HER
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Mark Mars
What do you identify as if you identify yourself at all?
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There have been times and still are times that I feel like more woman, then more man, then feel as if I’m both and also that I’m neither. But at the end of the day, my own gender is not something I take seriously. I don’t feel the need what so ever to label myself as anything. Because at the end of the day, if you wanna get deep, I’m just consciousness having a human experience and the human body that I have in this life is just a meat suit, a mannequin, one that I will always dress up and experiment with. I will always want to go back and forth between different forms. I think gender is a joke. And through drag I get to constantly make fun of it. With drag I can be anything or embody anything I want to be. And through those changes your perception of me may change each time. It’s all one big illusion, it’s a hoax, so I tell myself not to take myself or my gender too seriously. Because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what my gender is, I don’t know what it is and frankly I don’t care what it is. As long as I am true to myself and always honour what
I am feeling, I am happy. So I tell myself just to play around with gender, fuck with gender and have fun during the process.
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Do you think you were born like that or was it a more gradual process?
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I feel it’s part nature and partly due to your environment like most things. There are pictures of me dressed up as a princess at the age of three. You will always be who you are, but certain things you encounter may increase the speed at which your identity is exposed. I always resonated far more with women and related to them on a far greater level, the majority of my role models would be female. I always found feminine energy so powerful and electrifying and always spoke to me on a greater level than male energy ever could. And I guess what I realised at age 19 is that this was because there was a part of me that was always female or wanted to be female, whatever that meant.
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What is your preferred pronoun?
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Everyone calls me he, unless I’m in drag. If I make so much effort and spend almost three hours feminising my appearance I do not want to be called he and I certainly do not want to be called Mark O’Sullivan! Of course I wouldn’t get genuinely offended, but it’s a nice acknowledgement/ sign of respect for the levels at which the person has gone to transform. But if you called me she out of drag, I really wouldn’t care. If you called me they I don’t think I’d care either. It’s all the same to me.
Were there any signs of unconventional gender exploration when you were younger that might not have been so obvious back then but when you look back you think it was always there?
I always joked saying “my life would be so much easier if I was a girl” because I was made fun of for being too effeminate at times, so I always pondered briefly thinking what life would actually be like as a girl. But I wouldn’t allow myself have those thoughts for long, because deep down I knew there was a part of me that wanted to be a woman so badly and I wanted to deny that at all costs.
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Do you think there is a connection between gender identity and sexuality?
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There seems to be a noticeable pattern that transgender people often identify as homosexual in their previous gender before transitioning and then frequently become heterosexual after their transition. But this is not always the case. For example, Gigi Gorgeous, a well known YouTuber and trans icon is a transgender woman and recently came out as a lesbian. So I don’t think anyone should make assumptions. Just let people be who they want and love who they want, it’s that simple.
Do you think social media played a roll in giving you ideas about your identity?
I certainly was not surrounded by much gender conversation or gender bending of any kind such as with my friends or in my school environment. So I feel like certain media that I saw exposed and answered some questions I had about my gender that were already there and was a catalyst for the inevitable to be realised. I’m thankful that my generation have access to so much more media and information on a topic like this; it’s incredibly beneficial in terms of enlightening those who have questions about their gender and also educating everyone about gender as a whole.
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When did you ‘come out’ as __?
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I never officially came out. Not because I was ashamed, but because I don’t view my own gender as a big deal anymore so there was never a need for me to make a big statement about it. If it comes up in conversation I’m honest. It’s that simple. I have nothing to hide.
From your own experience how do you feel Irish people react to people who don’t conform to gender stereotypes?
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I feel like within the queer There was often room for a cool community, especially young tom boy, but never a “sissy”. queer people, people are generally more open minded. This is because even though the majority of queer people are cisgender they resonate in many ways to the struggles and alienation trans or gender non conforming people face. But at the same time within the queer community if you’re even an entirely cisgender man who is just androgynous or even flirts with traits of femininity it immediately acts as a repellent to the majority of other men. The same goes for heterosexuals, who often lust after what society sees as a “real man”. Due to the way our society has been conditioned in terms of misogyny, homophobia and transphobia people can see men who are comfortable embracing femininity as alien. It makes them question what they have learnt about gender and gender roles and it’s a conversation many are not comfortable to have with themselves. And the same goes for women who embrace things that are typically masculine, but not to the same extent I feel. 100
When did you start feeling comfortable talking about how you felt?
