"transgenders"

[Draculess]

anyone else profoundly sick of hearing people use transgender as a noun? sometimes people mean well, but man it has a real dehumanizing ring to it when people are on about "transgenders want this and that" and "I think transgenders should do x". like geez dude way to reduce someone to a medical condition. not as bad as >-bleeped-<, but it starts feeling about the same way after a while, especially after you correct someone and they keep right on doing it. I'm a transgender woman, not a transgender. it's kind of like saying "blacks" or something.

you guys feel me?

[Dena]

I understand somewhat where you are coming from. I have been living under a rock for around 30 years and was stunned when I found Susan's with the banner "Transgender" across the top of each page. When I was in treatment, We knew about the word Transgender but we addressed ourself as Transsexual because that was the construct of the therapy group. People wouldn't pay to be a member of a group who's primary goal was to transition unless they were transitioning.

For us Transgender included us and something else that wasn't very well defined at the time. Not being a part of the community for all those years meant that the non binary was a complete mystery to me at first. I understand now how it all fits together and I fully admit to my transgender heritage but for me personally the word transsexual feels more descriptive of what I was.

[Elis]

Yeah this annoys me too. Transgenders makes us sound like we have some kind of mental issue or we're some kind of race unto ourselves. Similar to trangenderism. I guess people don't realise how inaccurate it is or offensive. I guess in time people will learn and it will be one of the bygone words like transexual or trannie. 

No offence if you like to describe yourself as transexual but again sounds like a medical diagnosis and not all trans people 'fully' transition.

[Dee Marshall]

"Transgenderism" bothers me too, particularly as it's used in the ISO(?) Standards. My endo lists that as my official diagnosis, but it sounds more like a life choice or a philosophy than a medical conditional. It trivializes us. As to "transgenders" as a noun, I was never really offended by the use of conditions as a noun when it was from the outside, "mentally ill" as opposed to "people with a mental illness", but I was conditioned against using it in my training. Now, from the inside, I get it.

[LizK]

I saw an endocrinologist a few months back at the insistence of my Dr and when I explained why I did not want Testosterone  injections she said to me

"Well I guess being a transgender you won't want Testosterone, in my experience most Transgenders don't"

That is about the time you wish you had a custard pie to hurl at them...Slapstick food fight style

Liz

[Elis]

I saw an endocrinologist a few months back at the insistence of my Dr and when I explained why I did not want Testosterone  injections she said to me

"Well I guess being a transgender you won't want Testosterone, in my experience most Transgenders don't"

That is about the time you wish you had a custard pie to hurl at them...Slapstick food fight style

Liz

WTH does that even mean 

[suzifrommd]

anyone else profoundly sick of hearing people use transgender as a noun?

Me me me.

Almost as bad as when used as a verb, "transgendered".