Transgender

**Transgender**,sometimes shortened to *trans*, is a term for persons whose gender is different from their sex at birth. *Trans* is the Latin word for "on the opposite side"and is an antonym of *cis*. Transgender is used as adjective, not as a noun; a person is not "a trans(gender)". Gender and sexual orientation are separate aspects of a person's identity, and the two should not be conflated. It should also not be confused with intersex or gender non-conforming.

## Transition

Many transgender people seek to *transition* into their correct gender, which includes *social transition*, such as going by different pronouns or wearing different clothing, *legal transition*, which involves changing one's name and birth certificate officially, and *medical transition*, which involves using hormone replacement therapy, or surgery. People who desire and/or receive gender reassignment surgery are sometimes called *transsexuals*, though this term is deemed outdated and offensive to some.

Studies find that the majority of those who transition are satisfied, with a detransition rate of 1-2.2%.

## History

### Terminology

The earliest recorded usage of the trans- prefix was used by sexologist and endocrinologist Magnus Hirschfield, who used the term *transsexualismus* ('transvestitism') in his article "*Die intersexuelle Konstitution" ("*The Intersexual Constitution"), published in the *Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen (Yearbook for Sexual Intermediaries*) in 1923. Sexologist David Oliver Cauldwell coined the term *transexual* as a translation for this word in 1949, with *Psychopathia Transexualis.*

The term *transgenderism* was first used by psychiatrist John F. Oliven, in his publication of "Sexual Hygiene and Pathology", stating transsexualism was misleading, as "sexuality is not a major factor in primary transvestism".

#### Queer Nation trans flag

Created by Dawn Holland for the Queer Nation focus group Transgender Nation. According to Anne Ogborn, creator of Transgender Nation: "Queer Nation's transgender focus group, Transgender Nation, created T-shirts and banners based on the pink triangle on white design. Dawn Holland added a symbol in the center with 4 circles interlocked, with the cross sticking up and right, the arrow down, the cross down on the left, and the arrow up to left, symbolizing various transgendered people working together. For what it's worth, it happened in about Oct 1991 in a sandwich shop (San Francisco, Calif., US) on Castro between 17th and 18th. The original T-shirts were printed with a home silk screen kit on the floor of my apartment, and the original banner was created in my back yard. The banner and an original T shirt are in my possession at moment, but are on permanent loan to the G&LHS in San Francisco."

#### Monica Helms flag

The most widely recognized and used flag was created in 1999 by Monica Helms, an American trans woman, who created the flag at the suggestion of Michael Page, the creator of the bisexual flag. She states: "The stripes at the top and bottom are light blue, the traditional color for baby boys. The stripes next to them are pink, the traditional color for baby girls. The stripe in the middle is white, for those who are intersex, transitioning or consider themselves having a neutral or undefined gender. The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it is always correct, signifying us finding correctness in our lives."

This flag was first flown publicly at the Phoenix Pride Parade in 2000. The original flag was donated to the Smithsonian Institute for an LGBT artifacts collection in 2014.

#### Adventures in Boyland flag

American trans man Johnathan Andrew, creator of the website Adventures in Boyland, also designed two flags in 1999. Their description read: "And finally, an AiB Exclusive--the Transgender Pride Flag (c)1999. Yes, indeedy--it's about time we had our own symbol to represent the community, ain't it? Bears have theirs. Leathermen have theirs. Why can't we have ours? And might we say that we feel these designs, designed by your friendly neighborhood Captain, embodies all aspects of our identities. Whether we're transgender or transsexual, going from male (blue) to female (pink) or from female (pink) to male (blue), or just somewhere in between, both flag designs capture the subtlties and the strengths of our spirits (and the white accents in between the lines are the--supposedly--the little triumphs that happen upon us during our journies to become whole (the flag as a whole)). The lavender-colored sex symbol--not to be confused with The Artist Currently Not Known as Purple's symbol--can also designate FtM/MtF/or Intersexed/Both/Shifting. As you can see, both flag designs/symbols can be used to encompass all types of gender variation. Hell, who knows, maybe it just might catch on (and Cpt. John will be elated--even more so when he get credit for the design)."

#### Jennifer Pellinen flag

Unaware of the Monica Helms version, American trans woman Jennifer Pellinen created a version and started a website for it in 2002. According to Pellinen, "The colors on the flag are from top to bottom. Pink, light purple, medium purple, dark purple, and blue. The pink and the blue represent male and female. The 3 purple stripes represent the diversity of the TG community as well as genders other than male and female."

#### Ontario/Canada trans flag

Created sometime before 2009 by Canadian graphic designer Michelle Lindsay, first used in Ottawa for the 2010 Transgender Day of Remembrance. Its colors "are bold with the Trans Logo spanning the flag to represent the confidence and pride we have in the Trans Community. The horizontal bands are Sunset Magenta and Ocean Blue. They come together to represent the unlimited horizons the Trans Community has in this world."

## Gallery

The Queer Nation transgender flag by Dawn HollandThe widely-known trans pride flag by Monica HarrisTrans pride flag by Johnathan Andrews(Capt. John) for Adventures in BoylandThe trans flag by Jennifer PellinenThe black trans liberation flag by Raquel Willis
## Sources

1. ↑ http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dtrans
2. ↑ https://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender
3. ↑ https://www.cltampa.com/news-views/sex-love/article/20756096/savage-love-gayed-blacked-transgendered
4. ↑ https://www.thefreedictionary.com/transsexual
5. ↑ https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexual-orientation-gender/trans-and-gender-nonconforming-identities/transgender-identity-terms-and-labels
6. ↑ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10508-005-7926-5
7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20141127023934/https://www.skane.se/Upload/Webbplatser/USIL/Dokument/Sjukhusbibliotek/Johansson,%20Annika.pdf
8. ↑ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2265.2009.03625.x/abstract;jsessionid=B762F82F4564FB01651D68B07C5AEEAB.f01t04?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false
9. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20461468
10. ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262734734\_An\_Analysis\_of\_All\_Applications\_for\_Sex\_Reassignment\_Surgery\_in\_Sweden\_1960-2010\_Prevalence\_Incidence\_and\_Regrets
11. ↑ Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischens-stufen [Yearbook for sexual intermediaries]. 1914. Leipzig, East Germany.
12. ↑ Bevan, Thomas E. 2014. *The Psychobiology of Transsexualism and Transgenderism. Praeger.*
13. ↑ Oliven, John F. 1965. "Sexual Hygiene and Pathology". *The American Journal of the Medical Sciences*. **250** (2): 235.
14. ↑ http://transgendersociety.yolasite.com/tg-pride-flag-history-timeline.php
15. ↑ https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/qq-tgf.html
16. ↑ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/transgender-flag\_n\_2166742
17. ↑ https://thinkprogress.org/transgender-pride-flag-designer-applauds-smithsonian-lgbt-artifacts-collection-51a7d1ade112/
18. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010306133412/http://www.adventuresinboyland.com/pride.html
19. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20020228033848/http://www.geocities.com/transflag/
20. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20030405211209/http://www.transflag.org/info.html
21. ↑ http://www.transflag.com/