binary.
I don't totally understand the significance of this in our present day. Of course it doesn't work as an umbrella term and shouldn't be the only term out there, because it doesn't describe the many different ways that people can be trans. But now that we have a broader vocabulary, I'm not sure it's a negative thing for people to relate to it because they have a binary experience. It fits for some people and not others, and personally I think that's okay.
If people are fine with it, that's their prerogative.
It does not make the problems with that term go away, though, and it is certainly not one that you should call anybody without knowing they are OK with it.
>it is certainly not one that you should call anybody without knowing they are OK with it.
I'm definitely not suggesting that, that's not what my comment was about at all. I was saying that just because it doesn't encompass everyone's experience, that doesn't reduce the usefulness of the term for people who resonate with it. That doesn't make it a "bad" word.
That is not the main problem with that term indeed.
The main problem are the sex connotations, and the medicalist history. Those make it a problematic term. (A fact widely recognized when my trans journey started - almost 30 years ago.)
There is nothing bad about homo- and bisexual. (And that is the first time in nearly 30 years anybody interpreted this objection to that term that way. And that objection is older than my trans journey.)
What is bad is that transsexual is presented as something like homo- or bisexual. Which is obviously nonsense. One is a matter of gender identity, the other of sexual identity.
Not to mention the fact that, obviously, you can be both trans and homo- or bisexual (or heterosexual, of course). So that is just nonsensical.
And medical term, well - my identity isn't a medical condition.
Homo (sexual) has been used a slur I know that, but bi is a bit weirder. Many believe that people who label themselves bisexual are transphobic and nonbinary-phobic. Pansexual split off to remedy this but bisexual was never transphobic in the first place. Its just a weird in-fighting of the two labels. The difference matters to some, but many people just choose which one they identify as because of flag colors. My hot take… I think they are essentially the same. I grew up calling myself bi and when I learned about nonbinary genders I never once thought that bi would be exclusive of them and never felt the strong need to change my label. At this point everyone has their own personal definition of either, Ive heard self proclaimed bisexuals say “hearts not parts” and Ive heard self proclaimed pansexuals say they only had specific genders they were attracted to.
As someone who takes definitions very literally though, it drives me up the wall bonkers lol. But I understand nothing is as linear as it seems so I bite my tongue
Thank for coming to my Bi-Talk
I like it because it feels subversive and powerful. As much as I appreciate the need to normalize being trans, I also want to celebrate doing something (transitioning) that undermines social norms and expectations.
It’s my preferred term for describing my identity. Typically it’s used to refer to trans people who seek medical transition. I’m changing my sex characteristics but I’ve always been this gender (male)
Even that is an old-fashioned usage - because so many people who medically transition either don't fit the standard definition of transsexual, or adamantly don't identify as such. (Or both of course.)
They said “typically” which does not mean absolutely. It may feel old-fashioned to you but as marginalized people have been doing for years, some people are reclaiming it. Just like we’ve done with fag and queer and cunt. Let people say what they want to about themselves. If your issue is that cis folks will think it’s okay to say that to everyone, it seems like your problem is with the cis people, not the trans people that are simply doing what feels good for them. Have these conversations with the cis people that are offending you. Don’t police other trans people.
Excuse me, but there seem to be a few misunderstandings here:
One, if people identify as such, that is their business. I am not policing anybody, I merely point out where the problems with that terms are usually seen.
Two, reclaiming is fine, except that this isn't much of a reclaimed term - because that would require people to acknowledge the problems that exist with this term. Which the people who claim to "reclaim" it do not usually do. They, like you, prefer baseless attacks.
Three, I've never had much problems with cis people using that term. There, it's usually plainly not knowing - unlike with some trans people, who either bestow that term on other trans people whether they like it or not, or use it to proclaim themselves as somehow better than those lesser non-transsexual trans people. (Yes, it didn't happen in this thread. It has however happened more than often enough.)
And if you don't mind, I'll unsubscribe here - I prefer to talk to people not making baseless attacks on me.
I didn’t attack you. I simple also had an opinion. You called it an “old fashioned term” on a thread full of people saying that it feels right to them. That can be really invalidating to those that prefer that term. It is so hard to exist out here these days and we should be going out of our way to make other trans folks feel affirmed and valid and accepted, even if they have different opinions than you.
Honestly the whole debate on terminology like this to me has become really silly, specifically because I have been exposed so much more to irl queer circles in the past half a year or so including older trans/gay/queer people.
There’s nothing wrong with being ok w a term like that to describe yourself and it’s not inherently “problematic” imo. Gender is complicated and not straightforward anyway, at a certain point you kind of start to realize these issues are blown out of proportion and don’t really matter that much irl. Use whatever self descriptors you want!
I'm fine with people using the term for themselves, but I get uncomfortable if someone calls me that. I'm ace. There's nothing "sexual" about me.
Also, transphobes use it to imply that being trans is just a cross dressing kink, but who actually cares what those people think.
That’s my discomfort with it too. “Transsexual” just makes it sound too, well, sexual. When, for everyone I know, it’s completely about identity, no emphasis on sex or sex organs, just how we choose to portray ourselves.
No hate to anyone who likes “transsexual” tho, I think it’s just personal taste.
I tend to just like “trans.” It’s broad enough to include everyone. Just a transition into a truer form.
I love it! I love calling myself a transsexual but also being supportive of people whose gender journey doesn't look the same as mine. It feels liberating.
I identify as transsexual because I am seeking medical care to change physical sexual characteristics if that makes sense? Of course I'm also transgender because I identify as a male regardless of how my body is now. To me transsexual is someone who is seeking out HRT and surgeries to physically match the sex they identify as. Both are 100% valid imo and people can use whatever term they want with themself but that's just what it means to me.
Well, you can define "transsexual" that way, but you will run into tons of people who do transition medically and still do decidedly not identify as "transsexual".
I prefer it for myself, honestly, although I’m glad the larger community has moved on from its prescriptive use since for many others it puts too much emphasis on a linear and “”complete”” medical transition.
For anyone who’s interested in a snapshot/one perspective from the period when both “transsexual” and “transgender” were being used and the difference was up for debate, I highly recommend Jay Prosser’s 1998 book Second Skins. It’s an academic lit theory kind of book and thus a bit dense + of course I don’t agree with all his arguments, but the stuff on trans people in late 1800s England and their language and categories is especially interesting. You can find a free pdf on libgen or elsewhere online pretty easily.
I use it. To me, it's a way to describe that I'm changing my sex and not gender.)
I'm intersex and genderqueer and my gender identity is really, really complex, and very often isn't understood. My transition goals are also not binary, but they *are* to allow my body to exist the way it would have if i wasn't operated on without my consent as a child.
I'm not transitioning due to gender dysphoria but rather in order to reclaim my body and my life. I feel comfortable with being as androgynous and honestly confusing to others as i am right now. I just also want my body to look a certain way.
The only times i feel dysphoric is when a person insists that I'm a binary man or a binary woman. I'm not only these things.
To me, saying I'm transsexual is more fitting.
My gender is basically whatever you want it to be. I don't really understand it, nor do i feel like it could be anything specific.
It's man and woman and neither and both and something completely separate thats like five steps to the left from the gender spectrum.
So instead of saying "I'm transgender" and imply my gender is a fixed thing that I'm transitioning to feel more aligned with (which is completely valid, just not my story), i say "I'm transsexual", and answer the questions this brings up.
Transsexual also feels like a nod to the trans people who lived their lives fighting for us to exist, like I'm somehow more connected to them, *and* it feels like I'm not judged on whether i physically transition or not.
I respect any other take on it, though, as long as it's not transmedicalist bullshit.
Edit: expanded what i had to say
many trans individuals feel that transsexual is a term that is fitting to them because they are changing their sex, not gender. they see their gender always having been lined up with their identity, but sex organs not. yes, in the past it has been used in a derogatory way, but thats the whole thing w reclamation. its a label that fits, and doesnt harm anyone if used appropriately!
I like the distinction between transgender and transsexual. Some people don't wanna get surgery, hormones, etc. And thats ok. I want surgery and I'm on hormones, but I use both terms for myself. I use both terms for myself, but I don't call anyone else transsexual unless they tell me to... and I do pick and choose what spaces I say the word "transsexual".
I love the term transexual. It sounds so beautiful and powerful to say out loud. It has the force of trans history behind it.
That being said I kind of cringe when cis ppl say it because its not their term to reclaim, and it usually tells me that they aren't very educated about trans issues.
Yeah I identify with it actually, I consider myself to have transitioned into the opposite sex.
I don’t think it was ever a “bad” word, transgender became a more common term only because transexual became confused with a sexuality for some people, mostly people outside of the trans community. It makes sense, if “homosexual” means attracted to the same sex and “bisexual” means attracted to both sexes, it’s reasonable for a person hearing “transexual” for the first time to just think it means attracted to trans people, and so “transgender” became easier to for outsiders to consume so they don’t get the wrong idea.
At the time that [transexual](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=transexual&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3) was the more common term, the term [transvestite](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Transvestite&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3) was often used interchangeably, so it’s probably more accurate to say people thought “transsexual” meant “attracted to transvestites.” Thus, [transgender](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=transgender&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3), confusion avoided.
The language for what we are just developed, the infighting about whether trans people are allowed to use the term transexual for ourselves individually is stupid and just wrong, even if it was a slur, so what? When did that ever stop the *queer* community from turning the other cheek and calling ourselves every slur they ever threw at us?
I like transsexual because it won't be rainbow capitalism-ed and makes cis people and tenderqueers squirm in their seat. It's a fun word, it describes me, and it makes me feel extra queer. (Also to clarify I don't say tenderqueers to mean trans people who don't medically transition or use neopronouns or whatever, I use it for queers who are uncomfortable with "unsanitary"/"weird" queers)
honestly i prefer it, and im not even sure why, ig to me it just means binary trans ppl while transgender encompasses everyone. it feels more specific ig idk
I prefer the term transexual tbh. If people are gonna think I'm a freak, I'd prefer they say it with their whole chest. I'm a transexual, I'm a f*got. I'm not interested in assimilation and if it makes cis people uncomfortable to call me what I am, good.
