Tripping the Light Fantastic: Staying Sane and Whole While in Transition
by Dallas Denny
SexBiological attributes and legal categories used to classify humans as male, female, intersex or other categories, primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, genetic expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. reassignment is one of the most radical and disruptive things that an individual can do. It strains and often severs social relationships, imposes economic hardships, involves a good deal of physical pain and a great deal of psychic pain, and requires study and hard work in order to even begin to hope to pass in the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
of choice. Transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
must be pursued in the face of the general disapproval of society and the specific disapproval of loved ones, the reluctance of the medical community to provide services, a scarcity of resources, and countless legal and social obstacles. The body of one sexBiological attributes and legal categories used to classify humans as male, female, intersex or other categories, primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, genetic expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy. must be somehow whipped into the semblance of that of the opposite sexBiological attributes and legal categories used to classify humans as male, female, intersex or other categories, primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, genetic expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy., generally after puberty has wreaked irreversible somatic changes. Old behavioural patterns must be unlearned and new ones added. A new life must replace the old.
The transsexual personA person who feels a consistent and overwhelming desire to transition and fulfil their life as a member of the opposite gender. Most transsexual people actively desire and complete gender reassignment surgery. The ratio of Female to Male (FTM) and Male to Female (MTF) transsexual people is in the region 1:3 – 1:4. runs a gamut of obstacles, with no guarantees of success. Indeed, probably fewer than ten percent of those who set out to change their gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
succeed in doing so. And yet, tens of thousands of people are happily and successfully working and living in the new gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
. Transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
is possible. It can be done. It just can’t be done without disruption and sacrifice and hard work. It can’t be done without stubborn determination. It can’t be done without money. It can’t be done in the absence of support, and it can’t be done without pain.
My crossdressing friends tell me that the transsexualThis is typically used to describe people who identify as transgender who are transitioning toward the gender with which they identify. This may include socially presenting (e.g., clothing, hair, mannerisms, overall gender expression) as the gender with which they identify, or it may include more extensive changes like taking hormones and/or surgical procedures to modify their body. people they know are no fun: “They whine all the time. They’re preoccupied with their problems and their bodies. They need to lighten up.” To them I say, “Please appreciate the tremendous pressures that these people are experiencing. Please understand that every aspect of their lives is affected by their decision to change gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
, and that they must become somewhat self-absorbed in order to prevail against odds which are nearly insurmountable.” And to those who are in transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
, I say, “Lighten up!”
I don’t have the space in this article to point out all the potential hazards in the mine field of transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
. An encyclopedia isn’t big enough. You’ll have to look elsewhere for that. I do have some strategies and approaches that may be of help. Here they are.
Keep Your Sense of Humor
(and if you don’t have one, cultivate one). You will only be as unhappy as you allow yourself to be. You can plod miserably along, or you can enjoy yourself. You can find humor in the ludicrous situations you will find yourself in and the things people will say which have a whole different meaning because of your genderal status. Those you meet along the route will prove amusing, if you allow them to be. They will be your comrades in arms, and some of them will become your friends. If you approach transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
with a sense of wonder and awe, your experiences will be more pleasurable than they will be if you inject fear and guilt. Yes, it’ll be damn difficult, but you can still have a good time. Being miserable and depressed does not make for a good prognosis.
Don’t Allow Transsexuality to Become Your Entire Life
You shouldn’t go through transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
as if you were Ahab in pursuit of the White Whale. Ahab needed to get a life, and so do you. You mustn’t defer your entire existence in anticipation of a hypothesized bliss once you jump genders. An empty life in the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
of original assignment will probably become an empty life in the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
of choice. Reassignment will not solve your problems; you’ll still have the same troubles, but in a different gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
. You would do well to have life goals other than transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
. You should cultivate friends and interests outside the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
community.
Keep Your Perspective
You must not allow your transsexualism• This term is used to describe a person who has “transitioned”, or is in the process of “transitioning”, or intends to transition from male to female or female to male. For a transsexual person, the process of “transitioning”, may involve a variety of treatments including: hormone therapy, surgery and hair removal. People who have transitioned do not necessarily identify as trans any longer; they may identify as simply a man or a woman. Some transsexual people may not transition due to family or other social constraints.
