hey, you! show me the trans fax!
are you confused about trans stuff? it’s so complicated even some trans people don’t fully understand all the nuance. wild, right? never fear, because this is a new series of basic trans info that will hopefully help everyone on and off the LGBTQIA+ spectrum understand a little better. onward to the basics!
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CISgender = someone whose gender corresponds with their assigned sex at birth TRANSgender = someone whose gender does not correspond with their assigned sex at birth
someone's Assigned Sex At Birth (ASAB) is determined by a) visual genital examination, b) surgical genital alteration.
visual sex assignment is not a scientifically or medically accurate way of determining someone's biology, much less their gender. sex assignment does not include any medical tests such as: karyotype (chromosomes), hormone panel, ultrasound or physical examination (to identify internal intersex conditions).
the most common sex assignments are Assigned MALE At Birth (penis, scrotum, no vaginal opening) or Assigned FEMALE At Birth (vulva + vaginal opening + small phallus. this phallus can be naturally small or surgically altered to be so). on rare occasions, an intersex child - or, a child with genitals that have a combination of the above features - will not be forcibly assigned male or female, but they're usually still assigned a gender.
your ASAB has very little to do with your actual bodily functions, and NOTHING to do with your gender!
[ vocab to remember: trans, cis, ASAB / AMAB / AFAB, intersex ]
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what is gender? some people think it is a literal extension of your genitals, but that's extremely far from the truth.
gender is hard to explain. it is a feeling that usually has very little to do with your biology (that is, your actual factual biology, not your ASAB). some people think gender is neurological, some think it is spiritual, but here's one thing it isn't: tethered to your genital appearance or reproductive abilities.
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did you know that intersex people make up the same percentage of the population as redheads? that's a lot of people who have genitals that can't be described as a simple 'penis' or 'vagina!' there's also sex chromosome abnormalities - some people go their entire lives not knowing that their chromosomes are not a simple XX or XY figuration!
[ vocab note: the scientifically false assumption that (man = male = XY = penis) & (woman = female = XX = vagina) is called the gender and sexual BINARY ]
both intersex people and people with sex chromosome abnormalities can have ANY gender. a man who finds out he has Klinefelter's syndrome (two or more X chromosomes in addition to a Y) is not suddenly a woman, right? of course not!
apply this same principle to all people of all biological realities. you don't have to have a fertile uterus or two X chromosomes to be a woman. you don't have to have a functioning penis or a flat chest to be a man.
beyond that, you don't have to identify as a man OR a woman at all! many more people than you realize, historically and in modern society, exemplify gender diversity. judaism, for example, has six genders. six! indigenous americans can have two (or more) spirits in one body, which result in a person with no gender, or multiple genders that may or may not include man/woman. some people simply do not feel they have a gender.
anyone who is transgender but does not identify as solely a man or a woman is NON-BINARY.
you shouldn't tell someone that they have to identify as a man or a woman based on their ASAB, and you also shouldn't force them to pick one or the other. to do so ignores biological fact, cultural and spiritual history, and individual autonomy.
think about the people around you and the assumptions you make about them. did your nana really feel like a woman? did you ever ASK?
[ review & thought experiment: intersex people cannot be tied to a binary sex assignment. is it okay to tell people with in-between biology that they can't have an in-between gender experience? ]
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okay, so now... what about sexuality?
this one's easy. anyone can be attracted to the same gender or multiple genders. it doesn't matter what your gender is, or your chromosomes, or your hormone levels and what kind of puberty you went through, or if you're sterile or reproductively capable.
if you are a man with a penis, you can want to sleep with a man. if you are a man with a vulvovagina, you can want to sleep with a man, as well, and still be a man! a gay cis man and a gay trans man are both gay men.
meanwhile, a trans person who has an interest in multiple genders isn't confused. their gender is not related to the scope of people they find attractive.
here are some sexuality terms you might recognize from the LGBTQIA+ acronym. (it's a great idea to look up the rest of them on your own.)
gay, lesbian = a person who is attracted exclusively to their own GENDER (not sex!) bisexual, pansexual = a person who is attracted to MULTIPLE genders. remember that since "man" and "woman" aren't the only gender options, people with multiple gender attraction (MGA) can experience a LOT of personal nuance - try not to make assumptions.
[ vocab to remember: binary & nonbinary, gay & lesbian, bisexual / pansexual / MGA ]
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before we go, how about reproduction?
that, too, is a simple answer. every couple on this earth will at some point face the question of whether or not they're going to have kids, whether that be through natural pregnancy, in vitro fertilization, a surrogate, fostering, or adoption. if you don't want children, that's an easy answer! if you do, it's not.
ALL couples face troubles with reproduction, not just members of the LGBTQIA+ community. you could have a straight couple who are both cisgender, but one or both partners could have a reproductive tract that does not function. one or both partners could be intersex, or have abnormal sex chromosomes, or have a hormonal disorder that affects sperm production or menstrual cycling.
when you look at it this way, the reproductive choices made by a couple where one or both are trans don't sound particularly strange, do they? people do what they must in order to have a child. for a cis woman - maybe she's a lesbian, maybe she is a single woman who wants to be a mother - that might be artificial insemination. for a trans man, the easiest option might be carrying his own child. a trans woman may choose to have sperm cryopreserved before she starts HRT and risks stopping sperm production.
no one's reproductive choices make them any more or less gay, cis, trans, or MGA.
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do you have any more questions? i know this is a lot. we've been told so many things through our lives about sex, gender, and biology, but the more research is done, the less rigid the boundaries seem.
while it can be difficult to accept that the world is so much different from what you were told, the common ground uniting all of us should be mutual respect and kindness. please go forward in life keeping this in mind, and don't challenge people on their private biological reality, gender, or gender expression. also, respect people's pronouns!
you've reached the end of trans-fax basics. i hope it helped. :D