Their gender identity differs from their physical sex as assigned at birth. Transgendered people are born this way and have no choice in who they are.
Most transgendered persons identify themselves as heterosexual.
However, transgendered people are perceived by most people as homosexuals, and thus are discriminated against in similar ways. Like gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, transgendered people face employment and housing discrimination. They are also denied public accommodations and access to health care for their medical conditions. But unlike gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, transgendered people are much more likely to fall victim to discrimination and hate crimes, because most of them possess physical or behavioral characteristics that readily identify them as transgendered. Like the majority of gay men, lesbians and bisexual people who keep their sexual orientations secret, the majority of transgendered persons also strongly desire to keep their transgendered states secret.