I'm new here and I've wondered what the diffrence is for a while. I've tried to learn about it and read to understand but I cna't seem to grasp what the diffrence is. Could soemone please explain? 

Transgender is to transsexual as religion is to Christianity.  Transgender is an umbrella term that encompasses many conditions and identities and transsexual is a specific condition within that umbrella.

Quote from: Kreuzfidel on February 16, 2012, 11:58:35 PM
Transgender is to transsexual as religion is to Christianity.  Transgender is an umbrella term that encompasses many conditions and identities and transsexual is a specific condition within that umbrella.

This.

It's also easy to understand when you explain it like this.

Transgender = transcending the gender roles constructed by society.

Transsexual = transcending sex assigned at birth, doing whatever it takes to go from male to female(or female to male) until you feel your transition is complete. Every transsexual is different.

So transexuals can be... trangender or dragqueens, intersexual or inbetween.
While transgender is strickly Male to Female or vise versa.

Quote from: Jamio4545 on February 17, 2012, 12:52:57 AM
So transexuals can be... trangender or dragqueens, intersexual or inbetween.
While transgender is strickly Male to Female or vise versa.

No, you have it backwards.

No, the exact opposite.
Transgender can be drag-queens; ->-bleeped-<-s, cross-dressers, gender-queer etc etc. OR transsexuals - the term transgender covers all.

Transsexuals are specifically "persons born in the wrong body" or wishing to permanently change sex

It's worth noting that there a plenty of people who are not comfortable with either label - these are just the more generally accepted applications of them. Transsexual as a term is still more in use in the US than elsewhere to mean specifically people who wish to transition physically.

"What is the difference between transgender and transsexual?"

In my case about 6 months. Not sure if that answered your question though.

Axelle

By using the definition given I am transexual but I feel more comfortable telling people i'm transgenderd.

I've been noticing that if I say transgendered then people seem to focus more on my desire to be female but if I say transexual then one of the first questions seems to be "so you want to have sex with men?", as soon as people hear the letters s-e-x then they ignore the rest of the word.

Okay. Thanks guys. I wanna understand so I dnt offend anyone. 

I used to use the umbrella/specific definitions, even though they didn't make much sense to me. I ended up redefining them for my classes & friends.

I use transgender to refer to "someone who's gender identity does not match the one they were assigned at birth". Gender in this sense is the categorizing of people based on social norms and their sense of self. It includes expression, types of activities, and sense of ones self in terms of being male, female, both, neither or other.

Transsexual to me is "Someone who's sexual identity does not match the one they were assigned at birth". This means their body isn't optimal for their survival due to not producing the needed hormones, producing features that are disconcerting, etc.

I identify as both transgender and transsexual. I'm transsexual because although my body was assigned to the female sex at birth I needed testosterone to go through puberty. I'm transgendendered because although I was socialized to be a woman, I'm a man.

The way I see it transgender pertains to gender, or the mind & society while transsexual pertains to sex, or the physical traits.

Quote from: Steffi on February 17, 2012, 01:17:49 AM
No, the exact opposite.
Transgender can be drag-queens; ->-bleeped-<-s, cross-dressers, gender-queer etc etc. OR transsexuals - the term transgender covers all.

Transsexuals are specifically "persons born in the wrong body" or wishing to permanently change sex

I find this definition of Transgender at least a bit too broad.

IF the topic comes up I will just say I am transgendered or trans. Like another person said, bring up the word "transsexual' and they start asking about body parts, who do you date etc. Given how backwards the US is about anything related to sex, I'd just as soon not tie the word -sex- to how I self ID.

To the OP question transsexual is supposed to be a subset of the group transgendered. That is how this website defines it.

But some people will argue they are transsexual but in no way shape or form are they transgendered. Personally I stay away from all that confusion and is likely why the OP is confused and asked the question.

Quote from: Axélle-Michélle on February 17, 2012, 02:19:39 AM
"What is the difference between transgender and transsexual?"

In my case about 6 months. Not sure if that answered your question though.

Axelle

I haven't heard that joke in years!  An oldie but a goodie

by earlier DSM standards and older standards, I am a Transsexual

By my decision, I am a female. If I have to pick transgender or transsexual, I will pick transgender.

Newer DSM will be using transgender to also mean transsexual as many do not agree with transsexual.

I am transgender because I crossed (transed) over Gender lines.

I do not pick transsexual because it connotates a sense of sexuality when my sexuality has nothing to do with it. For example, Homosexual=Same sexual attraction, Heterosexual=Different Sexual attraction, Bisexual= Both sexual attraction, Pansexual=any sexual orientation attraction, Asexual= no sexual attraction. So when it comes to transsexual people say it has nothing to do with any type of sexual attraction but society can easily see transsexual fitting alongside the rubric of hetero/homo/bi/pan/asexual.

I will never condemn or say to a person they are wrong for saying transsexual, but I will never use it to describe myself. My therapist and my grs doctor never cared for the word transsexual either.

And you'll see those changes in the newer DSM.

here in Uk its genereally accepted that transsexuals change sex while transgenders just dress up and hang about folk music concerts and Gay Prides.

Quote from: lilacwoman on March 07, 2012, 10:55:56 PM
here in Uk its genereally accepted that transsexuals change sex while transgenders just dress up and hang about folk music concerts and Gay Prides.

...or that transgenders may be people changing sex who can't stand the term transsexual .

Quote from: patstar on March 06, 2012, 03:53:35 PM
I find this definition of Transgender at least a bit too broad.

+1

I've never heard a draq queen call themselves transgender, just a drag queen. I use to use the terms interchangeably. But now I just say 'transsexual woman', when necessary.

Quote from: Padma on March 08, 2012, 04:22:43 AM
...or that transgenders may be people changing sex who can't stand the term transsexual .

a transsexual doesn't have any doubts about their gender so to say transgender would mean they feel neither man nor woman and are one of those mythical third genders like as what don't exist in our binary European Union.

Quote from: lilacwoman on March 08, 2012, 09:31:09 AM

a transsexual doesn't have any doubts about their gender so to say transgender would mean they feel neither man nor woman and are one of those mythical third genders like as what don't exist in our binary European Union.

I don't agree with this. I have no doubts about my gender and I will never call myself transsexual. If anything, I am transgender. This is my own belief, my own opinion, and it is something that will never change.

Don't assume to put authority into what others believe. I know many T girls who have no doubt about their gender who does not use transsexual.

Be careful because down that road are people who point fingers and say "well, you are not a real girl because you aren't using the right word."