Labels

While putting labels on people sometimes can lead to discrimination, inappropriate assumptions, and pigeon-holing sometimes it is necessary, or at least convenient, to use terminology to identify a person’s characteristic groupings by using labels. Most people are a mixture of different characteristics and the definitions of various terms are disputable but this is the way I understand them:

Transgendered (TG)
A broad term that describes any person that has characteristics of the opposite sex. This would include crossdresser, she-males, transvestites, and transsexuals.

Cross-dresser (CD)
A person that enjoys wearing clothing of and presenting partially or entirely as the opposite sex. Typically this is a heterosexual man that occasionally likes to appear as a natural woman.

Transvestite (TV)
Sometimes synonymous with cross-dresser, is more likely to dress in extreme or fetish attire. More likely to be bi-sexual.

Shemale.
A man that lives as woman, has had surgical or medicinal alterations to appear more female but still retains male genitalia.

Transsexual. (TS)
A person that believes they were born in the wrong body, lives as the opposite sex and (usually) has had a complete sex change.

GG
Stands for “Genetic Girl”. A natural born female.

Gurl, tgirl, t-girl.
Abbreviations that are synonymous with transgendered.

Drag Queen
A man that regularly dresses flamboyantly and exaggeratedly in women’s costume usually in association with a performance.

Less common, but sometimes encountered terms are below.

Gender dysphoric.
A medical term to describe someone who believes themselves to have characteristics more consistant with the opposite sex.

Bi-gendered
Having characteristics of both sexes simultaneously. Can be synonymous with transgendered.

Ambi-gendered.
Having characteristics of either sex…ie being masculine sometimes and feminine at other times.

Cis-gendered. (as opposed to trans-gendered)
Someone who perceives themselves as completely consistent with their born gender…ie “normal” people.

Gender Bending (or gender blending)
Incorporating aspects of the appearance of both genders into a look that is inconsistent with wither or possibly androgynous.

Hermaphrodite
A person naturally born with, or naturally developing, the anatomical genitalia of both sexes at the same time.