Trans terminology

[dmx]

I dislike "trans" terminology and don't use it, with exceptions for "FTM" and "MTF". I find it unnecessary and that the general public hasn't a clue what I'm talking about.

For example, instead of saying "bio-guy" I'll just say "guy" and you can assume he's biologically male unless I specify otherwise.

Anyone else feel this way, or is it just me?

[regan]

Agreed.

For the most part, we're just cluttering the language with more words that still mean the same thing.

[Jigsaw]

I agree 100%!
I can't even keep up with all the terms out there.  I don't know why things have to be so complicated.  When I go to the shot clinic they have to do a survey for the state.  They ask how do you identify.  I just say male even though trans is an option.   The only time I use FtM or trans is if I HAVE to use it to explain something.  Otherwise, I never use it.  I am a guy... that simple.

[IowaBoy]

Totally agreed. Isn't the whole point to just be a guy? My insides don't say trans. My insides say guy. Trans is simply how I align my insides and outsides.

If the goal is to just fit in and be one of the guys then gender talk just makes that more difficult. Guys don't tend to talk about gender.

[AndrewL]

I'll also agree that trans terminology has gotten out of hand and add my own terminology story.

I'm the educational chair for our campus LGBTQA organization. This week I started working on a class that would use the game "memory" to teach LGBT terminology. After I compiled all the lists of terms and started to sort them I ended up with four different games. One for terms relating to sexual orientation, one for LGBT symbols and *two* for gender identity. I tried to do gender identity as one game but that was way to large so I had to divide it into one game that explains gender and an entire second game for terms relating to transitioning.

I still wonder if I should bring both of them. The educational side of me (plus the part of me that wishes I knew these words earlier), thinks I should have them and teach others the lingo. The other side of me wonders if anyone besides me there will care about them.

[Nygeel]

Eh, not the way I feel. I, and many other people assume that saying "guy" doesn't always mean cis guy. I don't think that "bio-guy" is too correct because we are biologically guys. FTM is something I'm uncomfortable with because it's saying that I'm going from something to something which I'm not really.

[Kareil]

I use bio-guy here more than cis-guy simply because it sounds when it makes a word, and even  those that are going to argue where "biology" starts, in the head or the crotch or the chromosomes, are still going to know exactly what I mean.  But it only gets used in places where there's a specific need to classify people based on precisely what they were born with between their legs...which is only places where gender is being discussed.  Everywhere else, it's just "guys", I tend not to use any specific terminology, "Well, ok, you were born with one, I had to buy mine" to an open minded friend and such...

[LilKittyCatZoey]

I dont like MTF so i say girls like me instead 

[MaxAloysius]

Yeah, if I need to refer to trans people in any way I normally just say 'guys like me' or 'people like me'. But otherwise it's just guys, I don't really like using these terms to explain myself because it makes me feel less like a real man.

[LilKittyCatZoey]

i find people dont like it when i refer to myself as a girl....... i think it has something to do with the fact i look 100%male and that upsets me

[Adio]

*Disclaimer:  These are the terms I use to describe myself as they apply to me.  As evidenced by this thread (and others like it) not everyone has the same definitions for themselves.

I also dislike some trans terminology.  The terms "bio-guy" or "bio-male" really bug me.  I used to use them both.  But now, I mean..what am I?  Some kind of robot?  I'm a biological male.  I also consider myself a genetic male.  But not a cissexual-male.  My sex wasn't always (and still isn't completely) male.  Sex is physicial; gender is mental.  I've always been male gender.  Therefore, I am a cisgender male but not a cissexual male.

That's also why GRS (gender reassignment surgery) bothers me.  My gender isn't being reassigned.  I suppose that's why I prefer the term "gender marker" rather than just "gender" or "sex" or even "sex marker."  My gender was recorded incorrectly at birth (and on everything else after that).  My original sex marker was actually correct. 