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The beginning of 2016. I had a huge case of gender dysphoria prior to that, I had convinced myself many times that I was living a lie and that underneath it all I had been a woman this whole time. After the first time I did drag, I took my wig and makeup off, I looked at myself in the mirror and said “I think I just watched myself die”. I was devastated. I was confused and I was terrified. But the epiphany I had was that gender is performative, it’s a costume. I realised I didn’t need to change anything about myself, my body, my names, pro-nouns etc. I realised that all I had to do was view myself differently. That’s when everything changed. I had already adopted the “Mars” name for stage as a singer-songwriter and as a nickname. I originally planned to have my drag name as “Aphroditzy”. I wanted to be the trophy wife of the god of war and play a bimbo bombshell caricature of femininity. But when I realised that everything that I at one stage thought about gender was a lie, I realised I didn’t need or want an alter ego. It was all one in the same.
I was so liberated realising that about it. I could experience life both as a “man” and a “woman” because the concepts of what men and women are are actually fiction. They are performances. For most, being a “man” or being a “woman” is a role play. But with that liberation also came unholy fury. I was furious at the lies that I had been fed my whole life about what a man or a woman is supposed to be. I was furious at the pain and heartbreak these lies caused me thinking I may have been born in the wrong body or that I simply did not know who I was. When I realised that it was all a sick joke, I changed from a ditzy silver haired barbie to a flaming haired, 6ft8, black lipped ghastly pale man-womanmonster hybrid. I wanted to show my rage. Mars is the god of war but also the symbol for man. I wanted to show that in the society we live in ironically there is nothing that takes more balls than being unashamedly feminine. I realised that life is just one big giant messy drag show. Everyone plays a character, everyone is in costume. Drag queens are just more honest 102
What kind of reaction did you get when you came out?
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Whenever the topic has come up to my friends they have been nothing but supportive and encouraging. I’m surrounded by some really wonderful people. But I know that it is not something that would sit well with others, so hopefully discussions like these will help to continue the conversation and normalise us.
What were you expecting?
I was expecting positivity and negativity, which is just being realistic. There are always going to be hateful people, and also those who are not malicious but genuinely misinformed, and I feel sorry for them. It is what it is.
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If you had any advise to give young people or other people who might be experiencing what you have experienced what would it be?
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There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way you are. It is perfectly natural to question something like gender when your gender can so greatly impact the outcome of your life and when people are realising what a fascinating topic it is. Explore yourself unashamedly, experiment. You cannot change who you are, and you’ll eventually realise that is one of the greatest gifts you’ll ever have. Suppressing your truth will cause you so much pain that you don’t deserve. The world needs people like you to show society that people should not be limited to experiencing life through one fixed idea of an identity and that people come in all sorts of different beautiful varieties. Your gender and your life is what you make of it. Go live your truth.
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Erin
What do you identify as if you identify yourself at all? Non-binary or androgynous Do you think you were born like that/ or was it a more gradual process? I think I was born like this and it became more noticeable as I got older. Were there any signs of unconventional gender exploration when you were younger that might not have 109
been so obvious back then but when you look back you think it was always there? After being a tomboy for most of my childhood I ended up living as a male for a few years as a kid, got my hair cut short, only wore boys clothes and made people call me a different name. I balanced out and became a bit less masculine once I hit puberty but I’ve always felt somewhere between male and female. 110
What is your preferred pronoun? I don’t have a preference usually due to appearance I’m referred to as she. Do you think there is a connection between gender identity and sexuality? There could be but it’s hard to tell. I identify as pansexual because I think that if you’re attracted to someone it should be for who they are 111
on the inside and not what they look like on the outside and maybe that stemmed from my own issues with my assigned gender. Do you think social media played a roll in giving you ideas about your identity? It didn’t influence my identity but it made it more confusing growing up - the media portrays very masculine males and very
feminine females and for someone who didn’t fit into either it felt alienating.
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From your own experience how do you feel Irish people react to people who don’t conform to gender stereotypes? From my own experience Irish people are so accepting and supportive about it. I think I might just be fortunate in that I only know really lovely people, I’m sure there’s other who haven’t been so fortunate.
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When did you start feeling comfortable talking about how you felt? From my early teens I’ve always felt comfortable talking to my friends about it and over time I just became more confident and comfortable in myself and now talking about it doesn’t feel like such a big deal.
