Gender Terms
Transgender: A general term that was originally coined to refer to people who cross-lived in a different gender but did not seek surgical intervention. It has become popular as a relatively benign term to cover all forms of unconventional gender expression. It is specifically used to refer collectively to people who cross-dress, cross-live in a different gender and to transsexuals who wish to permanently alter their bodies. A useful short definition is that it refers to the diverse groups of people who show some kind of variation from cultural norms in their gender expression.
Transsexual: (TS) A person who intends to change their body to more closely resemble that of the sex that they would prefer to be. This usually involves hormone therapy and often includes some cosmetic surgery. SRS is sought in a small proportion of cases. There are two main categories by which Transsexuals are referred - Male to Female (MtF) and Female to Male (FtM).
MtF (Male to Female Transsexuals): This refers to genetic males who seek to change their bodies to resemble female bodies. This usually requires medical intervention with hormone treatment, cosmetic surgery (in many cases) and possibly SRS. Facial hair removal, speech therapy/voice surgery and treatment for receding hair line are frequently sought.
(FtM) Female to Male Transsexuals: This refers to a genetic female who seeks to change their body to resemble a male body. This is usually achieved by hormone treatment and bilateral mastectomy.
Standards of Care: The Harry Benjamin Standards of Care (SoC) are a set of standards which were developed in the 1940's and 50's for the treatment of transsexuals who wished to have SRS (primarily genetic males who wished to be women). The standards were developed in an environment where there was resistance from the medical profession (predominantly conservatives) to the provision of ANY assistance for transsexuals to change their sex/gender.
Transition: This is the process of changing from presenting as a Woman to presenting as a Man or visa versa. This process varies according to the individual's life circumstances, personal objectives and overall outlook on life. It also depends on considerations for work, family and friends. The process defined in the Standards of Care are not always appropriate and individuals are more often inclined to make their own choices when they are not obliged to follow the SoC. Transition may or may not result in SRS/GRS.
SRS (Sex Reassignment Surgery): Also referred to as GRS, Gender Reassignment Surgery (Note: logically, gender cannot be reassigned by surgery. It is innate to a person's identity) or Genital Reconstruction Surgery. The semantics are less relevant than the reality of the surgery which is unchanged by the description! For MtF transsexuals the surgery involves such procedures as orchidectomy (removal of the testes), penectomy (removal of the penis), labioplasty (construction of a labia, usually from the scrotal tissue) and vaginoplasty (construction of a functional vagina and clitoris from the penis skin and glans with possibly a colon transplant for additional depth). For a FtM procedures include bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts), hysterectomy (to remove the uterus and ovaries) and phalloplasty (to create a functional and cosmetically appealing penis) It is widely regarded that MtF SRS is more successful in producing a functional and cosmetically appealing result that FtM SRS.
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