The Science of transgender unmc Science cafe Dr. Jay A. Irwin, Assistant Professor of Sociology Dr. Sofia Jawed-Wessel, Assistant Professor of Public Health

Technical Language Sex Gender Gender Identity Gender Expression Sexual Attraction Sexual Orientation Sexual Behavior

Learning the Alphabet LGBTQQIA: Sexual Minority Populations L = Lesbian G = Gay B = Bisexual T = Transgender Q = Questioning Q = Queer Intersex Ally or Asexual Sexual Minority Populations

Continuum of Identity

Transgender Medical Terms Gender Identity Disorder Old term used by the DSM IV-TR Problematic term for many trans people Gender Dysphoria New term used by the DSM V Still a lot of disagreement within the community Mostly these terms are used by MDs and mental health professionals and are largely medical coding mechanisms Most insurance companies will not pay for things associated with these codes

Transgender Identity Terms Transgender – an umbrella term for people who identify as something other than their sex assigned at birth Transsexual – someone who seeks medical intervention to change their bodies to match their internal sense of gender Male to female (MTF)/Male Assigned At Birth (MAAB)/Trans woman – a person classified as male at birth, but now identifies as something other than male Female to male (FTM)/Female Assigned At Birth (FAAB)/Trans man – a person classified as female at birth, but now identifies as something other than female NOT all trans people are comfortable with this term

Transgender Identity Terms Others include trans*, transmasculine, transfeminine, genderqueer, bigender, agender, genderf*ck, etc. The term that someone identifies with is personal and important Cisgender – someone who is not trans; someone who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth; non-transgender persons

Transgender Terms Pronouns Someone who presents as a woman = feminine pronouns Someone who presents as a man = male pronouns Could be more complicated: Someone who presents female at school, but must work as their birth gender or go by their birth name at home It is ok to respectfully ask someone what pronouns they use Someone who presents as female at school, but due to other factors they work as their birth gender or go by their birth name at home In this instance, if you are a classmate or friend, you should call them the name that they identify with and the pronouns of the gender they identify with It is ok to ask someone what pronouns they would like to be called, as long as it’s asked in a respectful way PGP = preferred gender pronouns

Transgender Terms Gender Neutral Terms Source: http://blogs.uww.edu/prosers2012/2012/05/07/gender-neutral-pronouns-why-not-and-how-to-ish/

Prevalence How many trans people are there in the U.S.? “Official” estimates are 1:30,000 (MtF) and 1:100,000 (FtM) American Psychiatric Association – DSM-IV-TR 2000 Dutch studies 1:10,000 (MtF) and 1:30,400 (FtM) van Kesteren et al. 1996 Broader categorization 1:4,500 (MtF) and 1:8,000 (FtM) Conway 2002 Most recent estimate is around 700,000 trans people in the U.S. (0.3% of the population) Gates 2011

Transition as a Process All persons experience a unique transition experience, but there are some common steps: Social transition Psychological care Hormonal transition Surgical transition There is no one way to transition, and regardless of where one is in this process, the way they identify is the way we should address them

National Support/Advocacy Groups World Professional Association for Transgender Health National Center for Transgender Equality Trevor Project – 24 hour LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline - 1-866-488-7386 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Human Rights Campaign

Local Support Groups River City Gender Alliance PFLAG Cornhusker and PFLAG Omaha Queer Nebraska Youth Networks (14-24 yr olds) Proud Horizons (Omaha) Open Arms Transgender Youth Group (Omaha) Parents of Gender Non-Conforming Children Group (Lincoln)

Local Professional Organizations MSHRC – Midlands Sexual Health Research Collaborative PTRN – Professional Transgender Resource Network

QUESTIONS? From http://www.ontoscopy.net/on-my-way-to-the-marketplace