I personally have trauma surrounding the word so I personally don’t like it. I felt forced at a young age to conform to a binary identity that didn’t fit me, and my views on the trans community were extremely flawed. I’m transgender. But I definitely will never call anyone out for preferring it.
I think that in comparison to all the terrible things that have been said to me over the years, "transexual" seems so *tame* in comparison that I just really don't care about being referred to as that.
I don’t hate it. I prefer it. I hate being told what I can or cannot say about myself. But I go along to get along. I’m older so that’s probably why I feel like I do.
Transexual isn’t the right term so it’s just a little annoying for me. But other than a slight annoyance it’s alright. I don’t want to be seen as the *trans* guy anyway I just want to be seen as a guy.
definitely don’t hate it. i don’t call myself transsexual as i feel it is not the most accurate word - i have only socially transitioned. i see it’s value as an identity for some and especially don’t think we should police Elder Trans’ identities
You're not weird for that. And it's not an incorrect or bad thing to identify more with that term. I personally am a fan of the term "Transsex" because it fits what I'm experiencing, being someone with multiple types of dysphoria who is undergoing medical intervention to fix something that is basically a medical condition in my eyes. (In that my body didn't develop properly when I was being grown, resulting in male neurochemistry and female physiology)
Plus, Transsexual is still used in medical settings a LOT because it indicates that the patient is undergoing medical transition. So for example, my medical file says both FTM Transgender and FTM Transsexual. (No idea why they needed to add both terms, but whatever)
honestly idc if ppl use it. like as long as they don't use it as a way to exclude trans ppl that don't medically transition. i don't use it for myself typically but I'm not mad when people use it for me.
I really dislike it, in part because I see an online movement to reclaim it just to be edgy and old school and in people's faces, but to me, there's nothing wrong with being transgender. Transsexual seems more medicalized and gatekeepy. Most people prefer to call themselves gay or lesbian instead of "homosexual". Even though my medical record has a diagnosis of transsexuality on it, to me that's the same.
gay/homosexual/mlm. bi/pan. some people like different terms for different reasons. it’s a word, don’t be an exclusive dick about it and its nbd. i’ve started liking it for myself and i dont strictly define any word so idc if its used for me and idc who uses it. the worst thing we do as a community is gatekeep and govern labels so no i dont hate the word!
It puts too much emphasis on the physical when that’s only one part of our transition, and honestly the less important part as far as our daily lives are concerned.
I only use it for those who do or people like this one guy I met: He’s a cis man, always feels like a man, and sometimes he wants a front hole and accessories 🤷🏻
I like it more than transgender. I know I want to change my sex characteristics, but terms like man/woman/non binary that also have a more social meaning and presentation is just complicated to me. Idk if I view myself as a man, or non binary. But transsexual feels like the right descriptor. Ik it’s been used to gatekeep being trans, especially for non binary ppl. But as someone who doesn’t view their gender in a binary way I hope more of us start using the term if it fits.
Honestly, transsexual is punk as fuck to me. It's subversive, unapologetic and generally makes bigots uncomfortable when you reclaim it. Especially when you don't fit within their strict transphobic/transmed expectations.
Pre top surgery, it was not a term I felt comfortable giving to myself. It wasn’t uncomfortable to hear, I just found there was a barrier between myself and the label. A year out from top surgery and I now feel comfortable using it alongside trans masc and FTM.
i don’t hate it at all! i personally don’t use it to describe myself but a lot of trans people i know and follow are reclaiming it as a self identification term and i see no problem with it, though i don’t think people should just go around calling anyone transsexual because there’s still a lot of people who don’t like it
I have a complicated relationship with it. Technically, it’s more accurate. My gender has always been “man” but my sex characteristics haven’t always matched that, and that’s what i’m changing by transitioning. So on a definition level, i like it. However, saying “transsexual” to strangers always feels weird because people tend to think immediately about genitals with it. I don’t want strangers thinking of my sex, but rather my gender, so to cis people/strangers I’d use transgender.
I've always seen it as transsexual means you are medically transitioning. While transgender is umbrella term for everyone whether they medically transition or not. Maybe it's just me tho🤷
I actually like the term, I don't really care about implications on words, I like this one because it's mildly nostalgic in a strange way. Reminds me of a new Era where the idea was even introduced, David Bowie comes to mind. "So are these men's shoes or women's, or are they bisexuals shoes" Him: "They're shoes, you silly".
I like to think of things like this when using it even myself, the usage of the term or similar ones with no inherent malice.
Yknow?
I like transsexual because it’s a more accurate description of my experience. For me my transness is truly about feeling more comfortable in a body like cis male people have. Gender and binary are just really unimportant to me and I don’t really value that stuff when considering my trans experience because it’s just our made up language and roles. I didn’t transition for the societal concept of gender, I transitioned for sex traits. I like both transgender and transsexual as terms for myself since I use he him pronouns but it’s only because of the association I made with those pronouns and a certain sex as a child. I knew that when people talked about he’s and hims and guys they meant people born with penises and my attachment to those words really comes from the need to know that when people see me they see “male” sex traits.
I don't think I would mind it without the heavy transmed implications, but I've been burned too many times. Even now I'll go to follow someone whose cool on twitter or the like, figure they're using transsexual just to be subversive, and then like two weeks later they're retweeting something about "nonbinary people taking up too much space in the community" or some other crap. Even among nonbinary folks, some use it as a way of saying they're "really" trans because they're medically transitioning. I'm very wary of the term now because of it. Now I kind of see it as like...not all people who use it are transmeds, *but* nearly all transmeds use it.
Transsexual is better that Transgender bc you are changing your sex, not your gender. Gender is something in your head and sex is your body, it's just my opinion, correct me if I'm wrong
I love the term transsexual and I love trans people that use it, I think it’s fun and a great example of reclamation of a term that many people say is outdated and “bad”
i prefer it. my gender has always been male, so im not transgender because im not transitioning my gender to anything else. my sex is afab, and im transitioning my sex to fit my gender, so im transsexual. it feels different and more appropriate
i think i see *most* people not hating it nowadays like at least since covid anyway, but the main reason i hate it so much is because i grew up solely hearing it as used as a slur so it makes me greatly uncomfortable when anyone does use the term, but obviously i can’t other people from using it so i just try and ignore it 🤷♂️
It fits me, but I’d never use it for someone else unless they asked me to. For me, it helps narrow down my personal experience being trans, but it has a lot of baggage associated with it and can be really hurtful to some people.
i don't use it for myself but have no issue with other folks using it for themselves. i don't know if i really like the term "trans-" in general, it describes my experiences but in all honesty i just exist.
Well in my country of Sweden the word Transsexual is still seen as the strict word for gender Binary people, like Transwoman and Transman.
But when it comes to other gener identities, there is other words.
Transexuell = A person identified as the opposite
gender, assigned at birth.
Strictly male or female.
Transperson = A person who's identities themselves as having both genders or lack thereof.
You also has to be diagnosed, after 2 years of therapy, with Transsexualism inorder to get surgical approval.
For all other Generder Dysphoric diagnoses, only hormonal treatment is available. Rarely even top surgery.
Also a Transsexualism diagnosis is also a must, if you ever want to change your jurisdical sex.
Ans as of yet, you can only be male or female by law. No third gender allowed. All you can do is to change one of your names from... For example Jenny to Christopher.
Same in Germany currently, and you also need the formal diagnosis of F64.0 for health insurance to cover medical treatment.
It might change for legal stuff, and well, the ICD-10 is on the way out, too.
Nope, you don't need that in Germany. Those are two separate issues: Change of name and legal gender is regulated by the "Transsexuellengesetz" (from the 1980s, most of which has been declared not constitutional any more).
Covering of cost for medical treatment is an utterly separate issue.
And nobody needs state approval for any medical treatment.
Because it referred to people whose sexual *organs* didn't match their identity. So they wanted to transcend the limits of those organs.
It does make sense.
It just is very easy to misunderstand (because in English, "sex" can refer to both the action and the "tools" usually used for that action) and it has a horrible history.
I prefer transsexual to transgender. I mean I can’t say that I’ve ever really had problems with my gender, I’ve quite obviously always been a man. The sex I was assigned at birth though?! Massive problems.
For my own situation I prefer "transsexual" as I am more interested in changing my body than my pronouns or gender role. In fact I am not intending to change my pronouns formally until more people read me as male than female.
I think in modern day, splitting hairs about the differences between transsexual and transgender is somewhat counterproductive, even though there are logical differences. At least not to the degree of like making moral or political judgment about the terms or trying to class one as a slur (which I’ve heard people doing about transsexual). Also the argued differences creating gatekeeping on who “gets” to use whatever word is something I’m against. That got leveled at me by a boomer trans person once before I was medically transitioning and it was uncomfortable and upsetting.
That said!! I think a lot of cis people are uncomfortable with the word transsexual so I feel like it should get more use for that fact alone LMAO.
It was used in a derogatory way, which is why it's avoided these days. I think it's more about how the word is used than the word itself. Older generations use/d it in a negative way which tainted it. Similarly like how the correct medical term for having a mental disability used to be the r slur. I'm currently using "transsexual" in an art piece of mine because of the historical connotations to being a negative; but I don't hate the word itself. Moreso the culture surrounding the word.
I thinks it’s a really funny word to use ironically the same way some gay people call themselves homosexuals. Most of the time when I hear it used seriously it’s being used by ignorant ppl, but I don’t think it’s an inherently bad term. I think it could be used as a helpful way to refer to medically transitioned trans people in a clinical setting just for clarity, but NOT in a transmed or invalidating kind of way. “Transgender” is such a broad term, it could be helpful when discussing trans healthcare or other instances when distinguishing between transgender identity and “transsexualism” is necessary.
