Which term do you use referring to lower surgery? I've heard that "gender reassignment surgery" is the more politically correct term and less vulgar. Which term do you use when talking to cisgender people that may not be as knowledgable about trans issues? Do you use the same term consistantly or does it change around certain people?
I like SRS, sex reassignment surgery (it's not changing my gender).
I've heard GRS to abbreviate "Gender Reaffirming Surgery" which I like better than gender reassignment.
I'm with Suzi. I never use 'sex change'. There is too much negative emotion attached.
I don't like either of those.
CGS - Corrective Genital Surgery. I made it up. I like it. I'm going to keep using it.
Jen
Me personally I don't care what it's called, sex change, snip job. I really don't care. I have a vagina and I'm happy :)
Quote from: Zumbagirl on November 11, 2013, 06:35:34 PM
Me personally I don't care what it's called, sex change, snip job. I really don't care. I have a vagina and I'm happy :)
Yes. And I'm envious and jealous. >:( (and very happy for you :))
Hugs,
Jen
I tend to call my surgery "vaginoplasty," which is, you know, what the surgery is actually called.
I use GRS... but it makes more sense as Genital Reassignment Surgery.
I think I like Birth Defect Correction - BDC!
Quote from: Ms Grace on November 11, 2013, 07:24:13 PM
I think I like Birth Defect Correction - BDC!
Best I heard yet!
Usually I just call it genital surgery. Informally I refer to it as being reconfigured. :)
- Kate
If we're allowed to create our own acronyms, I would go for Corrective Surgical Intervention. CSI. Partly to describe the procedure, and partly because I sometimes feel like the anatomical structure that's there now is a crime against my humanity. :P
I also call it SRS... sex reassignment surgery. I think that's a bit more accurate to what it is doing rather than "gender reassignment." Gender refers to the social construct. It refers to our society and how it classifies people. Sex, on the other hand, usually refers to one's physical body and reproductive functions.
Socially transitioning is really the "gender reassignment" part of it, because that is where people change from categorizing you within one social construct to the other social construct. Whereas the surgery is completely an altercation to your physical sex. One can have a gender reassignment while never doing a single thing to sexually transition.
And I definitely prefer "sex reassignment" to "sex change" because the word "reassignment" is much more gentle, and implies that the reason for it was an improper assignment in the first place, rather than the blunt "I'm switching it, and this is the sole thing that's doing it" mentality that the term "sex change" implies. And this is a big problem. The general public is still learning that the surgery isn't the only thing that makes someone transsexual. The term "sex change" preserves this notion, because it implies that the surgery is the only thing that people do in order to change their physical sex, which opens the door for discrimination based on our surgical status.
(Granted, among trans friends, I just refer to it as "the surgery," because they immediately know what I'm talking about. Or "getting girl parts.")
I generally use just SRS (sex reassignment surgery). But usually, when talking to cis people, for practical reasons I say 'sex change.' Like, if I have to change a document I just say "my sex has changed." As nice as these new terms may be, most people just don't know them and I can't be arsed to do a Trans 101. Besides...my physical sex is female, my brain is male, and I am changing my female sex characteristics to male. So sex change really isn't that far off.
I use Gender Correction Surgery as it doesnt sound as nasty as sex change & to me its not a sex change nearly everybody I say GCS to then become interested & more informed when I tell them how I feel, btw Im transitining in 2014
"Sex change" or "Vagina surgery", it's nice and simple. I don't care to teach cispeople about what terminology our community uses, nor do I care to explain transsexualism in general unless asked.
I'm not a fan of bringing sex or gender into it at all, because in the minds of most cis people, sex and gender are the same thing. The only time they ever come across such terms to describe themselves is when they're asked to fill in forms, and it's pot luck as to which term will be on the form - so they see them as completely interchangeable. Therefore, quite a few cis people seem to think of any surgery along these lines as being somewhat scandalous, kinky or perverted. They find the idea titillating, and they seem to think we're just doing it for sexual thrills. ::)
So I prefer to just talk about getting corrective surgery... and if I'm pressed about what I plan to get done downstairs, I tell them that because the doctor can customise it according to my specifications, I'm going to make sure it's at least 2 inches longer than whatever they're packing. ;D
In my language/country, health professionals use the term "gender affirming surgery". I like that, as it's closer to the truth. There's no distinction between sex and gender in our language by the way, so I guess it could be translated to either.
After looking over all the different definitions, I really feel that Genital Reassignment Surgery fits it best, because that's the general area that it's dealing with and that's the area that is being changed.
I like sex change, it would be more accurate for me, I am changing my gender.
I call it bottom surgery or use specific terms such as phalloplasty. Not sure if people understand what I'm talking about, but I'd rather not be talking about it at all.
Like others in general I prefer SRS because that's what's being changed.
For people I know well enough to discuss it with I simply refer to it as "my surgery" or even just surgery. The nature of it is pretty much implied.
If I could ever get the procedures I wanted without it making me look like Frankenstein's monster (don't ever google for images of "vaginectomy". just. don't.) because it's so rare and the medical community isn't likely interested in making it more cosmetically appealing, I don't know what I'd call it. Probably just "vaginectomy". I don't think many people would be quite prepared to consider the reality of a person without any anatomical sex whatsoever and have that reflect their internal gender identity. I wouldn't be getting a sex reassignment in any way. So I'd probably prefer the medical term, or something very vague, like that "corrective surgical intervention" mentioned earlier.
I just say bottom surgery. "the penis surgery" the kitty surgery"
I usually use GRS, but I think of it as "genital reassignment surgery," because that's what it felt like to me. I changed my gender when I began living full-time as a woman, and I changed my sex (for all useful intents and purposes) when I got the sex marker changed with the state, Social Security, and all my other legal ID and documents. What was in my pants was irrelevant to both processes, which is as it should be.
I put MtF SRS on my actual surgical application. None of the terms generally in use offend me. But it's being a bit coy to call it GCS or whatever, there most defiantly better be a change/reassignment involved because I don't want what I have.
I call it surgery and that's all I call it.
I don't make any fuss over any other surgical procedures either. I didn't call it hernia surgery for instance.
If someone asks me what the surgery is for, I'll tell them, I'm ditching these unwanted parts and getting the right ones. They can call it whatever they want inside their head.
Quote from: Ms Grace on November 11, 2013, 07:24:13 PM
I think I like Birth Defect Correction - BDC!
But what about the trans people who don't feel that it's a "birth defect" for them?
I prefer SRS, "sex reassignment surgery," because it's the original term, the most common term, an accurate term, and also an inoffensive and neutral term. I like how it implies that sex is distinct from gender. But that being said, I don't think that it's necessarily the most accurate term. IMO, that would be "genital
reconstruction surgery." However, "GRS" seems to be most often interpreted as "gender reassignment surgery," which I think is completely inaccurate (and ignorant if it's being used by a cis person). I have issues with terms that include words like "confirming," "affirming," and "reaffirming" because they place too much emphasis on modifying the body as the source of relief for gender dysphoria; as we all know, relieving GD has just as much to do with being socially accepted and treated properly. Obviously, people are free to use whatever term that they wish, but I do get annoyed when they simply throw out an uncommon acronym for it and expect to be understood. There are already so many acronyms and terms for trans people to learn when they become part of the community.
I have used "sex change" plenty of times in the past, and I will probably continue to do so. I dislike the term because of the cultural baggage and stereotypes, but it's just easier to tell cis people than to soliloquize about the nuances of being transgender.