Trans woman

Some notable transgender women. Left-to-right from top to bottom: Dylan Mulvaney, Laverne Cox, Katya Saunders, Shon Faye, Hunter Schafer, and Lynn Conway.

A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Many trans women experience gender dysphoria — a feeling of distress that can happen when a person's gender identity does not match how their body looks or the ways people expect them to act because of the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender transition can reduce this difference and the distress that comes from it.

Trans women have existed for a very long time. At one time, people called trans women male-to-female transsexuals. However, this term is old and only refers to trans women who got medical treatment as part of their transition, so most people no longer use it. Trans women can have any sexual or romantic orientation. They can be straight, lesbian, bisexual, or have another orientation.

Trans women may change their gender expression so that other people see them as female. For example, they may use a new name, hairstyle, and clothing style. They may also change their voice to better match their identity. Some trans women also receive medical treatment to develop female sexual characteristics. One common form of treatment is feminizing hormone therapy, which can make them grow breasts. Some trans women also have gender-affirming surgeries to make their body look more feminine. Many trans people cannot have surgery because some doctors will not help them or they cannot afford it.

Trans women experience discrimination in many parts of life. This can include unfair treatment in employment and housing. Discrimination against trans women is sometimes called transmisogyny. In the United States, trans women who are not white can experience intersectional discrimination based on transphobia, misogyny, and racism. They also face a higher risk of physical and sexual violence and hate crimes. In the past, media portrayals of trans women often used harmful stereotypes. These portrayals have improved a little in the 21st century.

Names

Many people in this group like the name trans woman over the many medical words that are out there. Other non-medical names are t-girl, tg-girl, and ts-girl. Transgender woman, though, is the more common name.

Some people who are assigned male at birth later identify as women. They feel that the gender they were assigned and the gender they actually are do not match. Some trans women want to simply be called "women" rather than being called a "trans" woman, but this does not apply to all trans women.

Some trans women who feel that their gender change is done, meaning that they have all the same physical characteristics of women who were assigned female at birth, want to just be called "women". They think that the names "transwoman" or "male-to-female" should only be used for people who have not finished their change. Some others do not feel that their gender ever changed and that they were always girls who were forced to live as boys. Because of this many see it as important to include a space in the name, as in "trans woman", using "trans" as a word to talk about a particular type of woman, not a "third gender" as "transwoman" might imply.

Outline

A trans woman with "XY" written on her hand, at a protest in Paris, October 1, 2005.

"Transitioning" refers to the act of changing a person's social and personal gender identity to the gender identity that they feel is their real self, and may or may not include having medical treatments done, or surgery, and the changing of their legal papers to show their new identity (such as their birth certificate) and changing the way that they dress.

Changing

Like trans men, trans women have many choices that they can make, depending on what culture they are in and what gender roles they, and the people who support them feel like they should have. No case is the same, and the options that are there for trans women depend very much on if they have easy access to medical care and money. Some trans women choose to have hair removed on their face, armpits and other parts of their body as well as train their voice so that it sounds more like a woman. There are surgeries that can make trans women's faces look more female, but may not always be necessary, as some trans women have faces that do not look very male. They are mainly to provide emotional benefits to patients so that they can see themselves changing or as a step in sexual reassignment surgery.

Sexual interests

Trans women differ a lot in who they are attracted to and fall in love with. They may be straight (attracted to men), lesbian (attracted to other women), or bisexual (attracted to more than one gender), or have another orientation. Many studies on this issue have been thought to be hurt by bias, since many transsexuals feel they must give the "right" answers to these questions to help their chances of being able to get hormone therapy.

Sex drive

Studies have shown that trans women are likely to have less sex drive (34%) than those who are born female (23%), but the difference was small.

Discrimination

Disputes over sports eligibility

Some governing bodies for sports allow trans women to compete in female-only sports and some do not. Opponents believe that growing up with a male body (usually larger and stronger) gives trans women unfair advantages. Trans women have set women's records for sports that some biological women believe should not count. High school athletes who have routinely lost to trans athletes have sued to have trans competitors excluded as unfair competition for scholarships designated for women. The American Civil Liberties Union sides with the trans athletes.

Disputes over prisons

Trans women convicted of crimes often believe they are not safe in men's prisons. Some cisgender women believe they are not safe in women's prisons if trans women are allowed there. Transition has been used as grounds for releasing prisoners for crimes committed as men.

References

  1. ↑ "Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People (version 7)" (PDF). The World Professional Association for Transgender Health. p. 96. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-24.
  2. ↑ Beidel, Deborah C; Frueh, B. Christopher; Hersen, Michel (30 June 2014). Adult Psychopathology and Diagnosis (7th ed.). New York: Wiley. p. 618. ISBN 978-1-118-92791-5. OCLC 956674391. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Köllen, Thomas (25 April 2016). Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations: Global Perspectives on LGBT Workforce Diversity. Springer. p. 138. ISBN 978-3-319-29623-4. OCLC 933722553. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Haghighi, Anna (22 June 2021). "Transsexual: Definition, terminology, allyship, and more". [www.medicalnewstoday.com](http://www.medicalnewstoday.com). Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "U.S. gender confirmation surgery up 19% in 2016, doctors say". NBC News. 2017-05-22. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  6. ↑
  7. 1 2 Kenagy, Gretchen P. (2005). "Transgender Health: Findings from Two Needs Assessment Studies in Philadelphia". Health and Social Work, Vol. 30. Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  8. ↑ Novic, Richard (2005). Alice In Genderland: A Crossdresser Comes Of Age. iUniverse. p. 77. ISBN 9780595763764. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  9. ↑ Serano, Julia (2007). Whipping girl: a transsexual woman on sexism and the scapegoating of femininity. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press. pp. 29-30. ISBN 978-1-58005-154-5.
  10. ↑ "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 February 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Transgender FAQ". GLAAD. 2020. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  12. ↑ "From Donald to Deirdre - Donald N. McCloskey sex change to Deirdre N. McCloskey". Retrieved 2009-12-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ↑ Elaut E; De Cuypere G; De Sutter P; Gijs L; Van Trotsenburg M; Heylens G; Kaufman JM; Rubens R; T'sjoen G (Mar 2008). "Hypoactive sexual desire in transsexual women: prevalence and association with testosterone levels". European Journal of Endocrinology. 158 (3): 393–9. doi:10.1530/EJE-07-0511. PMID 18299474.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Lesa, Mata'afa Keni (2019-07-15). "Hubbard moment the biggest and most blatant injustice in Samoa XVI Pacific Games". Samoa Observer.
  15. ↑ Larnaud, Natacha (2020-02-13). "3 Connecticut high schoolers sue to prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls' sports". CBS News. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  16. ↑ "Transgender inmate demands move to women's prison". KOIN.com. 2020-01-23. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  17. ↑ Parveen, Nazia (2018-10-11). "Transgender prisoner who sexually assaulted inmates jailed for life". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  18. ↑ Cullen, Tom. "Convicted of sex crimes as a man, felon no longer deemed threat because of gender change". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2022-12-07.

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