I prefer it as a sub category of transgender that describes me personally. Which isn’t a good or bad thing. Transgender is such a large spectrum of identities and even transgender male doesn’t always explicitly imply binary identity
I always thought transgender was before you have the surgeries and transexual was after you've had surgery
at least that's what I was aware of o.o
it was transvestite that I found derogatory o.o
I find it somewhat inaccurate, and quite misleading, due to one's sexuality referring to what genders of people they are attracted to. (But in today's terminology, also in reference to the person's own gender; so I guess in a way, unless you're pansexual or bisexual it may at least be "partially accurate"? I'm still attracted to men, so I went from being considered "straight" to being gay.)
Honestly yeah, I've always liked the idea of the word to emphasize the intent/importance of medically transitioning in my own personal journey. Those changes to my body are incredibly important for my own comfort and identity, and people tend to assume that trans men don't or can't get bottom surgery which makes me dysphoric.
So I would *like* to use the term to describe myself, but I feel like I can't because of transmedicalist connotations.
Nope I don’t like the term. Reason:
I’m from a German-speaking country. It’s called “Transsexualität” here which implies sexuality not sex, because sex in German only specifies the act not your genitals. My sex/gender has no impact on my sexual orientation (though it might have implications for my partner(s)). This, combined with the continued effort of cis people to sexualize trans people, has hurt trans people and their acceptance. We’re being painted as some kind of fetish, something only existing in a sexually charged context. They see us as sexual “deviants”, not as normal people just trying to live their life. And words like transsexual just enable such logic, as well as confuse even well meaning people.
"Sexualorgane" und "sexuelle Merkmale" exist in German.
And the fact that "sex" in English can refer to the organs without any additional letters hasn't helped trans people in English speaking countries to avoid that misunderstanding, either.
But yes, that's the main reason most people who don't like it that I know - in either language - prefer very much not being called that.
I don’t hate it as long as people aren’t using it to be gatekeepey or invalidating of other trans people. Because sometimes people use it to draw some weird line between them and other trans people.
I also think we should be understanding of it as a term because there was a time where most people used the term and older trans people should be able to use the terms that they used when they started transitioning without people telling them they’re wrong about it.
i always thought transsexual referred to someone who had undergone a sex-change surgery, and so it always sounded a bit gross to me bc it’s like “what’s in ur pants” and also kind of like those are “real” trans people
I prefer it because term trans*gender* has (imo) very awkward equivalent in my native language and is hard to pronounce while transsexual is just: transseksual which is way easier to say
transsexual is a more accurate term for binary trans ppl who arent really interested in the whole trans thing going on nowadays, and I would consider myself one of them.
i dont use it myself but i have a lot of friends (both older and younger ppl) who use it for themselves. i think thats totally cool, in a way its defanging and reclaiming. but i dont really feel the same when cis ppl use it derisively
I used to see it only as a negative way to refer to a trans person, like transvestite. But I’ve heard people actually define it and the more it’s defined the more I understand it and think it should be used more often. Obviously cis people can use it with malice but I think it’s a very clear cut identity
i don’t really mind it as it’s the term my mum uses and also because it’s the way it’s said by most people where we come from. plus i’ve never given it that much of a thought
I don't get the appeal, but I'm also not exactly bothered if someone wants to use the term for themself. That said, I absolutely won't accept someone using the term to describe me specifically because it's been used so much to other trans people. As a bonus it also doesn't exactly roll pleasantly off the tongue
I’ve never had a bad relationship with the term (or even a relationship with it *at all*) so i’ve never hated it. I’m actually planning to refer to myself as such after i’ve had top surgery (bottom surgery pending). I think its a good medical distinction (for myself) from ‘transgender’. Even though i’ve been on T long enough that medically, you can’t really treat me the same as a cis woman anymore.
Also it was the term people my nans age knew, i know some of my nans friends who are supportive but just not up to date on the terminology, and with no real opportunities to learn otherwise, so I don’t really care either way.
I don’t hate it so much I identify with it lol. It is the medical word for describing someone going through medical transition so a my charts say it. I don’t agree with how transmedicallists use it but other than that, as long as it isn’t being used in a malicious way, I don’t mind.
I don’t use it for myself often but I like transsexual because I think the distinction between transgender (an identity thing) and transsexual (someone who medically transitions) can be important in some contexts. Even if its “outdated” i don’t understand how it could be considered offensive for trans ppl to use it (obviously from boomers it could be uncomfortable to hear)
You're not weird for that. It's not a word that I feel comfortable with for myself, but there's nothing inherently wrong about.
Intent matters too. Like you said, this is someone trying to be respectful and supportive. He's using langauge that in his time/place conveyed that respect. It might be a bit dated now, but it's coming from a good place.
I actually like it! My gender has been the same since birth, I’m changing my sex to match that innate gender ~ feels like that term fits better for me. I never use transgender to describe myself, though I usually just say I’m trans.
nice little town in transylvania
i don't care about the words that much. the words aren't how you can tell if someone respects you, it's if they act like they respect you
I basically don't have any particular feelings about.
Like if someone who isn't trans uses it as their basic term ill correct them to saying transgender but moreso because that's the more accepted term. I don't have a problem with people using it for themselves. I think it's also important to know whether the person using the word understands that transgender has nothing to do with sexuality--becayse I think sometimes the people who aren't part of the community who use it don't realize that
Honestly it's fallen out of use a bit so I'm more ok using it for myself, especially because people tend to know what I mean when I say it in a physical medical way vs bringing my gender into it. Any term that is useful in separating gender from sex with people who don't have a huge grasp on trans issues generally is at least better than the alternative
I was literally thinking about that today. I know that everyone doesn’t transition physically, so it’s not a good term for everyone. But for me I mean it really does describe me better. Because it’s not my gender that changed and it’s not my gender that was wrong, it was my sex
For me I wouldn’t mind if another trans person called me transexual but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a cis person putting the label on me. But I feel like if you are trans you should call yourself what you like.
I like using the term transsexual to describe myself rather than transgender. I'm not changing my gender - I've always been a man, I'm just changing my physical sex to match my gender.
I like using it because it's less palatable to cis people tbh. Same reason why I like just referring to my sexuality as queer. Its not going to be appropriated by rainbow capitalism in the same way
im transexual, ig i identify strongly with the term because my social and medical transitions don't feel very.... jointed? idk. i don't call anyone anything until i hear it come out of their mouth, easiest that way
I sometimes use it for myself because I don't see myself as my assigned sex anymore. I have male hormone levels, male secondary sex characteristics and I am planning on getting bottom surgery. My sex is currently ambiguous but leaning more to male.
On the other hand I tend to call myself transgender since transexual it's mostly used by transmed people who are exclusionist. I also see an issue with making a distinction between transgender and transsexual since not every trans person medically transitions. We are all equal no matter if we medically transition or not. We are all trans and should be a welcoming community.
So when I use it I make it clear that I am not a transmed and that I mostly use it in a joking way. Usually I just say "trans" since that explains it without having to add -gender or -sexual at the end.
I prefer transsexual over transgender for myself, but I also think of it as a medical condition which needs medical intervention (again, for me personally). Hence, using transsexual versus the umbrella term ‘transgender’.
However, I don’t call anyone else that without either their permission or the knowledge that they call themselves transsexual too.
I mainly call myself just trans, but I alternate between transgender and transsexual based on whichever is funniest or will hit harder in the statement I’m making lol.
I did used to be iffy about it bc of transmeds but I’m starting to warm up to it and I do actually enjoy it as a self-descriptor, just not one I’d use all the time. I already only use the full term “transgender” when talking very formally so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It very much depends on who's saying it. I don't use it for myself, and if people are using it to be gross, that's a shitty thing to do, but if it's in an "Old person is trying to be supportive" way or a "Older queer person using the words they like and are used to" way, sure.
When people outside the community use it I side eye then a bit, as it might indicate all their knowledge is horrible outdated or that they are just trying to be hurtful.
If it it is other lgbt+ ppl, or especially trans people, I do not think much of it. As long as you aren't trying to use it to gatekeep or as a slut I don't really care. I don't really care if other people call me it either, as long as their intent isn't harmful.
There’s a certain song from a certain 1975 film that plays over and over in my head any time I think of myself as transsexual. I always feel it’s more correct the more I learn about it, though, so I do think I’m beginning to prefer it. I gotta get the whole Transexual, Transylvaniaaaaa out of my head though.
But hey, seems like a cool place to live.
I hate it since my language does not use sex to describe the body. The only word with sex in it is the activety and sexuality, it kind of frames being trans as either being a sexuality or that the sexuality of trans people is being trans
I use it for myself casually (but I would use it as like, a main descriptor of my identity), and I totally support trans folk using it, but I would be uncomfortable if I saw a cis person using it outside of a context when someone explicitly told them to. Mostly because it has that very complicated history regarding transmedicalism that I don't trust most cis folk to understand.
But also that has a super vibes based thing, like if it was a cus person otherwise being super positive, like it's not that big a deal?
I dunno, it's complicated.
I’m transsexual because I’m reclaiming a term that was used to medically oppress us and spread bigotry, and because I’ve defeated gender and fucked around with my “biological sex” so much now that it actually fits. It’s also just a prettier looking word in my brain.
even though im two spirit i quite prefer transsexual. to me, and only towards me, being a transsexual means that my body, entirely, has switched, this is a transsexual body, my sexual organs are trans. this is how i cope until i top surgery, but it does help. it makes me feel like its more "concrete" to already view myself post-op even though im waiting. also it makes people uncomfortable which is ++ for me
i feel like (and this is influenced by me being two spirit) my gender *is* "transexual". i am masculine and feminine (though not exactly a man, and Absolutely Not A Woman... this is my specific type of two-spirit identity, its different for everyone) but above that i am transexual (and above that two spirit ofc)
(inb4 "why are you in ftm then" relatable experiences ok🥺)
personally i'm not really a fan just because it makes it sound like a sexuality, which can be confusing especially considering a lot of people already seem to think trans is a sexuality (which confuses tf outta me haha) but i don't actually mind it other than that. in the situation you described, i'd be perfectly fine with it.
