14 | Out in the Mountains |January 2001

  ENDING ISOLATION AND SHAME: TRANS 101
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that question as there are people to ask.
Anyone who has spent time thinking

KS: about gender has her own way of defining
, i gender and transgender. Most people
Counseling in Genderland: A Guide for You and A Persistent Desires./I Fem—Butch Reader, edited by begin with what we all learn growing up
Your Transgendered Client, by Neila Miller, Different Joan Nestle, Alyson Books, 1992 ' in America.
Path Press, 1997 . ' True Selves; Understand,-ng Tmnssexnazism for Most Americans are taught to view
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us, Families, Friends, Coworkers and Helping Sex» genders and Sexual Orlematlo“ 35 3
by Kate Bomstein, Routledge Press, 1994 , Professionals, by Mildred L. Brown and Chloe Ann rigid System Of Opposing categories, With
My Gender Workbook, by Kate Bomstein, Routledge R°u“5e1ya J°53eY'B355 Publishers» 1996 “O i“'betwe‘?rf5 and “me Va“a“°“'
Press, 1998 _ Body Alchemy: Transexual Portraits, by Loren This iradltlonal m0d_e1 -53)“ that 930“
Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Camemnv Cleis Press’ 1996 person is one Oi iwo iiiisiiiici. bioiogicai
Arc to Rupaul, by Leslie Feinberg, Beacon Press, 1996 Gender Shock: Exploding the Myths of Male and 5e’feS= Tlha;a°the.“}Z]ed b.V Celflialn physical
Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink and Blue, by Leslie Female» bY Phyllis Burke’ Anchor Books’ 1996 i3i:ci:il<S2i1gae eiiindwexcczlugg i2iii1g)’eitT:ir':SfTa0i'S7i‘iifil:
Feinberg, Beacon Press, 1998 Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism, by Pat Opposing package.

Caiifia’ Cieis Press’ i997 Thus, a male has penis and testicles, xy

chromosomes, and testosterone as domi-
nant hormone. He will grow facial hair,
develop a deep voice, and be muscular.

A female has vagina, uterus, and
ovaries, xx chromosomes, and estrogen as
dominant hormone, and will develop
breasts, retain a high voice, not grow
facial hair, and be physically weak.

Each of these two sexes are further
characterized by certain social expres-
sions, called gender. Male individuals are
masculine; female individuals are femi-
nine. Channels of gender expression
include clothing, toys, jobs, academic
interests, sports and hobbies, social roles,
speech patterns, and body language.

Finally, each "of the sexes is sexually
attracted exclusively to individuals of the
opposing sex: males are attracted to
females, and vice versa. Further, the
model says that all ofthese things are nat-
ural, in-born, morally imperative fixed
sets, changeable only by trauma or moral
failing of some kind.

To be a “real” man or a “real” woman
in this model, there can be no variation
from the most rigid definitions of any of
the above categories.

It dictates that man with any one of the
following would not be a “real” man: a
high voice, a vocation in quilting, or an
attraction to other men. For women, facial
hair, construction work, or attraction to
other women makes them suspect.

For gay, lesbian, and bisexual individ-
uals, there is no question that, at the very
least, the final category of the model, ori-
entation, is not true. Often, GLB folks are
able to question the second category, gen-
der expression, as well.

Much less often do we question the
first category, sex, or the implicit relation-
a ship between gender and orientation, or
   explore the infinite variations among and
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‘ . ’= ‘ ; ‘- t 5 T‘”“3~ Ame‘ ‘Cd! This is where the “T” comes in.

Jiistice Resource lnstitute. Boston iwww.gcocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/7979/
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T/i/s siic /ms a New Eng/um! Ti'tiiisgt'iit/cl‘ Rc.wiirt-c liitcrsexcd Society otiNoi'tli America
U“/iélt‘ www.iisna.org/

What is transgender?
The simplest, and broadest answer is
any person or type of expression that

lFGE—lnternational Foundation oliGcndcr PFL/\(}'s Tl‘11l1SgCIiCi€l‘ Suppoit NCi\VOl‘l\' chaiienges or does not fit into the rigid

Educafiom \\,altlmm MA “wwcritpath_0rg/pflag_mlk/ traditional model of sex and gender: that
w\“‘._ifge.0rg which 1S transgressively gendered.

To some, this includes. gay, lesbian,

Tl‘£iIiSgCl1(lCl‘ Splelidol‘/Tl‘£1l1Sg€liCl€l‘ Outreach Project .

American Boyz www.pmirienet.org/(splendor/top arid biséxuai people who_ (Ehaiienge the
w“vw_netgsi.c0,n/qistw,-,,ngimy _ orientation part of the traditional model.

Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League. SMY To many’ Orientation is not part of the

Leading T‘ansgender Orga ' ations Smy'al.0rg newer sex/gender models, because who

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