I expect the meaning of the word 'transgender' will ultimately be defined by the media and popular usage, much like the word 'hacker' was hacked from it's original meaning of 'a gifted programmer' to 'cyber outlaw' by the media. I rarely see media pieces that use the terminology that most of us in the transgender community use ourselves. The GLAAD Media Reference Guide is routinely ignored by the media.
It makes it harder to communicate when there is a free-for-all on the use of terminology. When someone tells me they are 'transgender', I'm not sure what that really means. The Williams Institute of UCLA reported that 1.4 million people self-identify as 'transgender'. To me, that's an almost meaningless statistic. Does that figure include male cross-dressers, ->-bleeped-<-s, and drag queens? Does it include people who are cisgender but androgynous in appearance? Who knows? A more rigorous study by Harris at the U.S Census Bureau concluded that there are only about 90,000 transsexual men and women who have transitioned to include name and/or gender marker change. That a huge difference even if half the actually number.
When it's necessary for me to reveal my medical background (a rare circumstance these days), I say that I'm a 'trans woman'. I'll say 'transsexual woman' if the extent of my physical transition is relevant. If the listener seems confused, I'll fall back to 'transgender', and then try to correct some of the myths and misconception they've absorbed through the media and other sources if they're interested.
From my perspective, the focus on transgender vs cisgender status in society is overdone. I may not be cisgender by definition, but having transitioned physically and socially to female, I've reduced my GD to an occasional short flareup. Where I am today, it's a distinction without a difference.
