To Clear up some misconceptions

One thing I have encountered a lot over the years is some common misconceptions about transgendered people. Many of them are from a lack of understanding others are perpetuated by the media, the church and other places but all have lead to a misunderstanding of what a transgendered person is. So i'm going to use my next few blogs to hopefully clear some of them up.

1. And probably the biggest one i encounter. Transgendered people are just gay and lesbian people who can't deal with being gay and lesbian so they become the opposite gender to be more socially accepted. This is wrong on so many levels. gender identity and sexual orientation are completely different. Just like being a man does not automatically make you attracted to women, being a trans woman does not automatically mean you are attracted to men. Same goes for cis gender women and trans men. Transgendered people may identify their gender in many ways. A Male to female trans woman who is attracted to men would consider herself to be straight. A female to male trans man attracted to women would consider themselves straight just like any cisgender woman or man. Same goes for a trans woman attracted to women or trans man attracted to men would likely consider themselves gay or lesbian. If someone is attracted to both like I am we generally consider ourselves bisexual.

2. Gender and Sex are interchangeable terms. Truth Gender is a mental and social construct Male what is considered to be male and female is determined by ones own thoughts as well as the thoughts of society on the subject. And these ideas have changed over time what is considered feminine today may not have been in the past. For instance men wearing floral patterns, and lace would be considered feminine today in the past these were common styles for men.
Sex on the other hand is biological. Sex relates to physical, hormonal, and biological characteristics that make someone male or female.
Gender can be changed biological sex can not. This is one reason the surgery once referred to as Sex Reassignment Surgery is now more commonly referred to as Gender Reassignment or Gender Confirmation surgery.

These are two of the most common misconceptions. In coming posts I will try to more clearly define some of the terms associated with transgendered people because many of these terms are used incorrectly on a frequent basis.