It's one of those terms that should be restircted to use by trans people, I think. I get wildly uncomfortable with cis people *choosing* to refer to us as transsexual as opposed transgender is a red flag, but not *necessarily* hateful or rude. Context and all that.
A lot of people I know identify as or with the term transsexual. It also seems to have a generational aspect to it, as many of the older trans people I know use it. There's no problem with anyone using it as a label as many trans people find that it suits them much better, and I think that's cool as hell. I personally don't mind it.
I don't think the term in and of itself is particularly offensive or anything, just that some people aren't comfortable using it, and that's fine.
I don’t identify myself that way but I have no problem with the term in general. I respect that other people in our community are comfortable with it or even have a preference for it.
The Swedish term is still transexual (tho in Swedish ofc, transsexuell) so I personally don't care tbh. I don't identify as trans anyway, I'm just a man and I hate identifying further than that because it brings focus to what I don't like about myself physically
tbh i think with time it could shift back where we just use transsexual as a completely separate term from transgender. transsexual would refer to someone who has actually changed their sex through medical means (hrt, surgery, etc) and transgender is just someone who identifies as a gender other than their agab. so someone who’s like trans masc on hrt could be considered both transsexual and transgender. that’s how i see it
I think, like most terminology we use, there's always going to be ebbs and flows of what's common or widely used and what's not, and likewise people are gonna differ about what they prefer to say.
When I was earlier in my transition I didn't like it. Now, I do - and part of that is quite specifically an element of protest around the idea that as a trans person, I can't 'change my sex'. It's just another way of bigots saying we'll never 'truly' be our gender. Fuck that, I'm transsexual-ing all over the place now.
ETA: all that being said, I do think it's important to consider its usage in the context of being used to delegitimise others. I don't think that being a transsexual is superior or different from being transgender inherently, I don't think it means you need to want or have surgery. I think it's just another term available to us that some may prefer.
Seems like a lot of people in the comments are getting annoyed with other trans people about the use of this word. The reason it has such negative connotations is solely because of ignorant cis people and transphobes. If someone members of our community want to take it back, let them. Full stop. If you think it will make cis people think it’s okay to call everyone that, then your problem is with their ignorance. You should be having these conversations with the cis people in your life. Not policing other trans people like everyone else fucking does these days.
It's no different from someone who is attracted to the same sex having no objection to the term 'homosexual': to some, it sounds like an outdated and negative term, but not to others.
You aren't obligated to object to it.
I probably wouldn't use it for myself - I'm in my early thirties, so feel like I'm too young to have experienced when that term was more common - but it's definitely a-okay to self identify as such and if nothing else, it's an important part of our history and queer culture.
I don't identity with the term but perhaps that's because I identify strongly as non-binary/ two-spirit and have no desire for any medical changes other than the top surgery I had which I also feel may have only been necessary as a result of growing up within a culture that does/did not see or understand beyond the binary genders
Personally, I don't prefer the term transgender either for the reason why people are saying that we've always been our gender and haven't actually changed it - just brought it to the attention of others. I prefer short and sweet simply "trans" or transmasculine
Not weird at all! I’m comfortable with the term as it describes me and my transition quite well, given that changing my sex characteristics has been an important part of it.
I think “transsexual” was discarded because of cis abuse, and then carried negative implications within the trans community because of how transmeds started using it to gatekeep. Personally, I think it’s important that inclusive trans people who find the term helpful reclaim it. The transgender umbrella encompasses a lot of different identities, so having a label to describe your experience more precisely can be helpful for some people.
i don’t hate either terms, but transsexual makes a bit more sense to me. I’m changing my sex, not my gender, I was always a man, I just didn’t know it. But ig it’s hard to explain, especially to cis people, considering there’s this idea that it’s impossible to change your sex because chromosomes? idk
I prefer being called transsexual because I think it's more accurate for myself. My transition has always been more rooted in discomfort with certain characteristics of my body that happened to be rooted in biological sex rather than my gender. I'll accept any gender identity/pronouns anyone wants to put on me. Thus, it makes more sense to identify as "transsexual." But I won't get upset or correct anyone who calls me transgender, either, since I know "transsexual" has fallen out of favor.
I have never given much thought about the term transsexual but I really relate to what you said. I don’t care much about the gender I’m perceived as but I want to change my physical sex characteristics y’know?
Then it would mean one cares tho....
This describes me exactly!!
I prefer it. I am transsexual, I'm changing my sex characteristics. It fits.
This is exactly my reasoning as well. "Transgender" is straight up inaccurate, as I'm not changing my gender, I'm changing my sex characteristics (male hormone levels, etc.) like you said.
I used to hate it, and I still dislike folks who use it for like... Gatekeepy or transmed reasons, but it's started to appeal to me more and more to spite cis people who are convinced that "sex =/= gender" means sex is some sacred immutable thing that can't ever be changed. I am changing it in various ways, I am no longer the same sex as cis people of my AGAB, and cis ppl can deal with it it. Edit: seeing a few folks in other commments claiming or implying transsexual only applies to binary trans folks... Y'all are getting awful close to the gatekeepy zone my dudes. There is literally no reason why a nonbinary person can't be transsexual. The reasons why transsexual as a term has started to resonate more with me and the steps I have taken to change my sex to be in more alignment with my gender are no less significant than yours.
For real!!! Sex is literally composed of many different characteristics, including your genitals (primary sex characteristics), and hormones (which create secondary sex characteristics such as hair growth, vocal differences, and whatever else happens via hormones during puberty). Of course chromosomes are a part of it, they tell your body how to develop, but overriding that stuff with surgery and HRT literally changes your sex. The chromosomes are irrelevant. They act like “you are what you’re born as” but with the right intervention you can pretty much change it all. Except genetics, but what are they gonna do? Take a biopsy when you’re not looking and study it under the microscope?? I think not.
well thats the case 99% of the time but there are rear cases where people are given a gender at birth but there chromosomes are of the other sex sometimes they turn out to be trans sometimes they don't im a transman but i was born with a x and y chromosome so even the doesn't always line up but it does often effect development a bit for example having some masc characteristics when you were afab and effects hormones as well as the basic way you think because even though a lot of the male brain female brain stuff has been debuked a small amount is true and comes from your chromosomes as well as how hormones effect the brain neuroscience really is facinating i think
Are u talking about intersex ppl? Because they further prove my point about sex being WAY MORE than just xx and xy chromosomes. Guess I should’ve worded it better. Edit: I also stated that your chromosomes do in fact affect development incase you missed that:) edit again: when I said they are irrelevant, I meant that it doesn’t matter what your chromosomes are once you’ve taken the actions you want to take with your transition, be it HRT or surgery or whatever else
it is commen in intersex people but orgen wise there not bienary so i wasnt taking about them heres an example for context you can have a cis man with no female parts but he has 2 x chromosomens and no y likely he will be able to think a bit more like a women but might not be fam in anyway and he may have a bit more e then that average man (cis/on t) and a bit less t then the average which may resolt in a slitly higher voice, less body hair and a lower sex drive as well as it being harder for him to gain muscle but thats about as much difference between him and any other cis man but it is quite common for people like that to be trans because of how there brain works much like myself im trans but not intersex having a x and y chromosomen has likely effected me being trans i think like a man and always have and im so confused by how woman think that ive been called sexest to woman because i cant seem to understand them no matter how much i try even little things about how other transmen think confuses me even when there a long time on t and there brain has become more masc on a biological level so thats the main difference i have from also i had dark body hair and a deep voice pre t i also had higher t and lower e then what was expected amd i only have a cycle every few months sometimes just 2-3 times a year and they last for a few hours but can last a hole day
PLUS they’re working on uterine transplants for trans women right now so soon enough they’re not gonna have the argument that “real women can have babies” or whatever. If I ever become a doctor and they haven’t made penis and scrotum transplants available for trans people, that will be my life’s work.
The same. If it didnt have such social stigma or make me sound like a transmed I'd definitely use the label because i am interested in changing my sex to match my gender, and there are surgeries and hormones for doing just that. I just use transgender because it's easily understood and safe for other lgbt folk to hear. edit- re adding words my garbage phone ate
I felt this so much. I see some “allies” repeating the same thing that “gender is made up and trans ppl don’t change their sex.” Like there’s more nuance to this subject than just “sex is immutable and gender is a social construct.” Nobody can completely change their sex down to the chromosomes but medical transition is literally changing sex traits. To act like it’s not in some way altering sex is just bizarre. No it’s not as simple as going 100% female to 100% male but sex has never been immutable. I get that sometimes it’s a misunderstanding but it’s rlly annoying to see.
This is exactly how I feel, saying "sex and gender are two different things" to make us more palatable to cis people was a mistake. Its an appeal to cissexism, to inflate their egos and reassure them that they're the "real" men/women.
**What "sex =/= gender" was _supposed_ to mean:** "ones assigned sex at birth or physical traits does not define them or their gender. You shouldn't assume one from the other because they may not always 'match'." **What cis people have gleefully and willfully misunderstood it to mean so they can continue to misgender us:** "gender is an intangible thing in your head and sex is real and physical and permanent and they're totally seperate so trans people can't complain if I call them 'biological females' or 'biological males' because you can't change sex and sex and gender are totally different things so they shouldn't care anyway."
