Choosing the right words to describe your gender identity can feel tricky. For transgender and non-binary people, finding a label that fits is personal and important.
Using respectful language matters. Outdated or offensive terms can hurt, so it’s okay to set boundaries about how others address you.
At the same time, you are more than a label. What matters most is how you choose to define yourself, no matter where you are on the gender spectrum.
Do you have a label that feels right – like crossdresser, transgender woman, non-binary, or something else?
I’d love to hear your thoughts, so let’s continue the conversation in the comments below!
Love,
Lucille
when i am out or just among friends, i go by shemale. When i git dun with my change it will be just woman.
but i tell all to call me she, if referring to me.
When I first came to grips with my true gender I would refer to myself as transgender when seeking confirmation about what was happening to me. Now, a year and a half later, I think of myself as a female in a male skin. As it is said, I am transitioning outwardly. Though I now genuinely believe my psychological self is nearly complete. It’s getting harder and harder to relate to my former understanding of me which was clouded by my misconceptions of why I reacted to things that happened to me the way I did. It all makes sense now. My biggest hurdle now is how to reveal myself to family so that they will comprehend and not just react in anger and condemnation. They would see this as a change from normality. I say I was there all along and they never gave it a second thought.
Good for you, Susan! You are getting stronger every day. Thank you for having the courage to be YOU – inside and out!
Unfortunately, CD, as I am not able to be anything but. I feel, most of the time, as much more but am unable to express it openly. The closet is where I will most likely be the rest of my remaining life.
I’m of a similar mind as Yuna; I have always felt female on the inside, so it seemed natural to refer to myself as a woman after I began my transitioning in 2011. I’m four months postop now, and while I don’t deny my trans origins, I prefer to be considered and referenced as Ms.Mrs., Ma’am, Lady, she, her etc. And I expect/demand to be treated as a
Lady as well. As I see it my part of that bargain requires my Lady like behavior on this end first, which I’m happy to deliver. Does this attitude promote old school stereotyping and
labeling? Yes and no I think….my inclusion within a label such as Ladylike, presumes the label as naturally noninclusive to those that aren’t, that
“restriction” didn’t demean trampy or sluttylike labels for instance, rather the behaviors in and of themselves create their own unique and distinctive flavo
rs. I don’t deny anyone the right to be trampy or express themselves sluttily, for instance, but do take exception that such expression is ladylike per se. I mean come on, let’s call a duck a duck, and if it moo’s or breathes with gills it’s not a duck. So if a labell unfairly presumes a descriptive that offends you, change the definition.
i see myself as gender fluid. what the exact ratio m2f not sure yet but getting more fem by the day
I identify simply as a trans female. This way people have a warning for my “little surprise” down below… Once I no longer need to worry about that, well, I’ll just identify as female.
A part time girl. I have to say I am finding the term “trans” often overused to describe everything..:)
I read other comments after I posted mine.
It’s refreshing to see how others feel about labels.
Clearly labels are things that people apply to others but not so much to themselves.
Could that be the main cause of the most significant problems that humans encounter?
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