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Biological Sex
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The designation of
a person as male or female as determined by the attributes of their sexual
organs at birth. It's a girl or it's a boy. That's it. ( I also acknowledge
a small percentage of births where that designation is not so clear.)
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Sexual preference
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Whether a
person is drawn towards physical intimacy with persons of the opposite
sex, same sex or both. Heterosexual, homosexual or bi-sexual are common
terms used to designate this preference.
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Gender
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The inner
feelings, sometimes accompanied by the outer expression, of characteristics
usually attributed to masculinity or femininity.
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Gender continuum
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Although
biological sex is very either/or, male or female, the gender of a person
has a much wider range. There are males that are very masculine, and others
who display feminine characteristics. So also, there are females that
enjoy exhibiting masculine characteristics. Each person expresses the
masculine or feminine to a different degree. Very few of us are totally
100% masculine or 100% feminine. Each of us exhibits at least some characteristics
of the opposite gender. I contend that such expression of a person's gender
does not necessarily associate with their sexual preference.
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Crossdressing
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The expression
of the gender opposite of one's sexuality through vesting in clothing
normally attributed to the opposite gender.
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Transgendered
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Being able
to move within genders, freely expressing either one at will. Some transgendered
persons prefer to live a major portion of their life in the gender opposite
of their biological sex. Others prefer only occasional crossing between
genders. Even within the definition of transgendered there are many degrees
of how much transgendered a person is. Most crossdressers fall into this
'transgendered' category.
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Fetishtical Crossdressing
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This term
refers to a person who achieves sexual arousal and pleasure through crossdressing.
Such persons often have little need for crossdressing other than for the
sexual pleasure it brings. This is in contrast with those crossdressers
whose needs for the feminine delve deeper into the personality of the
'girl within' rather than just the physical pleasures.
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Transsexual
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A person
whose gender expression and inner feelings are opposite that of his/her
biological sex. Often these persons seek sexual reassignment surgery (SRS)
to bring their biological characteristics into harmony with their gender.
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Transvestite
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This is a
term coined long ago by the psychiatric community. Unfortunately, over
the years it has taken on very negative connotations and so few in the
community like to use this term to describe themselves. In its original
definition it meant the same as crossdressing does today. However, over
time it has become a negative term in society, often associated with the
sexual side of transgenderism.
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Drag Queen
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This term
describes a male who dresses as a female in an outrageous or extravagant
way. In this type of expression, the male wishes it to be known that he
is a biological male in womens clothes. Drag queens often wear garb and
accessories that are well beyond the realm of what most genetic women
would normally wear. Such dressing is meant to attract attention, rather
than blend in.
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Female Impersonator
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A male or transsexual
who performs a female role as an entertainer.
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F2M
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A female
expresses the masculine gender through dressing like a male. There are
many such persons in the world. Only a few have come out in public to
reveal this trait. Women on the whole, however don't have to worry about
dressing like males. They often wear clothing that is male and without
the same stigma men in dresses would have to contend with.
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