Transitioning is the process of changing one's gender presentation to accord with one's internal sense of one's gender - the idea of what it means to be a man or woman.[1] For transsexuals, this usually includes sexual reassignment surgery, and their new sex is "opposite" that of birth sex; for intersex people it is different from how they were raised; for genderqueer people it is neither solely female nor male. Cross-dressers and drag queens and drag kings tend not to transition, since their variant gender presentations are only adopted temporarily.
Transition must begin with a personal decision to transition, prompted by the feeling that one's gender identity does not match the gender that one was assigned at birth. One of the most significant parts of transitioning for many transgender people is coming out for the first time.[1] Transitioning is a process, not an event, that takes anywhere between several months and several years. Some people, especially genderqueer people, may spend their whole life transitioning as they redefine and re-interpret their gender as time passes. Transitioning generally begins where the person feels comfortable: for some, this begins with their family with whom they are intimate and reaches to friends later or may begin with friends first and family later. Sometimes transitioning is at different levels between different spheres of life. For example, someone may transition far with family and friends before even coming out at work.
Contents |
Transitioning is sometimes confused with sexual reassignment surgery (SRS), but that is only one possible element of transitioning. Many people who transition choose not to have SRS, or do not have the means to do so. Whereas SRS is a surgical procedure, transitioning is more holistic and usually includes physical, psychological, social, and emotional changes. Some genderqueer and intersex people have little or no desire to undergo surgery to change their body but will transition in other ways.
Passing refers to being perceived and accepted by other people as a desired gender identity. This can be one aspect of transitioning, though genderqueer people may choose to purposely not pass. Someone observing, for example, a trans woman passing may know of her trans status but still considers her a woman. Drag queens generally present with exaggerated female and feminine characteristics (e.g. heavy make-up, suggestive clothing, excessive jewelry) whereas drag kings present exaggerated male attributes and hyper-masculine personas.
The Real life experience, "RLE", or Going fulltime refers to a person living one's everyday life as one's chosen gender identity. One's passing can be limited by safety, legal or bodily restraints. For instance, someone who has worked at a job as female may feel one cannot safely present as male and may switch jobs instead. Psychiatrists and psychologists using the WPATH Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People will normally require an RLE of a year's duration before recommending surgery.
Going stealth means to live as a gender without other people realizing a person is transgender. Trans people often go stealth in public but not with family, partners, or intimate friends. There have been many cases of people who have lived and worked as a gender identity opposite of their birth gender. See Category:Transgender and transsexual people for some examples.
Transitioning is a complicated process that involves any or all of the gendered aspects of a person's life. Below are some common parts of transitioning. People may choose elements based on their own gender identity, body image, personality, finances, and sometimes the attitudes of others. A degree of experimentation is used to know what changes best fit them. Transitioning also varies between cultures and subcultures according to differences in the societies' views of gender.
|
||||||||||||||||||||