Trans Students

The term “trans” is notoriously difficult to pin down in a neat definition. Generally speaking, it’s an umbrella term used to describe people who don’t fit into the gender that society expects them to have. Examples of this include transsexuals, transvestites and cross-dressers, genderqueer people (don’t worry, we’ll get to that in a minute), drag queens and drag kings, androgynes, bigendered people and anyone else who feels the gender assigned to them at birth doesn’t correspond to their gender identity (how they feel inside). Gender is different to physical sex – a good way to think of it is: gender is between your ears, sex is between your legs.

Trans students’ rep:

Your trans students’ rep for 2009-10 on the LGBT Society committee is Frankie McGough. His job is to ensure trans students are represented and their needs are looked after within the society. Feel free to email him in confidence at fmcgough@live.co.uk if you have any problems, questions, suggestions or comments, or just fancy a chat.

Frankie holds trans drop-in sessions once a week in the LGBT Library and Safe Space, for trans students to come and talk about issues that affect them and for anyone who wants to find out more about trans issues – check the Manchester Uni LGBT facebook group for more details, or get in touch with him by email.

Some quick definitions:

• Androgyne: Someone whose gender identity is neither male nor female, but a mix of masculine and feminine attributes.
• Assigned: Assigned gender refers to the gender you were assumed to have at birth, based on your physical sex – e.g. if a baby has a penis, it is assigned as male.
• Binary gender: The assumption that everyone is either male or female, and there are no other possible genders.
• Bigendered: Someone who identifies as both male and female.
• Cis/cisgendered/cissexual: Someone who is not trans, or someone whose gender is the same as the one they were assigned at birth. It originates from Latin, where “trans” means across and “cis” means same. It was coined in much the same way as the word heterosexual was invented to describe non-LGB people.
• Dysphoria (gender dysphoria): The sense of unhappiness caused by something being deeply wrong with one’s body, usually focussed around the primary or secondary sex characteristics being the wrong ones for your gender. Not all trans people experience gender dysphoria, and for those who do, transition can often alleviate it.
• FTM (trans man): A female to male trans person – someone who was assigned female at birth but now identifies as male.
• Genderqueer: A term for someone who identifies outside the binary gender system, as neither male nor female, or who views their gender as fluid and subjective.
• Gender presentation: The characteristics associated with a particular gender in our society, such as clothing, mannerisms, hairstyles etc.
• Medical transition: The process of changing your body to match the gender you identify with. It varies from person to person, but can include hormone treatment and several types of surgery. Not everyone takes hormones, not everyone wants or needs surgery, and there is no set point at which transition is “complete” – it is a gradual process.
• MTF (trans woman): A male to female trans person – someone who was assigned male at birth but now identifies as a woman.
• Out: Having people know about your trans status.
• Passing: Being perceived as the gender you are trying to present as (e.g. a trans man being perceived as male). Passing can be very important to some trans people, whereas to others it may not matter at all.
• Stealth: When a trans person chooses not to disclose their trans status to others. This can be done for a number of reasons, such as safety, fear of harrassment and violence, or just that they feel being trans is irrelevant to the situation in question.
• SRS: Sex reassignment surgery – surgery (typically) to the genitals, to make them match more closely the gender the patient identifies with. This is more common in MTF individuals than FTMs, and there are a variety of different procedures used – there is no one magic “sex change operation”.
• Tranny: A word that lots of trans people find very offensive, due to its use in the past and today to abuse trans people. Some trans people will use it to describe themselves, but it is very unwise to use it in polite conversation.
• Transphobia: Prejudice towards or hatred of trans people due to their trans status. It can and does take any form from name calling and harrassment, refusal to use the right name or pronouns, to physical violence and murder.
• Transsexual: Someone who feels that the gender they were assigned at birth is not right for them and seeks to change their gender role and/or their body, to live as a member of the “other” sex. This can involve a change of name or pronouns, different clothes, hormones, surgery, speech therapy and many other aspects.

Some notes on being polite:

Names and pronouns: For a lot of trans people, having the right name and pronouns used for them is incredibly important. If someone asks you to call them by a different name, then do so, even if it’s not the name you’ve always known them as. It’s very important to make the effort – it shows you respect that person’s identity. Don’t ask what someone’s “real name” is – not everyone feels that the name on their birth certificate or passport is their real name. Similarly with pronouns – if someone asks you to call them he/she/it/they/something else entirely, then make the effort to do so. Calling someone who you know identifies as a woman “he” is disrespectful and insulting. If you slip up, apologise quickly and move on (and try not to do it again) – making lots of fuss over pronoun mistakes just makes it more embarrassing for everyone. And if you’re not sure, just ask (politely) which pronouns someone prefers. (Note that “which pronouns do you prefer people to use for you?” is likely to go down better than “are you a he or a she?”).

Medical questions: No one has the right to know the details of anyone else’s medical treatment. Asking politely is OK, but don’t expect an answer – if you wouldn’t ask a cis (non-trans) person what’s in their pants, then don’t ask a trans person. Also, don’t assume that someone is or isn’t having a specific type of medical treatment – each trans person is different, and what’s right for one person isn’t for everyone.

Resources and support groups:

Queer youth network: For LGBTQ youth aged under 25. Has a very active trans section, with lots of helpful folk, some useful information and dedicated, trained volunteers to offer support and advice: http://www.queeryouth.org.uk/community/

GYUK (Gay youth UK): For LGBTQ people and those questioning their sexuality (under 25 only). Again, has an active trans section with lots of info and plenty of people willing to offer support and advice: http://www.gyuk.co.uk/forums/

MORF: A support group for FTM trans guys in Manchester. They meet every month at the LGBT Centre on Sidney St – find out more on their website: http://www.morf.org.uk/

TransForum Manchester: A discussion and mutual peer support group aiming to provide a safe space for trans people and those questioning their gender, together with their partners, friends, families and allies. They meet every month, and are open to everyone, although their membership mainly consists of MTF-spectrum people – http://transforum.org.uk/

Transgender Day of Remembrance – remembering the victims of transphobic violence. http://www.transgenderdor.org/

Press For Change: Lobbying to improve the rights of trans people in the UK. http://www.pfc.org.uk/

GIRES, the Gender Identity Research and Education Society. A charity which provides information and resources for trans people, their families and friends, and medical and psychiatric professionals. A very good source of info on scientific research, legal issues and support for families. http://www.gires.org.uk/

Metropolitan Community Church – A Christian church that particularly welcomes and reaches out to LGBT people, including them in every aspect of its ministry. They have a dedicated ministry for trans people and aim to provide a safe, accepting space for anyone wishing to talk about LGBT issues and spirituality. http://www.mccmanchester.co.uk/trans.htm