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When did you ‘come out’ as __? Some time during secondary school but I didn’t need to explain it to anyone, It’s something that has been a little obvious since I was in primary school. What kind of reaction did you get? Not much of a reaction, my group of friends all turned out to be LGBT so everyone was very understanding of each other which 117
was really nice to have.
to love yourself and let your colours shine through.
If you had any advice to give young people or other people who might be experiencing what you have experienced what would it be? Don’t listen to what anyone tries to tell you about what you’re “supposed” to be like because of an assigned gender, you have to find who you are on your own and no matter who that is you have to learn 118
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Oisín
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Do you think you were born like that/ or was it a more gradual process? I was not born gender free. I was pushed into the box of masculinity and I did not fit in that box then, and I still don’t know what it is like to fit in that box now. The expectations and the pressure have caused me a lot of stress and suppression in the search of self. I do feel I know a lot more of what it is to be ‘woman’ than I do ‘man’. I have always agreed with feminine arguments, idolised the honour of the resilience shown by women, when faced with suppression, silencing, physical and emotional abuse, childbirth. I had great female role models in my life though, and no immediate good male role models. Maybe that had something to do with it?
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What do you identify as if you identify yourself at all? In the question of the gender/gender roles I cannot say I identify as woman or man or nonbinary, and that is not actually a choice. I see those roles as boxes that make life easy for those less sure of themselves, which I do not say to insult. I never felt like I fit into the box I was expected to because of the parts of my body that are apparently private. I spent a very long portion of my life wanting to exclusively be in the box of ‘womanhood’. It would have to be the social construct I feel closest to. However, in my own life, I have grown out of wanting to be strictly or exclusively in either box. Lastly, I do not identify as non-binary as of now. I’m not yet completely weaned off the gender construct and fluctuate aesthetically between ‘boy’ and ‘girl’. I rarely mix the two. The term ‘gender fluid’, or ‘androgynous’ best describes my state.
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Were there any signs of unconventional gender exploration when you were younger that might not have been so obvious back then but when you look back you think it was always there? All my friends were girls. I connected with them and everything they did. I enjoyed the same humour and agreed with their arguments. I coveted the same toys and the same activities they did but I was never rarely allowed to I have them involved in my life, if ever. I never
understood what it was to be ‘made of slugs and snails and puppy-dog tails’, like most boys are expected to be. Still don’t.
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Do you think social media played a role in giving you ideas about your identity? It gave me the ‘gender fluid’, which I’m grateful for because it showed me that I’m not completely fucked up or alone in the fact that I’m a gender bender.
When did you start feeling comfortable talking about how you felt? Probably when I was in 5th year of school, which was daring enough for my own personal situation if you don’t mind me bragging. I used to want to have ovaries tattooed on my abs. It was me being true to myself but it wasn’t very Catholic
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What is your preferred pronoun? I prefer ‘they’. I don’t particularly mind ‘he’ nor would I take offence to it but being called ‘man’ or ‘bud’ or ‘dude’ really, really annoys me. I wouldn’t be used to it, but if someone should call me ‘she’, I wouldn’t mind a bit. I would be flattered at someone making the effort to be considerate.
Do you think there is a connection between gender identity and sexuality? One could. But it’s certainly not consistent. I know trans men who are into men and I know of trans girls into girls.
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From your own experience, how do you feel Irish people react to people who don’t conform to gender stereotypes? I think there is an exclusively Irish ignorance towards anyone not following the status quo, within every social category. There really seems to be such a solid insecurity in Ireland, where people need to take their own frustration out on others. Until they enlighten themselves and get to know themselves, I don’t think there’ll be much of an improvement. There
is a particularly disgusting attitude from those in Ireland who define as gay men, a social category who seem to deny that they are faced with oppression and whose frustration runs riot in every club night they attend. Like straight men, there is an ongoing pressure to be masculine, and any wandering from that is faced with adversity, and deemed unattractive.
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When did you come out as __? As a stepping stone I came out as gay when I was 15. I’ve never really had to come out as anything else.
What kind of reaction did you get? A crap one. I was told I was too young. Was absolutely ruined by a priest who told me that gay people were naturally detested by human nature, and that I was abused as a child- which I wasn’t. I put up with absolute bullshit, and when I told adults about the situation not one thing was done. I can’t imagine my straight boy counterparts being in the same situation, neither for what the priest said, or for the lack of action taken by adults.
