Scene Four: Thursday, July 12 2007:
Including and Engaging People who are Transgender and Bisexual in the Workplace
Terminology
By Jillian Weiss
It can be difficult to know appropriate terminology so as not to offend anyone. Below is a list of terminologies and their definitions.
"Sexual orientation" refers to an individual's sexual and/or romantic desires, fantasies, and feelings towards others. "Heterosexual" (straight) refers to orientation towards persons of the opposite sex. "Homosexual" (gay or lesbian) refers to orientation towards persons of the same sex.
"Bisexual" (bi) refers to orientation towards persons of more than one sex.
"Gender identity" is an individual's sense of being either male or female, man or woman, or something other or in-between.
Traditional gender identity means you feel connected to your birth sex - a person born male feels like a man Non-traditional gender identity means you feel connected to a different sex - a person born male feels like a woman
"Gender expression" describes the external characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as dress, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions.
"Transgender" is an umbrella term that includes anyone whose gender identity and/or gender expression does not match society's expectations of how an individual who was assigned a particular sex at birth should behave in relation to their gender. The term includes, but is not limited to:
- post-operative transsexuals, who have had sex reassignment surgery (SRS)
- pre-operative and non-operative transsexuals who have not had SRS for a variety of reasons medical, financial or social
- persons exhibiting gender characteristics and identities that are perceived to be
- inconsistent with their gender at birth;
- persons perceived to be androgynous;
- transvestites;
- cross-dressers;
- drag queens or kings.
Transgender is not a sexual orientation; it is a gender identity. A transgender person can have any sexual orientation, and a partner of a transgender person can be of any sex.
Those who are born male and transition to female are known as "transgender women" or "transwomen." Since their gender identity is female, it is not generally appropriate to refer to them as "men." There are about an equal number of people who are born female and transition to male. These are known as "transgender men" or "transmen."
"Transsexuals" are individuals whose gender expression or identity is perceived to conflict with the sex assigned to them at birth, and who begin (or plan to begin) the process of gender transition, consisting of psychotherapy, hormone replacement therapy and/or gender confirmation surgery. Transsexuals are often described as female-to male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF).
"Intersex individuals" are born with chromosomes, external genitalia, and/or an internal reproductive system that varies from what is considered "standard" for either males or females.
Scene Four was the fourth session of the 2007 NW Diversity Learning Series, Life Theater - Inclusion and Engagement: Challenging and Expanding My Diversity Competency: Moving Beyond My Comfort Zone. The Series, held in Seattle, WA, is organized by The GilDeane Group, publishers of DiversityCentral.com.
Presenters were Jillian Weiss, Ph.D., J.D. Principal Consultant, Jillian T. Weiss & Associates, and Assistant Professor of Law and Society, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ, and Robyn Ochs, Ed.M., a professional speaker on bisexual identity and editor of Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World, Boston, MA.