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What is trans?
Trans is an umbrella term that brings together a multitude of identities, groups and people who identify in different ways with the term. Common to trans people is that one's gender identity and/or gender expression does not match the legal gender one was assigned at birth, which was determined based on how one's body was interpreted at the time.
Different ways of being trans
Trans as a term can include, for example:
- Anyone who wants to change their body and/or change their legal gender
- Those who are not only female or only male
- Anyone who uses clothes or other attributes that are considered typical of a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth
- Anyone who does not want to define themselves in terms of gender.
Trans as a term generally includes trans men, trans women, transvestites, cross-dressers, queer, gender fluid and non-binary people. A transperson is someone whose gender identity and/or gender expression doesn’t adhere to social gender norms. Being trans has nothing to do with one's sexuality. Rather, it is about which gender feels right for oneself to express and be seen as.
There are also many ways to be trans that have not been covered in this text. If you feel unsure about your gender identity or do not think that any gender identity category fits you, you can also call yourself trans.
Being a trans man or trans woman is sometimes referred to as being a binary trans person. Binary means that something is divided into two. In this case, binary refers to the existence of a binary norm for gender in society – the gender binary. According to this norm, all people are expected to be either female or male.
Tips for talking about trans people
Something that we often see is the wording "men, women and trans people". It is a formulation that is problematic, because many trans people are precisely women or men. Therefore, it's better to write "women, men and non-binary", because that's often what you mean. Sometimes you might want to write that you mean both cis and trans. Then you can write, for example, "all women, whether one is cis or trans". Or "People of all genders, with or without trans experience". How you would like to formulate yourself depends of course on the context.
Nor should trans, when talking about trans people as a group, be used as if it meant a gender other than male or female. The majority of trans people are male (trans men), female (trans women) and non-binary. For example, if you want to find out in a survey whether the respondent is transgender or has their own trans experience, you can add a separate question about it. RFSL has produced information on how to ask about gender and trans in surveys .
Gender identity and gender expression
Trans is about gender identity and/or gender expression. That is, which gender or genders you feel like, or if you don't feel like any gender at all. It can also be about how you choose to express your gender with clothes, body language, hairstyle and more.
Being trans is not a sexual orientation. As a trans person, you can be homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, asexual, queer or anything else that best describes your sexual identity or how you feel sexually and/or romantically about other people. Who or whom you are attracted to, who or whom you have sex with, who or whom you fall in love with and what gender you are are different things.
What determines which gender a person has is precisely how you feel yourself, what gender identity you have. It varies when in life you find out you are transgender. Some know it from an early age. For others, the realization comes in connection with puberty, and for some it happens in adulthood.
Personal definitions of trans
Many call themselves guy, man, woman, girl without putting "trans-" in front. Also, if you call yourself a trans girl, trans woman, trans guy, trans man, it is your own gender identity that determines what you are called. A trans girl is a girl who was given the legal gender "male" when she was born. A trans guy is a guy who was given the legal gender "female" when he was born.
One definition of non-binary is that one identifies as something other than either exclusively male all the time or exclusively female all the time. If you feel that way, you may lack obvious words when it comes to gender. You might identify yourself as a person, a human being, a name or something else. You get to decide for yourself what feels good. Gender identities such as intergender, non-binary and genderqueer mean different things to different people. You are thus free to decide what it means for yourself, even if there are definitions that are better known and more commonly used than others.
Some see trans as something you are for a period of time, often before you start or undergo gender-affirming care if you need it. Others see trans only as a diagnosis – something you have, not something you are. If you see trans as something in your past, you can say, for example, that you have (your own) trans experience.
Gender dysphoria and gender incongruence in trans people
If the gender you were assigned at birth does not match your gender identity, it is usually called gender incongruence. Incongruence means "non-conformity". If the incongruence is something you suffer from, or experience obstacles in your everyday life because of, it is called gender dysphoria. You can use the term gender dysphoria to describe your own experience. Gender dysphoria is also a medical term that health care uses if you undergo a gender dysphoria assessment and perhaps receive a gender dysphoria diagnosis. Many trans people, but not all, experience gender dysphoria.
Gender dysphoria is, according to the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare's definition, "a mental suffering or a reduced ability to function in everyday life caused by the fact that the gender identity does not match the body".
How does gender dysphoria manifest?
Gender dysphoria can feel different for different people. It can be more or less strong and vary over time and depending on the situation. Dysphoria often concerns parts and characteristics of the body that are commonly associated with people of a certain gender. For example, body and face shape, hair, breast tissue, voice and genitals. Some feel dysphoria for all "gendered" characteristics of the body, others feel dysphoria for one or a few characteristics.
Dysphoria can also be about social contexts. It could be that you feel comfortable with your body when you are alone or with people you trust. But when you meet or interact with people you don't know or don't know very well, you might experience that you are treated in a certain way, based on the gender others interpret you as. For some people, this creates psychological discomfort or difficulties in everyday life. A mental aspect of gender dysphoria is that one's own image of oneself and the image of one's surroundings do not match. It can create feelings of unreality, self-doubt and psychological discomfort.
Gender dysphoria assessment
Many trans people want to undergo a gender dysphoria assessment to get a gender dysphoria diagnosis. These are diagnoses you can only get if you have applied for assessment yourself, or if you have been had support to get to an assessment if you are a child or young person. A common reason for wanting one of the diagnoses is that they can provide access to gender-affirming treatment. This could be hormones, surgery, voice training or various aids. You can read more about gender dysphoria as a diagnosis here.
Not all trans people want to change their body or have a gender dysphoria assessment. You are not more or less trans depending on whether you need gender-affirming care or not.
You decide for yourself what terms to use
It is of course up to you to decide for yourself if you define yourself as trans or not. No one can decide what another person should call themselves. Some non-binary people do not see themselves as trans. Additionally, there are people with a trans background who do not see themselves as trans now. In our communication, we currently use "trans person" as the umbrella term it is. Of course, we at Transformering continue to nuance, highlight different experiences and be sensitive to the fact that language develops over time.
How RFSL and Queer Youth Sweden use the word trans
Often at RFSL and Queer Youth Sweden we use phrases like "trans people and people with trans experience" when we communicate. It is to make it clear who we are targeting and that one's own trans experience does not have to mean that one also identifies as trans today. But sometimes we only use the term "trans". The intention is not to stick the term trans on someone who does not use it about themselves, but to describe as briefly as possible who our target group is. And of course, we also offer support to those who have questions about their gender identity or gender expression.
If you want to share your thoughts with us about gender identity, gender dysphoria and other issues related to being trans, you are most welcome to contact Transformering via this form.