• When people complete their transition, they may no longer regard themselves as part of the trans umbrella. They might consider having been transsexual to just be an aspect of their medical history which has now been resolved and so is no longer an issue in their life. In such cases, they simply describe themselves as men or as women and it is most disrespectful to insist on calling them trans, transgender or transsexual against their wishes.
to become a fantasy or a fetish. As my friend Rachel has said, “You must weave reality back into the fabric.” Don’t place undue weight on reassignment surgery; it won’t magically transform you into a manA human being who self-identifies as a man, based on elements of importance to the individual, such as gender roles, behaviour, expression, identity, and/or physiology. or a womanA human being who self-identifies as a woman, based on elements of importance to the individual, such as gender roles, behaviour, expression, identity, and/or physiology.. You should at all times know where you are and where you are going, and this should be firmly grounded in reality. You must come to terms with your physical and behavioral assets and liabilities and incorporate them into an emerging identity. You must have realistic ideas about the social roles of men and women, and what sort of manA human being who self-identifies as a man, based on elements of importance to the individual, such as gender roles, behaviour, expression, identity, and/or physiology. or womanA human being who self-identifies as a woman, based on elements of importance to the individual, such as gender roles, behaviour, expression, identity, and/or physiology. you want to be. Remember that transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
is a process– a becoming, if you will. You will be gradually changing. You won’t just wake up one morning and find that you are magically different.
Don’t Box Yourself In
You must somehow keep functioning. If you prematurely dismantle your old life, you will be unable to replace it with a satisfactory life in the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
of choice. You will be left with a twilight existence, an identification as a transsexualThis is typically used to describe people who identify as transgender who are transitioning toward the gender with which they identify. This may include socially presenting (e.g., clothing, hair, mannerisms, overall gender expression) as the gender with which they identify, or it may include more extensive changes like taking hormones and/or surgical procedures to modify their body.. And if this negatively impacts your earning potential, you can get stuck, unable to complete the procedures which will produce the bodily changes necessary to successfully pass in the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
of choice (for instance, electrolysis for the male-to-female; reduction mammoplasty for the female-to-male). You must maintain as much support as possible. You should know that in some cases that may mean clinging onto your old identity a little bit longer.
Let Go of Your Crutches
As your body changes, it will become less difficult to pass. You should rely less on contrivance and incorporate your natural aspects into your presentation. This may mean using you own hair instead of a wig, doing away with paddingUse of undergarments to create the appearance of larger breasts, hips, and/or buttocks. Includes breast forms., and using less makeup. Or it may mean using your birth name, if it has a chance of working, instead of an idealized feminineDescribes socially and culturally constructed aspects of gender (e.g. roles, behaviour, expression, identity) typically associated with girls and women. name. It may mean becoming comfortable with interests or aspects of your personality that aren’t a good “fit” in the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
of choice. But whatever your perceived shortcomings are, you will need to face and come to terms with them and let them go.
Sacrifice and Compromise
Being in transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
will cause big changes in your life. You must be prepared to meet all challenges and to give your transsexualism• This term is used to describe a person who has “transitioned”, or is in the process of “transitioning”, or intends to transition from male to female or female to male. For a transsexual person, the process of “transitioning”, may involve a variety of treatments including: hormone therapy, surgery and hair removal. People who have transitioned do not necessarily identify as trans any longer; they may identify as simply a man or a woman. Some transsexual people may not transition due to family or other social constraints.
• When people complete their transition, they may no longer regard themselves as part of the trans umbrella. They might consider having been transsexual to just be an aspect of their medical history which has now been resolved and so is no longer an issue in their life. In such cases, they simply describe themselves as men or as women and it is most disrespectful to insist on calling them trans, transgender or transsexual against their wishes.
a high priority. You’ll be deluding yourself if you think you can maintain your previous standard of living in the face of bills from psychologists, endocrinologists, electrologists, and plastic surgeons. You must maintain your pace. If you delay procedures such as hormonal therapy because of lack of money or time, or for other reasons, your transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
will eventually be delayed. And here I will insert a caveat for the male-to-female transsexual personA person who feels a consistent and overwhelming desire to transition and fulfil their life as a member of the opposite gender. Most transsexual people actively desire and complete gender reassignment surgery. The ratio of Female to Male (FTM) and Male to Female (MTF) transsexual people is in the region 1:3 – 1:4.: Don’t put off electrolysis. You’ll be sorry if you do. Once you are living in the gender• However gender is far more complicated. It is the complex interrelationship between an individual’s sex (gender biology), one’s internal sense of self as male, female, both or neither (gender identity) as well as one’s outward presentations and behaviours (gender expression) related to that perception, including their gender role. Together, the intersection of these three dimensions produces one’s authentic sense of gender, both in how people experience their own gender as well as how others perceive it.
