Transgender or Transgendered?

Are you a transgender? Or are you transgendered?

Where do you stand on the debate between those who say they are “transgender” and those who say they are “transgendered”? It’s a subtle difference in meaning and has a lot to do with grammar and semantics. The proponents of “transgender” maintain that it is not a verb so it does not need “ed” added. They use as an example people who are stating their national origin. Italians don’t say, “Hey, not for nothin’ cuz but I’m Italianed.” So when asked what their gender identity is (a rude question if you’re in a social situation) the “transgender” defenders reply, “I’m transgender.”

This is based on viewing the word as a verb. Verbs can’t have a past tense, as signified by the addition of “ed” but both “transgender” and “transgendered” are adjectives. Ah ha! An adjective is used to modify a noun. In this case “I” in the sentence “I am transgender.” So grammatically both usages are correct.

What about semantically? That’s a deeper pond to wade through. We have to consider the whole history of how we got the terms we use to describe our gender identities.

Cisgendered people — those whose gender identity matches their biological sex — never have to think about it. They feel male or female and that’s all there is to it. Those of us who are differently gendered — whether the classic “(inesert gender here) trapped in the wrong body” or those whose gender identity shifts throughout their daily lives — do think about what we should be called.

In simpler times men who wanted to dress and act like women were just called “queer.” Women who were masculine in presentation (there was one in my small town) were “tomboys” or more often called lesbians when talked about behind closed doors. The very idea that you could have a gender identity that was not in sync with your genitals was not a concept that anyone ever considered.

Magnus Hirschfeld

Oh sure we had the term “transvestite” which was coined by Magnus Hirschfeld in the early 1900s but even that word was often associated with homosexuality and men who liked wearing women’s clothing but found women sexually attractive were uncomfortable using it. “Crossdresser” started showing up in the 1960s and while it is just the English equivalent of transvestite (put in derivation) it was adopted by many who felt that transvestite was, paradoxically, too clinical or too loaded with negative meaning as it had often been used next to the word “prostitute” in the press.

“Transsexual” was added to the language in either the early 20th century by Magnus Hirschfeld — or by Harry Benjamin in the mid 20th century — and came to be understood as the label for someone like Christine Jorgenson who fully changed their sex to match their gender identity using surgery and hormone treatments. (It is also attributed to D. O. Cauldwell who used “psyhopathis transexualis” and “transexual” in 1949.)

Young Virginia Prince

In mid-‘80s Virginia Prince came up with the term “transgender” to refer to people who lived in the opposite gender without surgery. From the time Prince began using it the word’s meaning began to evolve and came to indicate that an individual’s gender identity might not match their physical sex but they didn’t fit into the transsexual identity. This was a break through for people who are gender fluid, male one day, female the next, or androgynous all the time, since we now had a handy “umbrella” label to cover any cross-gender presentation. With the label though came those who didn’t agree with how it was used. As with the controversy around “transvestite” and “crossdresser” we now find people who insist they are “transgender” while others demand that they be referred to as “transgendered.”

Here at TGForum we adhere to the belief that people are people and their gender identity is something they possess, not something that defines them. So rather than say someone is “transgender” we say they are a “transgendered person” or “transgendered individual.”

As The Bee Gees sang ages ago, “It’s only words…” and you can identify your gender identity any way you like but keep in mind when you say “I’m a transgender” that sounds like you are a thing not a full person with many facets. “I’m transgendered” seems more accurate and also gives you greater dimension.

How do you use the T word? Use the comment box below to let us know.

Thanks to Dallas Denny for research assistance.

Tags: featured, History, Identity, Transgender

Category: Transgender History, Transgender Opinion