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What were you expecting? I thought my parents would kick me out of the house, I was prepared to die. I wasn’t suicidal but I thought that was the best option. I thought it was the end of my life.
If you had any advice to tell young people or other people who might be experiencing what you have experienced what would it be?
All I could say is to surround yourself with good people who
for who you are. Those who are not in the cage of a social con zone, enjoy what is to be enjoyed. If your family are shitty you
the age you are now. Don’t wait until you turn 23. Don’t let tho
are literally the most basic, and their criticism reflects them and in your life is entitled to. You are not insignificant, nor are you
forget to be nice a
give good and positive energy. Those who accept and like you
nstruct. Read, research, live your life. Get out of your comfort must consider moving away from them. Have it as a plan from
ose who are basic ruin your happiness. The people who criticise
d not you. You are human and entitled to whatever anyone else inferior. Don’t get into the habit of being taken for it. DON’T
and a good person.
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Skyler
Were there any signs of unconventional gender exploration when you were younger that might not have been so obvious back then but when you look back you think it was always there?
Oh of course. I constantly What do you identify look back to my as if you identify childhood looking yourself at all? for the signs. I get I identify as a woman, bombarded with or a transgender obvious signs such woman if you want as always having to be more specific. Do you think you were girls as friends, born like that/ or was it being jealous of a more gradual process? other girls because I think it’s something that they always had is determined before the cooler toys you’re born. and more creative things to do and how they had so much more clothes than boys did. And how on Christmas I asked for Barbies and how obsessed with high school musical I was, dreaming of Troy 137
Bolton every night wishing that I was Gabriella. Even with the way I would dress as well, I’ve always had my hair long throughout my life and would wear pink and baby blue skinny jeans, I was already being called a girl and getting mistaken for one way before I even knew I was.
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Do you think social media played a roll in giving you ideas about your identity?
Well for me, a person growing up in a small town I never even knew what transgender What is your preferred was until I was pronoun? 14/15 when I met She/her. my first trans friend Do you think there is a connection between gender in Dublin. So naturally I Googled identity and sexuality? I it and researched don’t think gender identity and sexuality has anything it, I came across to do with each other. My famous trans answer can be explained Youtubers such as with one short quote: princess joules and “Sexuality is who you go Gigi gorgeous who to bed with, gender is documented their who you go to bed as!� life as a transgender woman and then also on Facebook having all these private transgender pages and 139
my friends from Dublin putting up statuses about questioning their gender and things like that so I think it played a really big roll.
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When did you start feeling comfortable talking about how you felt? Well at the start it was obviously really really hard. Like even now for anyone to hear a boy saying “I want to be a girl” is quite odd, it’s not something you hear a lot. But I quickly felt comfortable talking about myself after telling my family and friends cause I knew that they would always have my back and accept me no matter what. From your own experience how do you feel Irish people react to people who don’t conform to gender stereotypes? 141
Personally I feel that it has quite opposite reactions from people. In the town that I live in every body knows each other and it’s quite small, just like every where in Ireland but when I came out publicly the whole town accepted me with open arms and I do have many people congratulating me and saying how brave I am and what not which is brilliant! I have never really had a really bad experience about it well apart from the odd boy blocking
me on Facebook after I tell him what’s between my legs, not like they were gonna get a piece anyways! But all and all the reactions have been very good! Apart from guys who want to date me: they will try keep me a secret, won’t go out publicly with me and wait until night time to take me on a date. Guys in Ireland are very cowardly, they care too much about what everyone else thinks and they’re too scared to be labelled as “gay.” 142
When did you ‘come out’ as __? I waited until I finished school so it would have been June 2014. What kind of reaction were you expecting? Well I was expecting a bit more emotion, more drama and awkwardness. Like I’m telling you the biggest secret of my life and something that is going to change my life forever, I wanted a big bang but all I got was a little sizzle?! What kind of reaction did you get? 143
Well before I came out publicly on Facebook I had to tell my family. Then I had to tell my friends. Since I have two brothers and two sisters it took a little while to get the news around to everyone. I always remembered sitting my Mam down. She was the first I told. My heart was pumping in my chest and my hands sweating. I was so scared. “I think I’m a woman in the inside” I said and she just looks at me right in the eye and replied “I know” and
gives me a hug. To be honest it felt so weird cause I was waiting for a big reaction but the rest of my family and friends reacting the exact same. They all said that it was obvious and stuff like that and I was thinking that they should have told me so I would have known sooner!
