Let me try to clear this up. On this site we use the following definitions:

Transgender: an inclusive umbrella term which covers anyone who transcends their birth gender for any reason. This includes but is not limited to Androgynes, Crossdressers, Drag kings, Drag queens, Intersexuals, Transsexuals, and ->-bleeped-<-s.

In my case, I'm a crossdresser. This means I'm transgender. I choose to dress, so for me, being transgender is a choice.

Someone who is born transsexual, would usually not consider it a choice. But they are transgender, too.

And all the non-binary, genderfluid, genderless people, too. They're all transgender. We all are, heck, we have cisgender members, too. Hugs, Devlyn

Uh huh, I dont like the all-inclusiveness of the term "transgender" too. Umbrella notions which strive to cover a lot of sub-groups often lack in terms of small and intricate details... I wonder if gays and lesbians would agree to be represented as one unique group under the letter H (homosexual)? Then we would have the HBTI community . But my gut feeling is lesbians would not wish to be under the same letter as gays. So why do we have to accept similar approach?

By the way, I am not very happy with the term "transsexual" either, because there is nothing about sex, besides a lot of full time transvestives have often referred to themselves as transsexuals, thus creating a lot of misconception and confusion in this area...

Quote from: Celery Stalk on July 25, 2013, 11:28:31 AM

Transgender is no more specific than saying someone is white or black. Not helpful to anyone at all because after a certain scope of inclusion, the terms become so dulled in detail that they communicate virtually nothing, they're meaningless. In fact they can actually become a detriment because they relegate important distinctions to the bottom the discourse priority list because the inference is that one group can speak for the whole. Any attempts to express oneself with greater accuracy comes across as redundant to the uninitiated. For example, I am not transgender because my gender has always been a constant. The politics create an illusion of consensus but there's a great number of people not comfortable with blanket terms whose very definitions fail to conceptualize and communicate distinct phenomena.

Quote from: -Emily- on July 25, 2013, 11:37:43 AM
Uh huh, I dont like the all-inclusiveness of the term "transgender" too. Umbrella notions which strive to cover a lot of sub-groups often lack in terms of small and intricate details... I wonder if gays and lesbians would agree to be represented as one unique group under the letter H (homosexual)? Then we would have the HBTI community . But my gut feeling is lesbians would not wish to be under the same letter as gays. So why do we have to accept similar approach?

By the way, I am not very happy with the term "transsexual" either, because there is nothing about sex, besides a lot of full time transvestives have often referred to themselves as transsexuals, thus creating a lot of misconception and confusion in this area...

A reminder from our TOS:


10. Bashing or flaming of any individuals or groups is not acceptable behavior on this web site and will not be tolerated in the slightest for any reason.  This includes but is not limited to:

    Advocating the separation or exclusion of one or more group from under the Transgender umbrella term
    Suggesting or claiming that one segment or sub-segment of our community is more legitimate, deserving, or more real than any others

Also important:

9. If you disagree with transgender individuals, or activities which cross gender boundaries take your arguments to a more appropriate web site.

This IS an umbrella site, and all transgender people are free to use the site for support. Support doesn't mean being told you don't belong in the group

It's a simple reminder of why we're here. Take it how you like. The umbrella concept is the basis for this site. There are other sites that don't use it.

Quote from: Terrafirma on July 24, 2013, 07:28:14 PM
That was his diagnosis. I went to him wondering if I was, on the recommendation of a psychotherapist that I was seeing. I had gone to see the psychotherapist, because I was already transitioning off of the testosterone pellets that I had been given, by another urologist, for low testosterone. The aromatization of the testosterone in these pellets had raised my estradiol level to 60 pg. Like the testosterone gel, the pellets didn't work properly, either, but I liked the physical and mental changes that they brought.

The effect of testosterone raising your estradiol level is a pretty good indication you have some degree of Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (PAIS) which is most certainly an Intersex condition.

I think your endocrinologist is either confusing terms or is unfamiliar with the correct terminology. If you are happy on estrogen therapy and don't mind "transitioning" then there is no need to pursue it farther. AIS doesn't have many complications to worry about.

If you want to pursue it farther you will have to find someone more knowledgeable about Intersex conditions than your endocrinologist appears to be but he/she should be able to refer you to a specialist.

We are going to take a little breather, and hopefully consider the concept of "community."