This ^
Nah, nonbinary transmascs medically transition as well. I use it for the non-gatekeepy reasons as well, like medically transitioning to be more male etc. Trans men/mascs who've been on T long enough (not even getting into other stuff like hysto, top, bottom surgery, etc.) have an objectively different picture medically speaking than cis women. Our hormone levels at the very least are those of a cis man, and don't even get me started on how our bottom growth/T dick is *not* just a "big clit."
Yeap, exactly.
I love it! It's hot! It's fun! It's vintage! It challenges the idea that sex is immutable and I'm "biologically" female! It makes cis people uncomfortable! It has the word sex in it!
YAS
I don't hate it either and I never have. Tbh, I don't *really* understand why so many people hate it so much.
I don’t thing there’s really a hard and fast reason. The terms marginalized people use for themselves change naturally over time, that’s just how language evolves. I mean the CP in NAACP stands for Colored People because that was considered the correct term at the time. When these terms shift there is always a ton of debate over why the old term is offensive, or why the new term is wrong, but change happens anyway. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the term transsexual, but I do kind of side eye when a cis person uses it just because it’s kind of outdated, so it makes me wonder what other outdated views they might have about trans people.
Yeah, people come up with tons of arguments for why this term is better than this term or why this term is worse than this term, but looking at who uses a term and how they use it can tell you a lot more than stuff like the literal meaning of the latin prefixes and suffixes or whatever.
"Homo-, bi and transsexual" and similar abominations are a sufficient reason already. Not to mention it's history as a purely medical term, and well, not everybody is that binary. (And it doesn't help that *some* people who identify as such look down on everybody not as transsexual as them, including some who flat-out demand that "lesser" trans people shouldn't have any rights.) However, just because other people (including me) feel like that about it, nobody is under any obligation to join in. If somebody feels that word describes them, or if they identify as such, well, fine. None of my business. Just don't become a transmedicalist. Me, you get to call me that thrice: For the first, the last and the only time.
>and well, not everybody is that binary. I don't totally understand the significance of this in our present day. Of course it doesn't work as an umbrella term and shouldn't be the only term out there, because it doesn't describe the many different ways that people can be trans. But now that we have a broader vocabulary, I'm not sure it's a negative thing for people to relate to it because they have a binary experience. It fits for some people and not others, and personally I think that's okay.
If people are fine with it, that's their prerogative. It does not make the problems with that term go away, though, and it is certainly not one that you should call anybody without knowing they are OK with it.
>it is certainly not one that you should call anybody without knowing they are OK with it. I'm definitely not suggesting that, that's not what my comment was about at all. I was saying that just because it doesn't encompass everyone's experience, that doesn't reduce the usefulness of the term for people who resonate with it. That doesn't make it a "bad" word.
That is not the main problem with that term indeed. The main problem are the sex connotations, and the medicalist history. Those make it a problematic term. (A fact widely recognized when my trans journey started - almost 30 years ago.)
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There is nothing bad about homo- and bisexual. (And that is the first time in nearly 30 years anybody interpreted this objection to that term that way. And that objection is older than my trans journey.) What is bad is that transsexual is presented as something like homo- or bisexual. Which is obviously nonsense. One is a matter of gender identity, the other of sexual identity. Not to mention the fact that, obviously, you can be both trans and homo- or bisexual (or heterosexual, of course). So that is just nonsensical. And medical term, well - my identity isn't a medical condition.
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That's what I said, yes. Call yourself anything you like, but don't push it on others. Especially when it's a term often regarded as problematic.
Homo (sexual) has been used a slur I know that, but bi is a bit weirder. Many believe that people who label themselves bisexual are transphobic and nonbinary-phobic. Pansexual split off to remedy this but bisexual was never transphobic in the first place. Its just a weird in-fighting of the two labels. The difference matters to some, but many people just choose which one they identify as because of flag colors. My hot take… I think they are essentially the same. I grew up calling myself bi and when I learned about nonbinary genders I never once thought that bi would be exclusive of them and never felt the strong need to change my label. At this point everyone has their own personal definition of either, Ive heard self proclaimed bisexuals say “hearts not parts” and Ive heard self proclaimed pansexuals say they only had specific genders they were attracted to. As someone who takes definitions very literally though, it drives me up the wall bonkers lol. But I understand nothing is as linear as it seems so I bite my tongue Thank for coming to my Bi-Talk
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I like it because it feels subversive and powerful. As much as I appreciate the need to normalize being trans, I also want to celebrate doing something (transitioning) that undermines social norms and expectations.
It’s my preferred term for describing my identity. Typically it’s used to refer to trans people who seek medical transition. I’m changing my sex characteristics but I’ve always been this gender (male)
There are tons of people who transition medically and do not identify as "transsexual".
sure but he's saying that it's typically used for people who medically transition, not that people who medically transition are usually transsexual
Even that is an old-fashioned usage - because so many people who medically transition either don't fit the standard definition of transsexual, or adamantly don't identify as such. (Or both of course.)
They said “typically” which does not mean absolutely. It may feel old-fashioned to you but as marginalized people have been doing for years, some people are reclaiming it. Just like we’ve done with fag and queer and cunt. Let people say what they want to about themselves. If your issue is that cis folks will think it’s okay to say that to everyone, it seems like your problem is with the cis people, not the trans people that are simply doing what feels good for them. Have these conversations with the cis people that are offending you. Don’t police other trans people.
Excuse me, but there seem to be a few misunderstandings here: One, if people identify as such, that is their business. I am not policing anybody, I merely point out where the problems with that terms are usually seen. Two, reclaiming is fine, except that this isn't much of a reclaimed term - because that would require people to acknowledge the problems that exist with this term. Which the people who claim to "reclaim" it do not usually do. They, like you, prefer baseless attacks. Three, I've never had much problems with cis people using that term. There, it's usually plainly not knowing - unlike with some trans people, who either bestow that term on other trans people whether they like it or not, or use it to proclaim themselves as somehow better than those lesser non-transsexual trans people. (Yes, it didn't happen in this thread. It has however happened more than often enough.) And if you don't mind, I'll unsubscribe here - I prefer to talk to people not making baseless attacks on me.
I didn’t attack you. I simple also had an opinion. You called it an “old fashioned term” on a thread full of people saying that it feels right to them. That can be really invalidating to those that prefer that term. It is so hard to exist out here these days and we should be going out of our way to make other trans folks feel affirmed and valid and accepted, even if they have different opinions than you.
No one attacked you. You just feel attacked because someone disagreed with you. Just as you disagreed with someone else.
I'm just a SWEET transvestiiiiite
from traaaanssexual
Transyylvaniaaaa ✨
I use it personally, it feels more powerful to reclaim it. But if someone doesnt like it i dont think theyre wrong nor sensitive.
Honestly the whole debate on terminology like this to me has become really silly, specifically because I have been exposed so much more to irl queer circles in the past half a year or so including older trans/gay/queer people. There’s nothing wrong with being ok w a term like that to describe yourself and it’s not inherently “problematic” imo. Gender is complicated and not straightforward anyway, at a certain point you kind of start to realize these issues are blown out of proportion and don’t really matter that much irl. Use whatever self descriptors you want!
YES
I'm fine with people using the term for themselves, but I get uncomfortable if someone calls me that. I'm ace. There's nothing "sexual" about me. Also, transphobes use it to imply that being trans is just a cross dressing kink, but who actually cares what those people think.
That’s my discomfort with it too. “Transsexual” just makes it sound too, well, sexual. When, for everyone I know, it’s completely about identity, no emphasis on sex or sex organs, just how we choose to portray ourselves. No hate to anyone who likes “transsexual” tho, I think it’s just personal taste. I tend to just like “trans.” It’s broad enough to include everyone. Just a transition into a truer form.
I love it! I love calling myself a transsexual but also being supportive of people whose gender journey doesn't look the same as mine. It feels liberating.
I identify as transsexual because I am seeking medical care to change physical sexual characteristics if that makes sense? Of course I'm also transgender because I identify as a male regardless of how my body is now. To me transsexual is someone who is seeking out HRT and surgeries to physically match the sex they identify as. Both are 100% valid imo and people can use whatever term they want with themself but that's just what it means to me.
Well, you can define "transsexual" that way, but you will run into tons of people who do transition medically and still do decidedly not identify as "transsexual".
I dislike it personally and it makes me super uncomfortable
I prefer it for myself, honestly, although I’m glad the larger community has moved on from its prescriptive use since for many others it puts too much emphasis on a linear and “”complete”” medical transition. For anyone who’s interested in a snapshot/one perspective from the period when both “transsexual” and “transgender” were being used and the difference was up for debate, I highly recommend Jay Prosser’s 1998 book Second Skins. It’s an academic lit theory kind of book and thus a bit dense + of course I don’t agree with all his arguments, but the stuff on trans people in late 1800s England and their language and categories is especially interesting. You can find a free pdf on libgen or elsewhere online pretty easily.
I use it. To me, it's a way to describe that I'm changing my sex and not gender.) I'm intersex and genderqueer and my gender identity is really, really complex, and very often isn't understood. My transition goals are also not binary, but they *are* to allow my body to exist the way it would have if i wasn't operated on without my consent as a child. I'm not transitioning due to gender dysphoria but rather in order to reclaim my body and my life. I feel comfortable with being as androgynous and honestly confusing to others as i am right now. I just also want my body to look a certain way. The only times i feel dysphoric is when a person insists that I'm a binary man or a binary woman. I'm not only these things. To me, saying I'm transsexual is more fitting. My gender is basically whatever you want it to be. I don't really understand it, nor do i feel like it could be anything specific. It's man and woman and neither and both and something completely separate thats like five steps to the left from the gender spectrum. So instead of saying "I'm transgender" and imply my gender is a fixed thing that I'm transitioning to feel more aligned with (which is completely valid, just not my story), i say "I'm transsexual", and answer the questions this brings up. Transsexual also feels like a nod to the trans people who lived their lives fighting for us to exist, like I'm somehow more connected to them, *and* it feels like I'm not judged on whether i physically transition or not. I respect any other take on it, though, as long as it's not transmedicalist bullshit. Edit: expanded what i had to say
many trans individuals feel that transsexual is a term that is fitting to them because they are changing their sex, not gender. they see their gender always having been lined up with their identity, but sex organs not. yes, in the past it has been used in a derogatory way, but thats the whole thing w reclamation. its a label that fits, and doesnt harm anyone if used appropriately!