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If you had any advise to give young people or other people who might be experiencing what you have experienced what would it be?
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Honestly, I know everyone’s situation is different but there comes a time in everyone’s life where you just have to be selfish. You have to start just focusing on yourself and not care what anybody else thinks and just do this for you. I can honestly say that it was the best decision that I have ever made and I would do it a million times again. It’s going to be scary and nerve racking but you just
have to keep your head up and know that you’re going to come out of it stronger than ever and it will be the first time that you’ll truly be yourself. And also while you’re waiting on the right time to come out, do your research, make a plan, educate yourself so when you announce the news you will know exactly what to do and where to go to give you a faster and easier transition.
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Glossary Introduction to Sex and Gender It is important to clarify the distinctions between sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Sex: The designation of a person at birth as male or female based on their anatomy (genitalia and/or reproductive organs) or biology (chromosomes and/or hormones). The phrase “sex assigned at birth” (replacing “biological sex”) is a more accurate and respectful way to acknowledge the process of sex assignation that occurs at birth through a perfunctory look at external anatomy. It might not be possible in all cases (e.g. intersex) to identify an individual as male or female at birth. For trans people, assigned sex may differ considerably from gender identity (see definitions of Transgender and Intersex). Gender Identity: Refers to a person’s deeply-felt identification as male, female, or some other gender. This may or may not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender Expression: The external manifestation of a person’s gender identity. Gender can be expressed through mannerisms, grooming, physical characteristics, social interactions and speech patterns. Sexual Orientation: Refers to a person’s physical, emotional or romantic attraction to another person. Sexual orientation is distinct from sex, gender identity and gender expression. Transgender people may identify as lesbian, gay, heterosexual, bisexual, pansexual, queer or asexual (see definition of Transgender).
Main Glossary Androgynous or androgyne: A person whose gender identity is both male and female, or neither male nor female. They might present as a combination of male and female or as sometimes male and sometimes female. Bigender: A gender identity which can be literally translated as ‘two genders’ or ‘double gender’. These two gender identities could be male and female, but could also include non-binary identities. Cisgender: A non-trans person (i.e. a person whose gender identity and gender expression is aligned with the sex assigned at birth). The term cisgender acknowledges that everyone has a gender identity (i.e. a non-trans identity is not presented as normal or natural which stigmatises a trans identity as abnormal or unnatural). Cissexism: The assumption that a cisgender identity is more authentic or natural than a trans identity. The belief that a person’s sex assigned at birth always remains their real gender (e.g. suggesting that a trans woman is ‘really a man’ or a trans man is ‘really a woman’). Coming out: The process of accepting and telling others about one’s gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation. Many trans people will ‘come out’ as a different gender to the sex assigned at birth and may begin a social or physical transition (see definition of Transition). Some trans people choose to ‘come out’ or be ‘out’ about their trans identities to raise visibility or acknowledge their experiences. Others do not want to ‘come out’ as they feel this implies that their gender identity is not valid or authentic (e.g. a trans woman who comes out as trans may be perceived to be less of a woman). It is important to never out someone as trans without their permission. Forced outing – whether intentional or unintentional – is a form of transphobia (see definition of Transphobia). Crossdresser: In North America, the preferred term for transvestite is crossdresser. It is intended to sound less medicalised. It refers to a broad spectrum of experiences and there are numerous motivations
for crossdressing such as a need to express femininity/masculinity, artistic expression, performance (e.g. drag queen/king), or erotic enjoyment (See also ‘Transvestite’). Demigender: A gender identity that involves feeling a partial, but not a full, connection to a particular gender identity. Demigender people often identify as non-binary. Examples of demigender identities include demigirl, demiboy, and demiandrogyne. Disorder of Sex Development (DSD): A generic definition encompassing any issue noted at birth where the genitalia are atypical in relation to the chromosomes or gonads. Since 2006, this is the preferred term for intersex by some, but not all, medical practitioners in the area. DSD has been contested because it presumes an underlying ‘disorder’ and that there is something intrinsically wrong with the intersexed body requiring it to be fixed as either male or female (see definition of Intersex and Variation of Sex Development). FTM: A female-to-male trans person (see definition of Trans man). Gender Identity Disorder (GID): In DSM-IV[2], GID is the psychiatric diagnosis used when a person has (1) a strong and persistent cross-gender identification and (2) persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex, and the disturbance (3) is not concurrent with physical intersex condition and (4) causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. This diagnosis was removed from the DSM-V and replaced with Gender Dysphoria. In the current Irish context, in practice a diagnosis of GID or Gender Dysphoria is required to access hormones or surgery through the public healthcare system. Gender Fluid: Is a non-binary gender identity. Gender fluid individuals experience different gender identities at different times. A gender fluid person’s gender identity can be multiple genders at once, then switch to none at all, or move between single gender identities.