Eh..it's whatever.  This is one the reasons I find it hard to educate non-trans people.  Not everyone agrees on the terminology.  I mean, I don't even like the words "transgendered" or "transgenders." It reminds me of the words "colored" and "gays."

Oh well.  I greatly prefer to use the terms "assigned female at birth" or "assigned male at birth."  As I said on another thread, to me, being "trans" is a medical condition.  I'm being treated with hormones and surgery.  Why should I use "confusing" terms that can be hard to explain to a non-trans person?  Especially when they are disagreed upon among the trans community itself.

[Darrin Scott]

I don't mind some terms, but I think I'm looking to label myself and honestly, FTM isn't something I identify as. I identify as trans masculine, but not FTM. And this does change. I think why some of these labels exist (and keep expanding) is because not everyone fits into the FTM or MTF box. I know I don't. It doesn't mean I'm not considering hormones or surgery, but it does mean I DO NOT fit into a nice neat box that everyone can identify with. There's nothing wrong with that, it just is.....

[dmx]

FTM is something I'm uncomfortable with because it's saying that I'm going from something to something which I'm not really.

Good point. I never really thought about that..

i find people dont like it when i refer to myself as a girl....... i think it has something to do with the fact i look 100%male and that upsets me

I feel you. I remember being told on Facebook once that I'm "not a guy" and that pissed me off... I was early in transition. Keep ya head up

I don't even like the words "transgendered" or "transgenders." It reminds me of the words "colored" and "gays."

Agreed. It's like calling someone with skin cancer a "melanoma". We are not our condition...

I don't mind some terms, but I think I'm looking to label myself and honestly, FTM isn't something I identify as. I identify as trans masculine, but not FTM. And this does change. I think why some of these labels exist (and keep expanding) is because not everyone fits into the FTM or MTF box. I know I don't. It doesn't mean I'm not considering hormones or surgery, but it does mean I DO NOT fit into a nice neat box that everyone can identify with. There's nothing wrong with that, it just is.....

Fair enough.

[Nygeel]

I like AFAB/FAAB (assigned female at birth/female assigned at birth) because there's more to sex than what a doctor decides at birth. A doctor takes a gander at your genital region an based on what that doctor sees dictates how you're treated. Plus, there's very little difference between bits at birth. Oh, AFAB and AMAB don't say anything about gender or sex identity. It doesn't say that the person is trans or cis. It just says when they were born the doctors looked at their genitals and stated "it's a boy/girl."

With transgendered, I don't like it because it's sorta...past tense which doesn't make sense to me. Transgender as a noun always bothers me. Also, I feel like there's a difference between transman and trans man. I feel as if transman is a person who feels that their being trans is a large part of their identity while a trans man is a man who is trans...using trans as an adjective to describe the type of man.

In the past it's been held that cis people are "normal" or don't need some sort of adjective to describe the kind of man or woman...they were simply the standard and only trans people needed a modifier. This also pushes the idea that trans men an trans women are not "really" men or women.

There's other words and phrases I probably could think of but not right now.

[N.Chaos]

I dont like MTF so i say girls like me instead 

I do the same thing, actually. Mainly because both the people I'm dating have a hard time keeping track of all the acronyms and terms and all the other insanity. So I just say "guys like me" or "girls in my situation". Makes life a lot easier for all of us.

[Taka]

i don't like trans terminology at all. the terms can be good for figuring out oneself, and discussing things with people who are familiar with these things. but after that they're really just annoying, labeling yourself as something different from what you identify as only complicates things

one day i hope girls can be girls and guys can be guys without having to explain looks that differ from the norm

[DylanAugusten]

When it comes to day to day gendering people (be they trans or not) I'll use general and common terms like ladies, men, guys, girls, chicks, and dudes.

Talking to my friends though it changes depending on how informed they are the gender spectrum and trans spectrum.

When referring tom myself, yes, I identify as transgender. A trans male. FAAB and, sadly, a bio-female because genetics are something I can't change and I will always be an XX-male and that just makes me all the more unique.