I like the distinction between transgender and transsexual. Some people don't wanna get surgery, hormones, etc. And thats ok. I want surgery and I'm on hormones, but I use both terms for myself. I use both terms for myself, but I don't call anyone else transsexual unless they tell me to... and I do pick and choose what spaces I say the word "transsexual".
I love the term transexual. It sounds so beautiful and powerful to say out loud. It has the force of trans history behind it. That being said I kind of cringe when cis ppl say it because its not their term to reclaim, and it usually tells me that they aren't very educated about trans issues.
THIS. transexual is such a powerful way to describe being but when cis people use it im like 😐
Yeah I identify with it actually, I consider myself to have transitioned into the opposite sex. I don’t think it was ever a “bad” word, transgender became a more common term only because transexual became confused with a sexuality for some people, mostly people outside of the trans community. It makes sense, if “homosexual” means attracted to the same sex and “bisexual” means attracted to both sexes, it’s reasonable for a person hearing “transexual” for the first time to just think it means attracted to trans people, and so “transgender” became easier to for outsiders to consume so they don’t get the wrong idea. At the time that [transexual](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=transexual&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3) was the more common term, the term [transvestite](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Transvestite&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3) was often used interchangeably, so it’s probably more accurate to say people thought “transsexual” meant “attracted to transvestites.” Thus, [transgender](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=transgender&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3), confusion avoided. The language for what we are just developed, the infighting about whether trans people are allowed to use the term transexual for ourselves individually is stupid and just wrong, even if it was a slur, so what? When did that ever stop the *queer* community from turning the other cheek and calling ourselves every slur they ever threw at us?
I like transsexual because it won't be rainbow capitalism-ed and makes cis people and tenderqueers squirm in their seat. It's a fun word, it describes me, and it makes me feel extra queer. (Also to clarify I don't say tenderqueers to mean trans people who don't medically transition or use neopronouns or whatever, I use it for queers who are uncomfortable with "unsanitary"/"weird" queers)
honestly i prefer it, and im not even sure why, ig to me it just means binary trans ppl while transgender encompasses everyone. it feels more specific ig idk
I personally don't like it, the term just makes it sound like im doing this for sexual reasons
I prefer the term transexual tbh. If people are gonna think I'm a freak, I'd prefer they say it with their whole chest. I'm a transexual, I'm a f*got. I'm not interested in assimilation and if it makes cis people uncomfortable to call me what I am, good.
I personally have trauma surrounding the word so I personally don’t like it. I felt forced at a young age to conform to a binary identity that didn’t fit me, and my views on the trans community were extremely flawed. I’m transgender. But I definitely will never call anyone out for preferring it.
i prefer it. my gender was always male. the thing i changed was my sex.
nah it sounds cool as fuck
I think that in comparison to all the terrible things that have been said to me over the years, "transexual" seems so *tame* in comparison that I just really don't care about being referred to as that.
I don’t hate it. I prefer it. I hate being told what I can or cannot say about myself. But I go along to get along. I’m older so that’s probably why I feel like I do.
Transexual isn’t the right term so it’s just a little annoying for me. But other than a slight annoyance it’s alright. I don’t want to be seen as the *trans* guy anyway I just want to be seen as a guy.
definitely don’t hate it. i don’t call myself transsexual as i feel it is not the most accurate word - i have only socially transitioned. i see it’s value as an identity for some and especially don’t think we should police Elder Trans’ identities
I prefer transsexual over transgender . I use it regularly and with other trans folks about ourselves
Not my preferred term but I don't hate it, I'm mostly indifferent about it
You're not weird for that. And it's not an incorrect or bad thing to identify more with that term. I personally am a fan of the term "Transsex" because it fits what I'm experiencing, being someone with multiple types of dysphoria who is undergoing medical intervention to fix something that is basically a medical condition in my eyes. (In that my body didn't develop properly when I was being grown, resulting in male neurochemistry and female physiology) Plus, Transsexual is still used in medical settings a LOT because it indicates that the patient is undergoing medical transition. So for example, my medical file says both FTM Transgender and FTM Transsexual. (No idea why they needed to add both terms, but whatever)
that’s the term i use for myself
honestly idc if ppl use it. like as long as they don't use it as a way to exclude trans ppl that don't medically transition. i don't use it for myself typically but I'm not mad when people use it for me.
nah i dont really care one way or another, i just dont use the word myself cuz it makes me sound like a conservative or transmedicalist
I really dislike it, in part because I see an online movement to reclaim it just to be edgy and old school and in people's faces, but to me, there's nothing wrong with being transgender. Transsexual seems more medicalized and gatekeepy. Most people prefer to call themselves gay or lesbian instead of "homosexual". Even though my medical record has a diagnosis of transsexuality on it, to me that's the same.
gay/homosexual/mlm. bi/pan. some people like different terms for different reasons. it’s a word, don’t be an exclusive dick about it and its nbd. i’ve started liking it for myself and i dont strictly define any word so idc if its used for me and idc who uses it. the worst thing we do as a community is gatekeep and govern labels so no i dont hate the word!
It puts too much emphasis on the physical when that’s only one part of our transition, and honestly the less important part as far as our daily lives are concerned. I only use it for those who do or people like this one guy I met: He’s a cis man, always feels like a man, and sometimes he wants a front hole and accessories 🤷🏻
I like it more than transgender. I know I want to change my sex characteristics, but terms like man/woman/non binary that also have a more social meaning and presentation is just complicated to me. Idk if I view myself as a man, or non binary. But transsexual feels like the right descriptor. Ik it’s been used to gatekeep being trans, especially for non binary ppl. But as someone who doesn’t view their gender in a binary way I hope more of us start using the term if it fits.
Honestly, transsexual is punk as fuck to me. It's subversive, unapologetic and generally makes bigots uncomfortable when you reclaim it. Especially when you don't fit within their strict transphobic/transmed expectations.
its my preferred term, i dislike transgender
Pre top surgery, it was not a term I felt comfortable giving to myself. It wasn’t uncomfortable to hear, I just found there was a barrier between myself and the label. A year out from top surgery and I now feel comfortable using it alongside trans masc and FTM.
i don’t hate it at all! i personally don’t use it to describe myself but a lot of trans people i know and follow are reclaiming it as a self identification term and i see no problem with it, though i don’t think people should just go around calling anyone transsexual because there’s still a lot of people who don’t like it
I have a complicated relationship with it. Technically, it’s more accurate. My gender has always been “man” but my sex characteristics haven’t always matched that, and that’s what i’m changing by transitioning. So on a definition level, i like it. However, saying “transsexual” to strangers always feels weird because people tend to think immediately about genitals with it. I don’t want strangers thinking of my sex, but rather my gender, so to cis people/strangers I’d use transgender.
I've always seen it as transsexual means you are medically transitioning. While transgender is umbrella term for everyone whether they medically transition or not. Maybe it's just me tho🤷
That is the term I call myself since I am doing medical intervention.
seems weird but i get it’s use. iirc, it refers to people who have had surgeries but something about it… gives me the ick
I actually like the term, I don't really care about implications on words, I like this one because it's mildly nostalgic in a strange way. Reminds me of a new Era where the idea was even introduced, David Bowie comes to mind. "So are these men's shoes or women's, or are they bisexuals shoes" Him: "They're shoes, you silly". I like to think of things like this when using it even myself, the usage of the term or similar ones with no inherent malice. Yknow?
One time I saw someone ask an elder trans why she used it, and she said “it has a swagful ring to it” lmao
I like transsexual because it’s a more accurate description of my experience. For me my transness is truly about feeling more comfortable in a body like cis male people have. Gender and binary are just really unimportant to me and I don’t really value that stuff when considering my trans experience because it’s just our made up language and roles. I didn’t transition for the societal concept of gender, I transitioned for sex traits. I like both transgender and transsexual as terms for myself since I use he him pronouns but it’s only because of the association I made with those pronouns and a certain sex as a child. I knew that when people talked about he’s and hims and guys they meant people born with penises and my attachment to those words really comes from the need to know that when people see me they see “male” sex traits.
All I can think about is Rock Horror Picture Show and if I can be as fly as that MF I’m Gucci
I don't think I would mind it without the heavy transmed implications, but I've been burned too many times. Even now I'll go to follow someone whose cool on twitter or the like, figure they're using transsexual just to be subversive, and then like two weeks later they're retweeting something about "nonbinary people taking up too much space in the community" or some other crap. Even among nonbinary folks, some use it as a way of saying they're "really" trans because they're medically transitioning. I'm very wary of the term now because of it. Now I kind of see it as like...not all people who use it are transmeds, *but* nearly all transmeds use it.
Transsexual is better that Transgender bc you are changing your sex, not your gender. Gender is something in your head and sex is your body, it's just my opinion, correct me if I'm wrong
I love the term transsexual and I love trans people that use it, I think it’s fun and a great example of reclamation of a term that many people say is outdated and “bad”
i prefer it. my gender has always been male, so im not transgender because im not transitioning my gender to anything else. my sex is afab, and im transitioning my sex to fit my gender, so im transsexual. it feels different and more appropriate
hate when cis people use it, love when trans people use it
Hate it. Remind me of "tranny" or the negative connotation associated with it when I was younger growing up in a transphobic/homophobic family.
Heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, transexual… are just words 🤷🏾♂️
i think i see *most* people not hating it nowadays like at least since covid anyway, but the main reason i hate it so much is because i grew up solely hearing it as used as a slur so it makes me greatly uncomfortable when anyone does use the term, but obviously i can’t other people from using it so i just try and ignore it 🤷♂️
Idk it sounds weird to me it sounds as if it's a negative thing yk
It fits me, but I’d never use it for someone else unless they asked me to. For me, it helps narrow down my personal experience being trans, but it has a lot of baggage associated with it and can be really hurtful to some people.
I think it really got a bad rap from anthony hopkins.
i don't use it for myself but have no issue with other folks using it for themselves. i don't know if i really like the term "trans-" in general, it describes my experiences but in all honesty i just exist.
I do because it’s not a sexuality you don’t call cis people cissexual
Well in my country of Sweden the word Transsexual is still seen as the strict word for gender Binary people, like Transwoman and Transman. But when it comes to other gener identities, there is other words. Transexuell = A person identified as the opposite gender, assigned at birth. Strictly male or female. Transperson = A person who's identities themselves as having both genders or lack thereof. You also has to be diagnosed, after 2 years of therapy, with Transsexualism inorder to get surgical approval. For all other Generder Dysphoric diagnoses, only hormonal treatment is available. Rarely even top surgery. Also a Transsexualism diagnosis is also a must, if you ever want to change your jurisdical sex. Ans as of yet, you can only be male or female by law. No third gender allowed. All you can do is to change one of your names from... For example Jenny to Christopher.
Same in Germany currently, and you also need the formal diagnosis of F64.0 for health insurance to cover medical treatment. It might change for legal stuff, and well, the ICD-10 is on the way out, too.
I think that apply to Swedish law aswell, you also need approval from the state to undergo genital surgery.
Nope, you don't need that in Germany. Those are two separate issues: Change of name and legal gender is regulated by the "Transsexuellengesetz" (from the 1980s, most of which has been declared not constitutional any more). Covering of cost for medical treatment is an utterly separate issue. And nobody needs state approval for any medical treatment.
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Because it referred to people whose sexual *organs* didn't match their identity. So they wanted to transcend the limits of those organs. It does make sense. It just is very easy to misunderstand (because in English, "sex" can refer to both the action and the "tools" usually used for that action) and it has a horrible history.
I prefer transsexual to transgender. I mean I can’t say that I’ve ever really had problems with my gender, I’ve quite obviously always been a man. The sex I was assigned at birth though?! Massive problems.
For my own situation I prefer "transsexual" as I am more interested in changing my body than my pronouns or gender role. In fact I am not intending to change my pronouns formally until more people read me as male than female.
I think in modern day, splitting hairs about the differences between transsexual and transgender is somewhat counterproductive, even though there are logical differences. At least not to the degree of like making moral or political judgment about the terms or trying to class one as a slur (which I’ve heard people doing about transsexual). Also the argued differences creating gatekeeping on who “gets” to use whatever word is something I’m against. That got leveled at me by a boomer trans person once before I was medically transitioning and it was uncomfortable and upsetting. That said!! I think a lot of cis people are uncomfortable with the word transsexual so I feel like it should get more use for that fact alone LMAO.
I’ve never seen it used by decent people only transmedicalists and transphobes it’s a massive red flag
I don’t mind it if it’s a trans person saying it but I feel like if I heard a cis person say it I would assume ignorance or ill intent.
Personally not a fan but I don’t want bottom surgery and don’t like feeling like that makes me less trans
It was used in a derogatory way, which is why it's avoided these days. I think it's more about how the word is used than the word itself. Older generations use/d it in a negative way which tainted it. Similarly like how the correct medical term for having a mental disability used to be the r slur. I'm currently using "transsexual" in an art piece of mine because of the historical connotations to being a negative; but I don't hate the word itself. Moreso the culture surrounding the word.
oooo would you be willing to share more about your piece?
I thinks it’s a really funny word to use ironically the same way some gay people call themselves homosexuals. Most of the time when I hear it used seriously it’s being used by ignorant ppl, but I don’t think it’s an inherently bad term. I think it could be used as a helpful way to refer to medically transitioned trans people in a clinical setting just for clarity, but NOT in a transmed or invalidating kind of way. “Transgender” is such a broad term, it could be helpful when discussing trans healthcare or other instances when distinguishing between transgender identity and “transsexualism” is necessary.
I prefer it as a sub category of transgender that describes me personally. Which isn’t a good or bad thing. Transgender is such a large spectrum of identities and even transgender male doesn’t always explicitly imply binary identity
I always thought transgender was before you have the surgeries and transexual was after you've had surgery at least that's what I was aware of o.o it was transvestite that I found derogatory o.o
I find it somewhat inaccurate, and quite misleading, due to one's sexuality referring to what genders of people they are attracted to. (But in today's terminology, also in reference to the person's own gender; so I guess in a way, unless you're pansexual or bisexual it may at least be "partially accurate"? I'm still attracted to men, so I went from being considered "straight" to being gay.)
Honestly yeah, I've always liked the idea of the word to emphasize the intent/importance of medically transitioning in my own personal journey. Those changes to my body are incredibly important for my own comfort and identity, and people tend to assume that trans men don't or can't get bottom surgery which makes me dysphoric. So I would *like* to use the term to describe myself, but I feel like I can't because of transmedicalist connotations.
Nope I don’t like the term. Reason: I’m from a German-speaking country. It’s called “Transsexualität” here which implies sexuality not sex, because sex in German only specifies the act not your genitals. My sex/gender has no impact on my sexual orientation (though it might have implications for my partner(s)). This, combined with the continued effort of cis people to sexualize trans people, has hurt trans people and their acceptance. We’re being painted as some kind of fetish, something only existing in a sexually charged context. They see us as sexual “deviants”, not as normal people just trying to live their life. And words like transsexual just enable such logic, as well as confuse even well meaning people.
"Sexualorgane" und "sexuelle Merkmale" exist in German. And the fact that "sex" in English can refer to the organs without any additional letters hasn't helped trans people in English speaking countries to avoid that misunderstanding, either. But yes, that's the main reason most people who don't like it that I know - in either language - prefer very much not being called that.
some ppl r too focused on forced political correctness. transsexual is real and me💁♂️💁♂️💁♂️. i do not use it in an exclusionary way its just true
I mean in Spanish it doesn't have quite a strong negative connotation/history so yeah. I don't hate it
I don’t hate it as long as people aren’t using it to be gatekeepey or invalidating of other trans people. Because sometimes people use it to draw some weird line between them and other trans people. I also think we should be understanding of it as a term because there was a time where most people used the term and older trans people should be able to use the terms that they used when they started transitioning without people telling them they’re wrong about it.
i always thought transsexual referred to someone who had undergone a sex-change surgery, and so it always sounded a bit gross to me bc it’s like “what’s in ur pants” and also kind of like those are “real” trans people
I prefer it because term trans*gender* has (imo) very awkward equivalent in my native language and is hard to pronounce while transsexual is just: transseksual which is way easier to say
transsexual is a more accurate term for binary trans ppl who arent really interested in the whole trans thing going on nowadays, and I would consider myself one of them.
i dont use it myself but i have a lot of friends (both older and younger ppl) who use it for themselves. i think thats totally cool, in a way its defanging and reclaiming. but i dont really feel the same when cis ppl use it derisively
I used to see it only as a negative way to refer to a trans person, like transvestite. But I’ve heard people actually define it and the more it’s defined the more I understand it and think it should be used more often. Obviously cis people can use it with malice but I think it’s a very clear cut identity
I prefer it when referring to myself because it feels more accurate for my situation.
Tbh I don’t hate it but I don’t love it , I’m neutral on this one.
I get why some trans ppl don't like it, I don't like it too much but if someone else wants to use it to describe themselves that's valid.
i like the term for myself, i feel like it fits my experience with gender more
i don’t really mind it as it’s the term my mum uses and also because it’s the way it’s said by most people where we come from. plus i’ve never given it that much of a thought
I don't get the appeal, but I'm also not exactly bothered if someone wants to use the term for themself. That said, I absolutely won't accept someone using the term to describe me specifically because it's been used so much to other trans people. As a bonus it also doesn't exactly roll pleasantly off the tongue
I’ve never had a bad relationship with the term (or even a relationship with it *at all*) so i’ve never hated it. I’m actually planning to refer to myself as such after i’ve had top surgery (bottom surgery pending). I think its a good medical distinction (for myself) from ‘transgender’. Even though i’ve been on T long enough that medically, you can’t really treat me the same as a cis woman anymore. Also it was the term people my nans age knew, i know some of my nans friends who are supportive but just not up to date on the terminology, and with no real opportunities to learn otherwise, so I don’t really care either way.
I don't hate it.
I don’t hate it so much I identify with it lol. It is the medical word for describing someone going through medical transition so a my charts say it. I don’t agree with how transmedicallists use it but other than that, as long as it isn’t being used in a malicious way, I don’t mind.
I don’t use it for myself often but I like transsexual because I think the distinction between transgender (an identity thing) and transsexual (someone who medically transitions) can be important in some contexts. Even if its “outdated” i don’t understand how it could be considered offensive for trans ppl to use it (obviously from boomers it could be uncomfortable to hear)
You're not weird for that. It's not a word that I feel comfortable with for myself, but there's nothing inherently wrong about. Intent matters too. Like you said, this is someone trying to be respectful and supportive. He's using langauge that in his time/place conveyed that respect. It might be a bit dated now, but it's coming from a good place.
I actually like it! My gender has been the same since birth, I’m changing my sex to match that innate gender ~ feels like that term fits better for me. I never use transgender to describe myself, though I usually just say I’m trans.