Some gender fluid people regularly move between only a few specific genders, perhaps as few as two. Genderqueer: A person whose gender varies from the traditional ‘norm’; or who feels their gender identity is neither female nor male, both female and male, or a different gender identity altogether. Gender variant: People whose gender identity and/or gender expression is different from traditional or stereotypical expectations of how a man or woman ‘should’ appear or behave. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) or Hormones: The use of hormones to alter secondary sex characteristics. Some trans people take hormones to align their bodies with their gender identities. Other trans people do not take hormones for many different reasons (see definition of Transition). Hermaphrodite: Generally considered derogatory; has been replaced by the term intersex (see definition of Intersex). Intersex: Refers to individuals who are born with sex characteristics (such as chromosomes, genitals, and/or hormonal structure) that do not belong strictly to male or female categories, or that belong to both at the same time. A person with an intersex variation may have elements of both male and female anatomy, have different internal organs than external organs, or have anatomy that is inconsistent with chromosomal sex. These variations can be identified at birth (where there is obviously ambiguous genitalia), at puberty (when the person either fails to develop certain expected secondary sex characteristics, or develops characteristics that were not expected), later in adulthood (when fertility difficulties present) or on autopsy. Most individuals who are intersex do not identify as transgender or do not consider themselves covered by the transgender umbrella. MTF: Male-to-female trans person (see definition of Trans woman). Multigender: Refers to individuals who experiences more than one gender identity. It can be used as a gender identity in its own right, or can be an umbrella term for other identities which fit this description. Multigender identities include bigender (two genders),
trigender (three genders), quadgender (four genders), quintgender (five genders), polygender (many genders), pangender (all genders) and genderfluid (variable gender). Neutrois: A non-binary gender identity which is considered to be a neutral or null gender. It may also be used to mean genderless, and has considerable overlap with agender - some people who consider themselves neutrally gendered or genderless may identify as both, while others prefer one term or the other. Non-binary: An umbrella term for gender identities that fall outside the gender binary of male or female. This includes individuals whose gender identity is neither exclusively male nor female, a combination of male and female or between or beyond genders. Similar to the usage of transgender, people under the non-binary umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms (See definition of Androgynous, Gender Fluid, Genderqueer, Gender variant). Sex Change: Generally considered derogatory; has been replaced by the terms ‘transition’ or ‘surgery’ (see definition of Transition and Surgery). Surgery: A set of surgical procedures that alter a person’s physical appearance or the functioning of their existing sexual characteristics. Other terms include Gender Confirmation Surgery, Gender Reassignment Surgery, Sex Reassignment Surgery, Genital Reconstruction Surgery, Sex Affirmation Surgery and so on. Some trans people undergo surgery to align their bodies with their gender identities. Other trans people do not undergo any surgery for many different reasons. Some trans people define themselves by their surgical status such as post-operative (post-op), pre-operative (pre-op) or non-operative (non-op). However, these terms place emphasis on genitals as a marker for gender identity and may be rejected by people who do not see their gender as related to surgical status. Tranny: A slang term for many different trans identities. Some find this term highly offensive, while others may be comfortable with
it as a self-reference, but consider the term derogatory if used by outsiders. It is recommended to avoid using this term. Transgender: Refers to a person whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex assigned to them at birth. This term can include diverse gender identities. Not all individuals with identities that are considered part of the transgender umbrella will refer to themselves as transgender. For some, this may be because they identify with a particular term (such as transsexual or genderqueer) which they feel more precisely describes their identity. Others may feel that their experience is a medical or temporary condition and not an identity (for example they feel they have gender identity disorder but are not transgender). The use of transgender or trans as an umbrella term as it is currently the most inclusive and respectful term to describe diverse identities. However, we acknowledge and respect each individual’s right to selfidentify as they choose. Trans or trans*: Commonly used shorthand for transgender. Avoid using this term as a noun: a person is not ‘a trans’; they may be a trans person. Transphobia: