Hi Everyone IntroductionWhen people say that crossdressers fall under the term transgender they often speak as if this is an absolute truth. I have learned that the reality is more complex because no single person or group has universal authority over that word.
No one owns the wordDifferent groups use their own working definitions. Medical bodies define terms for clinical use. Governments define them for legislation. Advocacy groups use them for community language. Dictionaries describe patterns of public usage. None of these definitions can override the others outside their own domains. Language grows out of use not decree.
Umbrella models are optionalSome communities use a broad umbrella where transgender includes crossdressers. This umbrella model works for those communities but it is not a universal rule. No one can declare that all crossdressers must fall under that word.
Personal identity overrides external labelsA person has the strongest authority over the label they use for themselves. If a crossdresser does not identify as transgender no one has the right to insist otherwise. Labels are optional tools not obligations.
My historical contextWhen I changed my life in February 1989 the word transgender was not in use where I lived. The word crossdresser existed but I never associated with it. I never encountered the word transition either and the only word I had ever seen at the time was transsexual but even that sat quietly in the back of my mind. I simply lived in a binary world of male and female. People saw me as female so I never had to express a gender, any of the current labels or justify anything. My life shows that labels come and go while lived reality continues without needing them.
Labels are just namesLabels may help some people communicate their experience but they do not define who I am. I choose female for myself because that is the truth of my life. No one has the authority to decide that I should use transgender, crossdresser, gender fluid or anything else.
Choosing what fits youMany people shift between labels over time. Some start as crossdressers then later feel the label no longer fits. Others say their journey is about becoming their authentic self not about whether they belong in one forum section or another. Some transition physically, some socially, some mentally and some not at all. What matters is how they understand themselves not the label someone else prefers.
Member comments summarizedThe discussion reflects several shared ideas:
- People evolve with time so their labels may change.
- Crossdressing can relieve dysphoria even before someone recognizes it as dysphoria.
- Transition takes many possible forms.
- Two people may behave similarly yet choose different labels.
- Labels can help or restrict depending on how they are used.
- No one should feel pressured to accept a label that does not fit.
Historical notes about crossdresser terminologyThe word crossdresser arose as a neutral alternative to older terms. Groups such as Tri Ess (The Society for the Second Self) helped make it common. Earlier language like T V carried clinical or pathologising tones. This shows that labels shift with culture rather than being fixed by any single authority.
ConclusionSusan's 'Standard Terms and Definitions' uses a broad umbrella model where crossdressers are included under the transgender label. This approach works well within this community and helps many people describe their experiences. At the same time different individuals and different settings use the word in their own ways, so there is no single definition that applies universally.
Each person can choose the words that feel right for their own life and in my case the label I am comfortable with is simply, female. The message repeated across all the comments remains simple: be yourself not the label someone else wants to place on you.
Best Wishes AlwaysSarah BGlobal Moderator
