Gender transition is the process of changing one's
gender presentation
Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These cate ...
or
sex characteristics
Sexual characteristics are physical traits of an organism (typically of a sexually dimorphic organism) which are indicative of its biological sex. These can include sex organs used for reproduction and secondary sex characteristics which distingui ...
to accord with one's internal sense of
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
– the idea of what it means to be a man or a woman,
[Brown, M. L. & Rounsley, C. A. (1996) ''True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism – For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals'' Jossey-Bass: San Francisco ] or to be
non-binary or genderqueer. For
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
and
transsexual
Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...
people, this process commonly involves
reassignment therapy (which may include
hormone replacement therapy
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopausal hormone therapy or postmenopausal hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy used to treat symptoms associated with female menopause. These symptoms can include hot flashes, vaginal ...
and
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
), with their gender identity being opposite that of their
birth-assigned sex and gender. Transitioning might involve medical treatment, but it does not always involve it.
Cross-dressers
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself.
Cross-dressing has play ...
,
drag queens
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...
, and
drag kings
Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculinity, masculine Drag (clothing), drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine. A typical drag show may incorporate dancing, acting, sta ...
tend not to transition, since their variant gender presentations are (usually) only adopted temporarily.
Transition begins with a decision to transition, prompted by the feeling that one's gender identity does not match the sex that one was assigned at birth. One of the most common parts of transitioning is
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
for the first time.
Transitioning is a process that can take anywhere between several months and several years. Some people, especially non-binary or genderqueer people, may spend their whole life transitioning and may 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 stages between different spheres of life. For example, someone may transition far with family and friends before even coming out at their workplace.
Terminology
Gender transition is sometimes conflated with sex reassignment surgery (SRS), but that is only one possible element of transition. 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
Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...
and usually includes physical, psychological, social, and emotional changes. Some transgender and
non-binary
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
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 in a manner consistent with one's own gender identity. This can be one aspect of transitioning, though some transgender people may choose to purposely not pass. Not passing, in this case, can bring about a variety of negative consequences, including misgendering, violence, abuse, and refusal from medical professionals to deliver appropriate services.
''Going full-time'' refers to a person living one's everyday life as the gender one identifies with. 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 they cannot safely present as male and may switch jobs instead.
Mental health professional
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a ...
s who go by the
World Professional Association for Transgender Health
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and ...
(WPATH)
Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People do not normally require a patient to go full-time for at least a year (a period of time generally referred to as the "
real-life experience" () or "real-life test" (), but mental health professionals who do not adhere to these guidelines do, before recommending surgery.
''Going stealth'' means to live as a gender without other people realising 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 different from their gender assigned at birth.
A ''social transition'' is the aspects of transition involving social, cosmetic, and legal changes, without regard to medical interventions. People who socially transition may ask others to refer to them by their preferred name and pronouns, and some may legally change their name.
''
Detransition
Detransition is the cessation or reversal of a transgender identification or gender transition, whether by social, legal, or medical means. Some individuals detransition on a temporary basis.
Estimates of the rate at which detransitioning occurs ...
ing'' is the process of changing one's
gender presentation
Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These cate ...
and/or
sex characteristics
Sexual characteristics are physical traits of an organism (typically of a sexually dimorphic organism) which are indicative of its biological sex. These can include sex organs used for reproduction and secondary sex characteristics which distingui ...
back to accord with one's assigned sex. Detransitioning has also been called ''retransitioning'', though retransitioning can also mean transitioning again after detransitioning.
Various aspects
Transitioning is a complicated process that involves any or all of the gendered aspects of a person's life, which include aesthetics, social roles, legal status, and biological aspects of the body. 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.
Social, psychological, and aesthetic aspects
The social process of transitioning begins with coming out, that is, informing other individuals that one identifies as transgender. From there, the newly out trans person may adopt a new name, and they may ask others to refer to them using a set of
pronouns
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase.
Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the part of speech, parts o ...
different from before; for example, a trans man would ask to be referred to as ''he'' rather than ''she'', or a
genderqueer
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
/non-binary person might ask to be referred to as ''they'' or by "gender-bending" pronouns such as ''ze''.
Personal relationships often take on different dynamics in accordance with gender; what was once an opposite-gender relationship is now a same-gender one, and vice versa. Gender roles and social expectations often change as the transition progresses.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...
and
fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
are also a common consideration for transitioning. Transitioning people often alter what types of clothing and accessories they wear, have their hair styled differently, and adopt new grooming or
makeup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
techniques to enhance their appearance.
A person's ideas about gender in general also often changes as part of their transition, which may affect their
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
, philosophical and/or political beliefs.
Legal aspects
Transgender people in many parts of the world can legally
change their name to something consistent with their gender identity.
[Jerry J. Bigner, Joseph L. Wetchler, ''Handbook of LGBT-affirmative Couple and Family Therapy'' (2012, ), page 207: "gender transition can be achieved through the use of clothing, hairstyle, preferred name and pronouns,..."] Some regions also allow one's legal sex marker changed on documents such as
driver license
A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...
s,
birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...
s, and
passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
s. The exact requirements vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; some require
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
, while many do not. In addition, some states that require sex reassignment surgery will only accept "bottom surgery", or a genital reconstruction surgery, as a valid form of sex reassignment surgery, while other states allow other forms of gender confirmation surgery to qualify individuals for changing information on their birth certificates.
In some U.S. states, it is also possible for transgender individuals to legally change their gender on their drivers license without having had any form of qualifying gender confirmation surgery.
Also, some U.S. states are beginning to add the option of legally changing one's gender marker to X on legal documents, an option used by some
non-binary
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
people.
Physical aspects
Physical aspects of gender transition can go along with social aspects; as well as wearing gender affirming clothing, transgender people often hide features from their natal puberty, with many transgender men
binding their breasts and transgender women shaving. Other physical aspects of transitioning require medical intervention, such as
transgender hormone therapy
Transgender hormone therapy, also called hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), is a form of hormone therapy in which sex hormones and other hormonal medications are administered to transgender or gender non ...
or surgeries.
Grieving gender identity
Over the course of a gender transition, people who are close to the transitioning individual may experience a sense of loss, and work through a grieving process.
This type of loss is an
ambiguous loss
Ambiguous loss is a loss that occurs without a significant likelihood of reaching emotional closure or a clear understanding. This kind of loss leaves a person searching for answers, and thus complicates and delays the process of grieving, and o ...
, characterized by feelings of grief where the item of loss is obscure. Feelings that arise are described as a way of seeing the person who is transitioning as the same, but different, or both present and absent.
See also
*
List of transgender-related topics
The following outline offers an overview and guide to transgender topics.
The term "transgender" is multi-faceted and complex, especially where consensual and precise definitions have not yet been reached. While often the best way to find out ho ...
References
Further reading
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Transitioning (Transgender)
Gender transitioning