01/27/2015
Block C
BATHROOMS FOR ALL
W H AT D O E S T R A N S G E N D E R M E A N ?
Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and gender does not traditionally follow the sex that they were assigned with at birth. Sex refers to the biological status as either female or male that was decided at birth (American Psychological Association). Gender is the socially formed
roles of femininity and masculinity in a particular culture, involving gender roles and expectations imposed on an individual based on their sex, how others interpret an individual’s gender, and how one can express and define his or her gender (Genny Beemyn).
Henceforth, gender identity is a person’s internal sense of
being female, male, or something else. Gender identity is internal, and therefore not necessarily evident to others. On the other hand, gender expression is how an individual decides to convey his or her gender identity through clothing, hairstyle, body characteristics, behavior, or voice
(Genny Beemyn).
W H AT I S T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T W E E N G E N D E R
I D E N T I T Y A N D S E X U A L O R I E N TAT I O N ?
Gender identity and sexual orientation are not equivalent to one another. A person’s physical or romantic attraction to another person is known as sexual orientation, whereas a person’s internal sense of being male, female, or something else is gender identity (American Psycho-
logical Association). Comparable to nontransgender people, transgender people may be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual. In spite of this, recent research has revealed that a period of exploration or change in partner attraction can happen in the progression of transition
(Stryker and Whittle 334). Often times, transgender people use their gender as a reference when labelling their sexual orientation. For instance, a transgender woman who is attracted to other women can be identified as a gay woman
(American Psychological Association).
W H AT A R E S O M E T E R M S U N D E R T H E T R A N S G E N D E R
UMBRELLA?
Many identities are included in the transgender umbrella.
The term transsexual refers to people who change or want to change their bodies more to their gender identity.
Sex or gender reassignment
is often the term used to describe the procedure of transition through medical intercession (American Psychological
Association). After this process, the identification terminology may include female-to-
male transsexual, a transsexual man, or a transman, and vice versa for male-to-female
(Genny Beemyn). The term genderqueer is another umbrella term to recognize those who identify anywhere outside
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of the binary constructs of female and male (American Psychological Association). It is used by individuals who identi-
fy themselves outside of the sex that they were assigned with as birth, or as neither female nor male, as both, or as
somewhere in between
(Genny Beemyn).
HOW DO TRANSSEXUALS MAKE GENDER
TRANSITIONS?
A person whose gender identity is different from their assigned gender at birth and undergoes or wishes to go through hormonal treatments, gender reassignment surgeries, and other means to align their anatomy with their gen-
der identity is known as a transsexual (Genny Beemyn).
Transitioning from one gender to another is an intricate procedure. People may choose to start by communicating their favoured gender in