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Trans Talk
We live in a world where gender is socially constructed. It is
conceived of and practised as a ‘binary’. Only ‘two’ genders
are considered legitimate: ‘male’ and ‘female’, though in
some cultures, there are people who identify as hijras (in
India), warias (in Indonesia), baklas (in the Philippines), to
name just a few gender non-conforming people.
However, fortunately, the understanding of gender is
expanding and there are many new terms that have been
formed, and many more that are forming at this very
moment and older meanings are being challenged, as the
words and concepts below show.
Transgender Person
Is an umbrella term for someone who identifies, acts or
thinks in a manner not socially approved for the gender
assigned at birth. Examples of specific variants within
this would include: Transvestite, Transsexual, Transman,
Transwoman, etc. It is common to use just the word Trans,
as well.
Transsexual Person
Is one whose gender identity is different from the sex
assigned at birth who may or may not desire to alter the
body through hormonal and/or surgical procedures
like Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS). The person may
or may not go through any/the whole gamut of medical
procedures available towards this, depending on their own
conceptions of their identity, as well as, factors like their
health, finances, social situation and other such constraints.
FTM stands for Female-to-Male transsexual person or
Transman and MTF stands for Male-to-Female transsexual
person or Transwoman.
Crossdresser
Is one who dresses, for any of a number of reasons, in
clothing usually worn by the other sex, but one who does
not identify as the other gender.
Intersexed Person
Is one in whom the process of biological sex differentiation
has been non-standard. Such individuals are often surgically
reassigned a sex at birth and this practice has come to be
questioned by intersexed persons themselves as a violation
of their body, agency and well being.
Sex Reassignment Surgery
Any/all of a range of medical procedures that a transsexual
person undergoes to allign their body with their gender
identity. For FTMs the range of procedures available
include: hormone therapy, mastectomy, shaping of a ‘male’
chest, removal of internal reproductive organs and lastly,
phalloplasty or the construction of a penis. For MTFs, the
range of procedures available include: hormone therapy and
hair removal, augmentation mammoplasty or construction
of breasts, non-genital surgeries like shaping the nose,
revision of the thyroid cartilage and other such surgeries
for a ‘feminine’ appearance, and lastly, genital surgery for
the removal of the penis and testicles and construction of a
vagina. Some additional interventions like speech therapy
for voice modulation are also sometimes undertaken.
SRS is preceded by a psychiatric evaluation where the
benefit of such a procedure is ascertained for the person
desiring it. Evaluation and counselling may take any time
between a year to two. Certification by two independent
mental health professionals is often a requirement before
undergoing SRS.
The legal status of the reassigned gender is different in
different parts of the globe. Even within India e.g., Tamil
Nadu has been the first state to recently grant an official
status to the third sex. The ration card has a sex column
marked T, instead of M or F.
Trans and Sexual Orientation
Trans people can be of any sexual orientation - heterosexual,
gay, lesbian or bisexual. Trans refers to gender identity whereas sexual orientation refers to the gender of the
person whom one is attracted to. Many people think that
Trans people will only be sexually attracted to members
of the other sex, but this is untrue. So a person can be a
Transwoman and lesbian, or bisexual or heteresexual.
Trans Network
It is useful for Trans people to know that there are networks,
e lists and support groups where they can share resources
and experiences.
Sampoorna is a network of Transgender/Transsexual/
Intersexual/Questioning persons who are Asian or
Diasporic Asian and Non-Asians who have professional
and/or social links with Asia. The network keeps connected
through an e-group by the same name. This is a moderated
e-list. Occasional group meetings are held in Mumbai and
Delhi. The e-group came into being in April 2004 and
there are currently 65 members from various parts of India
and also from Sri Lanka, Canada and the United States of
America. Sampoorna is a platform for networking, support
and information on Trans issues specific to the Asian and
Diasporic Asian experience. Membership can be requested
by writing to: sampoorna@yahoogroups.com
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