The fear, dislike or hatred of people who are trans or are perceived to challenge conventional gender categories or ‘norms’ of male or female. Transphobia can result in individual and institutional discrimination, prejudice and violence against trans or gender variant people. Transition: A process through which some transgender people begin to live as the gender with which they identify, rather than the one assigned at birth. Transition might include social, physical or legal changes such as coming out to family, friends, co-workers and others; changing one’s appearance; changing one’s name, pronoun and sex designation on legal documents (e.g. driving licence or passport); and medical intervention (e.g. through hormones or surgery). Transvestite: A person who wears clothing, accessories, jewellery or make-up not traditionally or stereotypically associated with their
assigned sex. This generally refers to a male to female transgender person who does not wish to transition or change their assigned sex but prefers to live “dual role”. Transsexual: A person whose gender identity is ‘opposite’ to the sex assigned to them at birth. The term connotes a binary view of gender, moving from one polar identity to the other. Transsexual people may or may not take hormones or have surgery. Use of the term ‘transsexual’ remains strong in the medical community because of the DSM’s prior use of the diagnosis ‘Transsexualism’ (changed to “Gender Identity Disorder” in DSMIV). The term ‘transsexual’ is hotly debated in trans communities with some people strongly identifying with the term while others strongly rejecting it. Moreover, for some, ‘transsexual’ is considered to be a misnomer inasmuch as the underlying medical condition is related to gender identity and not sexuality. Trans man: A person who was assigned female at birth but who lives as a man or identifies as male. Some trans men make physical changes through hormones or surgery; others do not. Trans man is sometimes used interchangeably with FTM (femaleto-male). However, some trans men don’t think of themselves as having transitioned from female to male (i.e. because they always felt male). Some people prefer to be referred to as men rather than trans men while others will refer to themselves as men of transgender experience. Trans woman: A person who was assigned male at birth but who lives as a woman or identifies as female. Some trans women make physical changes through hormones or surgery; others do not. Trans woman is sometimes used interchangeably with MTF (maleto-female). However, some trans women don’t think of themselves as having transitioned from male to female (i.e. because they always felt female). Some people prefer to be referred to as women rather than transwomen while others may refer to themselves as women of transgender experience.
Variation of Sex Development (VSD): Another term for ‘intersex’ preferred by some medical practitioners and intersex people in place of DSD as it removes the stigma of ‘disorder’ from the nomenclature (see definition of Intersex and Disorder of Sex Development).
Gender Identity Flags Transgender flag designed by trans woman Monica Helms in 1999. Stripes for male (blue), female (pink), and other or transitioning (white). Genderqueer flag by Marilyn Roxie in 2011. Lavender, as a mix of pink and blue, is for androgynes and queerness. Dark chartreuse green (the inverse of lavender) is for gender outside the gender binary Nonbinary flag by Kye Rowan in 2014. Yellow is for gender without reference to the gender binary. White: those with many or all genders. Purple: a mix of female and male. Black: without gender Drag flag designed by Veranda L’Ni Purple represents the passion for drag we all share. White represents the blank slate that is our body and face that we all chance to create the characters that we become. Blue represents self- expression and loyalty. Crown represents leadership in the community. Stars represent the many forms of drag. Maverique flag by Vesper H., 2014. Yellow: nonbinary, not derived from female (pink) or male (blue), but its own (yellow, a primary color can’t come from any color mix). White: independence from the spectrum of other genders (colors). Orange: inner conviction.
Genderfluid flag by JJ Poole, 2012. The colors represent a sequence of genders: female, genderless, both female and male, all other genders, and male Agender flag designed by Transrants. Black: absence of gender. The greys are for partial gender. Green: gender that isn’t related to female or male. Demiboy flag Blue: male. White: agender or nonbinary gender. Gray: partial.
Demigirl flag Pink: female. White: agender or nonbinary gender. Gray: partial.
Pangender flag by Pangendering. Colors close to white light, a mix of all colors. Yellow: genders unrelated to female/male. Light red: the transition to genders related to female/male. Light violet-pink: mix of female/male. White: mix of all. Another version of the pangender flag also by Pangendering
Sexual Identity Flags LBGT Rainbow flag representing diversity, based on the one designed in 1978.
Asexual pride flag
Bisexual pride flag
Polysexual pride flag
Pansexual pride flag
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