[BrianR]

Ibby, you have hit on one of my hot button topics with the TG community; the complete lack of agreement on definitions and terms. If we cannot even agree on who/what we are, how can we expect the rest of society to accept us?

I use and define the terms this way:

TS = transsexual = a person who desires and is actively engaged in chemical and/or surgical alteration of one's body to parallel one's mental status.

TG = transgender = a person who is not comfortable with one's gender but who's dysphoria is not strong enough to impair daily life.

CD = crossdresser = a person who wears clothing appropriate to the opposite sex but who does so out of preference and not as a sexual fetish. Such a person does not generally experience dysphoria.

TV = transvestite = a person who wears the clothing of the opposite sex for purposes of sexual fulfillment, but not outside of a sexual context. Such a person does not generally experience dysphoria.

Androgyne = a person who displays superficial secondary characteristics of both genders. May or may not experience dysphoria and rarely at an elevated level.

Drag King/Queen = a person who dresses in the clothing of the opposite sex (usually to extremes) for purposes of entertainment or performance. Usually but not always are gay/lesbian but experience no dysphoria and have no desire to alter their appearance other than superficially.

Hermaphrodite = a person (very rare) who displays primary physical characteristics of both sexes at the same time. Usually, these tend towards one or the other strongly. Most often, they are diagnosed at birth and surgically "corrected" immediately, but may be incorrectly gendered by the parents/doctors.

Asexual = a person who is gender neutral and prefers to be referred to as a "third sex", that is; neither male nor female. I am not sure about these people.

I will not bother to define sub-categories and fetishes as they get too numerous to deal with here.

Mind you, these are MY definitions and may or may not be accepted by anyone else.

I do not hold truck with those who are "trannier than thou" and seek to de-legitimize others based on where on the spectrum they are. I fully accept that some TSs do not seek surgery for whatever reasons. I also accept that some may be in more than one category or may change categories over time. Dysphoria is different for each individual.

I hold that transsexualism is a medical condition that is self-diagnosed and treatable with drug therapy and surgical correction. The degree of treatment is dependent on the individual. Once "cured" through a successful treatment regimen and psychological and social transition, one no longer suffers from the condition and should be legally and socially recognized as the target gender and not as a transsexual. The term 'transsexual' should be used as a noun and not as an adjective. In my opinion, of course.