• Gender is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and is assigned at birth based on the sex of the individual. It affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.
• Socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and trans people.
of choice, it will be nearly impossible to bring yourself to grow the hair long enough for the operator to grasp it with her tweezers. And passing will be at best a struggle, and quite likely impossible, until the hair on your face is gone or at least appreciably diminished.
Be A Good Consumer
You must at all times act with discretion and proper respect for your body. You should not act out of desperation. Although services can be difficult to obtain, they are available. You will minimize your chances of failure if you use competent service providers. Otherwise you will risk delays in obtaining diagnosis (and hence hormonesChemical substances that control and regulate the activity of certain cells or organs; see also: sex hormones.), a regimen of hormonesChemical substances that control and regulate the activity of certain cells or organs; see also: sex hormones. inadequate to masculinize or feminize you, and even botched surgery. You have only one shot at transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
, and it is decidedly in your best interest to proceed with reasonable precautions and care, making sure that your doctors know what they are doing.
Join a Support Group
It will be to your advantage to find your peers. Support groups can educate you, assist you with referrals, and help you to perfect a masculineDescribes socially and culturally constructed aspects of gender (e.g. roles, behaviour, expression, identity) typically associated with boys and men. or feminineDescribes socially and culturally constructed aspects of gender (e.g. roles, behaviour, expression, identity) typically associated with girls and women. appearance. You will probably make friends with other group members. But more importantly, you will see your peers in action, making decisions both good and bad. By observing them, and by talking with them, you can learn strategies for coping and avoid pitfalls.
Follow the Benjamin Standards of Care
The Standards of Care of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria• An anxiety, uncertainty or persistently uncomfortable feelings experienced by an individual about their assigned gender which is in conflict with their internal gender identity.
• Gender dysphoria is a medical condition in which a person has been assigned one gender at birth but identifies as another gender, or does not conform to the gender role society ascribes to them. Gender dysphoria is not related to sexual orientation. Gender dysphoria has replaced gender identity disorder as the word disorder is seen as stigmatising.
• A person with gender dysphoria can experience anxiety, uncertainty or persistently uncomfortable feelings about their gender assigned at birth. This dysphoria may lead to a fear of expressing their feelings or of rejection and in some cases deep anxiety or chronic depression. It is effectively treated using methods such as counselling, hormone replacement therapy, surgery or simply social transition.
• Distress resulting from a difference between a person’s gender and the person’s assigned sex, associated gender role, and/or primary and secondary sex characteristics.
Association, Inc., are guidelines to safeguard transsexualThis is typically used to describe people who identify as transgender who are transitioning toward the gender with which they identify. This may include socially presenting (e.g., clothing, hair, mannerisms, overall gender expression) as the gender with which they identify, or it may include more extensive changes like taking hormones and/or surgical procedures to modify their body. people and those who provide services for them. Many transsexualThis is typically used to describe people who identify as transgender who are transitioning toward the gender with which they identify. This may include socially presenting (e.g., clothing, hair, mannerisms, overall gender expression) as the gender with which they identify, or it may include more extensive changes like taking hormones and/or surgical procedures to modify their body. people see them as obstacles to be overcome, and so they are. But by following the Standards of Care, you will minimize your chances of failing in your transition• The social, psychological, emotional and economic processes that a trans person undergoes to move from their assigned gender role into their chosen or acquired gender. The time this takes is variable and depends on the individual’s ability to embrace significant change in their life. If requiring genital surgery the individual will have to undergo a so called Real Life Test, i.e. living in their acquired gender role for a minimum of 1 year.
• Refers to the process during which trans people may change their gender expression and/or bodies to reflect their gender, including changes in physical appearance (hairstyle, clothing), behaviour (mannerisms, voice, gender roles), identification (name, pronoun, legal details), and/or medical interventions (hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery).
, and maximize your chances of surviving failure, if it does occur. The Standards will let you opt out anywhere short of reassignment surgery. The best of transitions will be painful. The worst do not even bear thinking about. You should not expect a perfect experience, but by exercising common sense and foresight, you will minimize disruption and conflict, and have a smoother ride.