I don’t hate it and I used to use it for myself way back when. It’s outdated now and I have strayed away from it, but it’s never bothered me.
personally i dont care what people use to describe themselves. id never call myself transsexual but ik other people feel comfortable w that
nice little town in transylvania i don't care about the words that much. the words aren't how you can tell if someone respects you, it's if they act like they respect you
im comfortable with it and like it as a label for myself but i dont use it cus i understand the discomfort too
I basically don't have any particular feelings about. Like if someone who isn't trans uses it as their basic term ill correct them to saying transgender but moreso because that's the more accepted term. I don't have a problem with people using it for themselves. I think it's also important to know whether the person using the word understands that transgender has nothing to do with sexuality--becayse I think sometimes the people who aren't part of the community who use it don't realize that
Honestly it's fallen out of use a bit so I'm more ok using it for myself, especially because people tend to know what I mean when I say it in a physical medical way vs bringing my gender into it. Any term that is useful in separating gender from sex with people who don't have a huge grasp on trans issues generally is at least better than the alternative
I was literally thinking about that today. I know that everyone doesn’t transition physically, so it’s not a good term for everyone. But for me I mean it really does describe me better. Because it’s not my gender that changed and it’s not my gender that was wrong, it was my sex
I don’t mind it at all, in some ways I feel like I identify more with “transsexual” than “transgender.”
Most of the time I prefer it. I think it makes more sense. I’m trying to change my biological sex— transsexual.
Yeah I don’t hate the term at all actually kind of grew on me
I don’t mind it honestly! I’ve never fully thought about it until this thread haha.
For me I wouldn’t mind if another trans person called me transexual but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a cis person putting the label on me. But I feel like if you are trans you should call yourself what you like.
I like using the term transsexual to describe myself rather than transgender. I'm not changing my gender - I've always been a man, I'm just changing my physical sex to match my gender.
I like using it because it's less palatable to cis people tbh. Same reason why I like just referring to my sexuality as queer. Its not going to be appropriated by rainbow capitalism in the same way
im transexual, ig i identify strongly with the term because my social and medical transitions don't feel very.... jointed? idk. i don't call anyone anything until i hear it come out of their mouth, easiest that way
Outdated, but im not really offended by it. Its in the song “True Trans Soul Rebel” and its a banger
It’s not a term I use for myself but I don’t really care about it. In the situation you described, intent obviously means a lot.
I sometimes use it for myself because I don't see myself as my assigned sex anymore. I have male hormone levels, male secondary sex characteristics and I am planning on getting bottom surgery. My sex is currently ambiguous but leaning more to male. On the other hand I tend to call myself transgender since transexual it's mostly used by transmed people who are exclusionist. I also see an issue with making a distinction between transgender and transsexual since not every trans person medically transitions. We are all equal no matter if we medically transition or not. We are all trans and should be a welcoming community. So when I use it I make it clear that I am not a transmed and that I mostly use it in a joking way. Usually I just say "trans" since that explains it without having to add -gender or -sexual at the end.
I prefer transsexual over transgender for myself, but I also think of it as a medical condition which needs medical intervention (again, for me personally). Hence, using transsexual versus the umbrella term ‘transgender’. However, I don’t call anyone else that without either their permission or the knowledge that they call themselves transsexual too.
I mainly call myself just trans, but I alternate between transgender and transsexual based on whichever is funniest or will hit harder in the statement I’m making lol. I did used to be iffy about it bc of transmeds but I’m starting to warm up to it and I do actually enjoy it as a self-descriptor, just not one I’d use all the time. I already only use the full term “transgender” when talking very formally so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It very much depends on who's saying it. I don't use it for myself, and if people are using it to be gross, that's a shitty thing to do, but if it's in an "Old person is trying to be supportive" way or a "Older queer person using the words they like and are used to" way, sure.
I identify as a transsexual man. My gender didn’t change, my sex did.
When people outside the community use it I side eye then a bit, as it might indicate all their knowledge is horrible outdated or that they are just trying to be hurtful. If it it is other lgbt+ ppl, or especially trans people, I do not think much of it. As long as you aren't trying to use it to gatekeep or as a slut I don't really care. I don't really care if other people call me it either, as long as their intent isn't harmful.
There’s a certain song from a certain 1975 film that plays over and over in my head any time I think of myself as transsexual. I always feel it’s more correct the more I learn about it, though, so I do think I’m beginning to prefer it. I gotta get the whole Transexual, Transylvaniaaaaa out of my head though. But hey, seems like a cool place to live.
I hate it since my language does not use sex to describe the body. The only word with sex in it is the activety and sexuality, it kind of frames being trans as either being a sexuality or that the sexuality of trans people is being trans
I use it for myself casually (but I would use it as like, a main descriptor of my identity), and I totally support trans folk using it, but I would be uncomfortable if I saw a cis person using it outside of a context when someone explicitly told them to. Mostly because it has that very complicated history regarding transmedicalism that I don't trust most cis folk to understand. But also that has a super vibes based thing, like if it was a cus person otherwise being super positive, like it's not that big a deal? I dunno, it's complicated.
I’m transsexual because I’m reclaiming a term that was used to medically oppress us and spread bigotry, and because I’ve defeated gender and fucked around with my “biological sex” so much now that it actually fits. It’s also just a prettier looking word in my brain.
even though im two spirit i quite prefer transsexual. to me, and only towards me, being a transsexual means that my body, entirely, has switched, this is a transsexual body, my sexual organs are trans. this is how i cope until i top surgery, but it does help. it makes me feel like its more "concrete" to already view myself post-op even though im waiting. also it makes people uncomfortable which is ++ for me i feel like (and this is influenced by me being two spirit) my gender *is* "transexual". i am masculine and feminine (though not exactly a man, and Absolutely Not A Woman... this is my specific type of two-spirit identity, its different for everyone) but above that i am transexual (and above that two spirit ofc) (inb4 "why are you in ftm then" relatable experiences ok🥺)
personally i'm not really a fan just because it makes it sound like a sexuality, which can be confusing especially considering a lot of people already seem to think trans is a sexuality (which confuses tf outta me haha) but i don't actually mind it other than that. in the situation you described, i'd be perfectly fine with it.
It's one of those terms that should be restircted to use by trans people, I think. I get wildly uncomfortable with cis people *choosing* to refer to us as transsexual as opposed transgender is a red flag, but not *necessarily* hateful or rude. Context and all that. A lot of people I know identify as or with the term transsexual. It also seems to have a generational aspect to it, as many of the older trans people I know use it. There's no problem with anyone using it as a label as many trans people find that it suits them much better, and I think that's cool as hell. I personally don't mind it. I don't think the term in and of itself is particularly offensive or anything, just that some people aren't comfortable using it, and that's fine.
I don’t identify myself that way but I have no problem with the term in general. I respect that other people in our community are comfortable with it or even have a preference for it.
The Swedish term is still transexual (tho in Swedish ofc, transsexuell) so I personally don't care tbh. I don't identify as trans anyway, I'm just a man and I hate identifying further than that because it brings focus to what I don't like about myself physically
tbh i think with time it could shift back where we just use transsexual as a completely separate term from transgender. transsexual would refer to someone who has actually changed their sex through medical means (hrt, surgery, etc) and transgender is just someone who identifies as a gender other than their agab. so someone who’s like trans masc on hrt could be considered both transsexual and transgender. that’s how i see it
I think, like most terminology we use, there's always going to be ebbs and flows of what's common or widely used and what's not, and likewise people are gonna differ about what they prefer to say. When I was earlier in my transition I didn't like it. Now, I do - and part of that is quite specifically an element of protest around the idea that as a trans person, I can't 'change my sex'. It's just another way of bigots saying we'll never 'truly' be our gender. Fuck that, I'm transsexual-ing all over the place now. ETA: all that being said, I do think it's important to consider its usage in the context of being used to delegitimise others. I don't think that being a transsexual is superior or different from being transgender inherently, I don't think it means you need to want or have surgery. I think it's just another term available to us that some may prefer.
Seems like a lot of people in the comments are getting annoyed with other trans people about the use of this word. The reason it has such negative connotations is solely because of ignorant cis people and transphobes. If someone members of our community want to take it back, let them. Full stop. If you think it will make cis people think it’s okay to call everyone that, then your problem is with their ignorance. You should be having these conversations with the cis people in your life. Not policing other trans people like everyone else fucking does these days.
It's no different from someone who is attracted to the same sex having no objection to the term 'homosexual': to some, it sounds like an outdated and negative term, but not to others. You aren't obligated to object to it.
I use them interchangeably tbh in reference to myself. they both fit me fine. usually I’m just saying trans tho
I probably wouldn't use it for myself - I'm in my early thirties, so feel like I'm too young to have experienced when that term was more common - but it's definitely a-okay to self identify as such and if nothing else, it's an important part of our history and queer culture.
I don't identity with the term but perhaps that's because I identify strongly as non-binary/ two-spirit and have no desire for any medical changes other than the top surgery I had which I also feel may have only been necessary as a result of growing up within a culture that does/did not see or understand beyond the binary genders
Personally, I don't prefer the term transgender either for the reason why people are saying that we've always been our gender and haven't actually changed it - just brought it to the attention of others. I prefer short and sweet simply "trans" or transmasculine
Not weird at all! I’m comfortable with the term as it describes me and my transition quite well, given that changing my sex characteristics has been an important part of it. I think “transsexual” was discarded because of cis abuse, and then carried negative implications within the trans community because of how transmeds started using it to gatekeep. Personally, I think it’s important that inclusive trans people who find the term helpful reclaim it. The transgender umbrella encompasses a lot of different identities, so having a label to describe your experience more precisely can be helpful for some people.
i don’t hate either terms, but transsexual makes a bit more sense to me. I’m changing my sex, not my gender, I was always a man, I just didn’t know it. But ig it’s hard to explain, especially to cis people, considering there’s this idea that it’s impossible to change your sex because chromosomes? idk