Trans People are not Gay — Except for the Gay Ones
(Philadelphia, PA) – There is a popular conflation of homosexuality and transgenderism that is both inaccurate and can lead to misunderstandings about transgender people, according to transgender surgeon, Dr. Sherman Leis, founder of the Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery and a pioneer in the field. Dr. Leis notes that Transgenderism relates to gender identity while being gay has to do with sexuality.
Said Dr. Leis, “Transgender people identify as one gender trapped within the body of the other gender. As a medical professional, the course of care relates to helping bring that dysphoria into balance.” Dr. Leis notes, “Transgenderism is not a sexuality issue, therefore those who are transgender can also be gay or not.” For example, a M2F (male-to-female) transgender person, who has a female partner, could be identified as gay if there is female to female sexuality in that relationship.
Dr. Leis identifies 4 key areas of medical care for transgender people seeking to bring gender identity harmony into their lives:
- hormone therapy
- mental health care
- transgender surgery
- lifestyle enhancement
Says Dr. Leis, “Obviously these are components of a specialized medical course for transgender people, requiring dedicated, specialized training and unique sensitivities, especially in the way the medical community relates to transgender people.” Dr. Leis observes, “People who are gay don’t need this particular course of care, if anything.” He says, “It is important that our medical, political and communal leaders understand the transgender differentiation in order to create policy and procedures that will be most beneficial to the transgender community and to others.”
The Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery is located in suburban Philadelphia at 19 Montgomery Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. Phone: 610-667-1888.
Category: Transgender Body & Soul
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“There is a popular conflation of homosexuality and transgenderism…”.
Could the “T” in LGBT have something to do with that?
Not really. Men who dress like women have been presumed to be homosexual since way before the LGBT letters came into use. Transphobia is just homophobia in a new dress. What confused the straight world is not that our T is there next to the LGB, but that people born with male anatomy would know they were actually female. So the straight world attributes reasons why men would dress like women and the one they come up with is “This guy must be gay and he’s trying to trick me into having sex wit him.” Duh.
True, Angela, but the fact that everyone now is familiar with “LGBT” has to reinforce the idea that the “T’s” are voluntarily a part of the movement that was started by, and is mostly populated by, homosexuals.
What else would they think when the “L’s” are homosexual, the “G’s” are homosexual, and the “B’s” are (half) homosexual?
In other words, the conflation makes perfect sense from the point of view of the average onlooker who has no reason to be attuned to the exquisitely sensitive labeling that seems to define the transgender ‘community’.
And since there’s nothing wrong with being gay, why do we even care what ‘they’ think about us?
Also, speaking as your typical transvestite, I can tell you that there is a LOT of gay fantasies going on in the vivid imaginations of many ‘heterosexual’ crossdressers. (And maybe some actual activity.)
🙂
On the other hand, if I imagine myself to be a female having sex with a man, is that gay? Or do I, as do transsexuals, get to define myself as a woman, for whatever period of time I choose?