Have you ever felt misunderstood?
Sadly, there’s a lot of ignorance out there! That’s why in this blog post, I want to debunk common myths about crossdressers and transgender women.
Let’s start with one of the biggest misconceptions that’s unfortunately still hanging around:
Myth: Transgender women, crossdressers, and drag queens are all the same.
While all these are valid ways of expressing one’s gender, they represent distinct groups, and it’s important not to use these terms interchangeably.
To clarify, here’s how the GLAAD Media Reference Guide defines some common transgender terms:
- Transgender women – People who were assigned male at birth but who identify as women. Many transgender women are prescribed hormones or undergo surgery, but transgender identity is not dependent upon medical procedures.
- Crossdressers – Men, typically heterosexual men, who occasionally wear clothes, makeup, and accessories associated with women. This activity is a form of gender expression and is not done for entertainment purposes. Crossdressers do not wish to permanently change their sex or live full-time as women.
- Drag queens – Men, typically gay men, who dress like women for the purpose of entertainment.
- Gender non-conforming – A term used to describe some people whose gender expression is different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity. The term is not a synonym for transgender or transsexual and should only be used if someone self-identifies as gender non-conforming.
- Non-binary and/or genderqueer – Terms used by some people who experience their gender identity and/or gender expression as falling outside the categories of male and female. The term is not a synonym for transgender and should only be used if someone self-identifies as non-binary and/or genderqueer.
Now that the record has been set straight, let’s look at some of the most common myths about crossdressers and transgender women.
7 Myths About Transgender Women
- Being transgender is a choice.
- Transgender people are gay.
- Transgender women aren’t “real” women.
- Your sex is defined by your chromosomes and/or hormones.
- You have to have surgery to be a “real” transgender person.
- You aren’t transgender until you start hormone therapy.
- Kids and teens are too young to know if they’re really transgender.
7 Myths About Crossdressers
- Crossdressers are gay.
- Crossdressers are perverts.
- Crossdressing is a psychological problem.
- Crossdressing can be cured.
- Crossdressers want to change their sex.
- Crossdressing is a destructive addiction.
- Crossdressers can’t be good husbands or fathers.
Have you heard any of these myths before? They’re frustrating and hurtful, aren’t they? It’s time for the world to wake up and realize this truth:
Your gender is who you are on the inside. There are countless ways to express your gender, and all are completely valid!
To help spread this truth, check out these excellent resources from GLAAD below. They’re a great way to increase awareness about transgender issues.
Recommended Resources from GLAAD
Now let’s hear from you…
What’s the truth that YOU’D like to set straight? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments below!
Love,
Lucille
I agree there needs to be more clarity and acceptance, and thanks so much Lucille for giving us girls a community.
I don’t even consider myself as transgender as that always seems to indicate a transition in progress from one gender to the other. I am already where I need to be, more an intergender, bridging both without choosing one over the other. I present as a man most of the day, but with naturally wider hips and small, yet real breasts, most of what I am wearing daily are women’s clothes. Men’s clothes just don’t fit. It’s interesting to see people’s minds at work behind their eyes when they meet me in our store. Their minds see the dichotomy, but reject it as I also have a full beard so they ignore the rest.
I don’t need to transition as I am who I am. Both male and female at the same time (though mostly female :-). )
Hooray!!! Finally someone unmasks these myths.
Another myth is that you have to have a uterus to be a woman.
I agree but at the same time I would be complete and completely happy with a fully functioning uterus.
Same here.
I get a kick out of it when someone says, “You wear women’s clothes!”
My reply is usually, “No! These are MY clothes!”
This was about 15 years ago at a former job.
I had a customer say to me, “I don’t like your lifestyle!”
I answered, “Really? I don’t like it either. All I do is work, eat and sleep! It’s boring as Hell!”
He gave me a very confused look, turned and walked out the door.
I took his insult and turned it into a joke and threw it back in his face.
That was good day…
WHERE’S THAT BLASTED “LIKE” BUTTON???
😀
TD
Oh Gerry that is priceless. I will remember that one.
Honey you hit it on the head, I agree 100%!!! Love your tips, your the best!!
With the publication of Trans Bodies Trans Selves earlier this year, we now have an amazing resource for supporting ourselves and informing public perception of Trans people. I’ve included a link to segment, which aired on NPR in July. http://www.npr.org/2014/07/17/332051691/trans-bodies-trans-selves-a-modern-manual-by-and-for-trans-people As Lucille suggests, there are a spectrum of trans expressions we can celebrate!
Thanks again Lucille, these are all sad destructive lies. I think the biggest one is it”s a choice, (like being gay, lesbian or bi) and therefore we dress as women to get attention, or a sex fetish, or we’re flamboyant gay men trying to attract men ,or some combo of all of them
Marian
Thanks again Lucille, these are all sad destructive lies. I think the biggest one is it”s a choice, (like being gay, lesbian or bi) and therefore we dress as women to get attention, or a sex fetish, or we’re flamboyant gay men trying to attract men ,or some combo of all of them.
T
Actually it is a choice in the frame of I choose to be who I am inside rather than what my errant body suggests. Anything else would be a lie and a misrepresentation of the real me. But I believe it to be a basic human right also.
That transgender people only think of themselves and not how those around them will feel. Selfish
That we are confused mentally I’ll.
At onetime black people were considered slaves to those around them. Should they have also considered themselves slaves?
Why should what others feel about us dictate how to live? Everyone has a right to live their life the way they want to. Would you allow others to tell you how to live?
Not really transgender r not selfish they just want people realize who they r an want to be