Transcript THE SCIENCE OF TRANSGENDER UNMC SCIENCE CAFE Dr. Jay A. Irwin, Assistant Professor of Sociology Dr.

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:
• 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; nontransgender 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
Transgender Terms
• Gender Neutral
Terms
• Source:
http://blogs.uww.edu
/prosers2012/2012/0
5/07/gender-neutralpronouns-why-notand-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
Q
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