Tag Archives: Trans Woman

Creating A New Wardrobe On A Budget

7 February 2009 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

Transition is expensive. In my wardrobe consultations with a new TG woman, we establish how to begin buying on a basic backbone while incorporating the concept of “Capsule Dressing”.

For example, buying one high quality skirt suit in a solid color and wearing the skirt several times per week. Pair them with less expensive blouses, sweaters or quality cotton T-shirts, from a discount store. Your next good purchase will be a classic dress that could be dressed up with pearls, or down with your classic pump. A black cocktail dress is another basic that you can wear for different occasions, from a dressy dinner to a formal play or opera. Go for a fitted classic line, simple but sophisticated. By using Capsule Dressing, and building your wardrobe on a basic style and color backbone, you will begin to see your wardrobe build and improve. Here are more tips for creating your wardrobe on a budget, emphasis being kept on classic pieces, not fad.

What shoes are best for the TG woman for business?

I suggest an open toe and heel pump in a low heel. A sling back is ideal for the wider foot. A pair of good quality boots for winter and rainy days. Scandals and tennis shoes for summer and Friday casual. Always be sure your shoes are darker than your purse, or outfit. Remember, it is best to keep your heel under 3 inches for business attire. Be sure your pump matches your bag as closely as possible. If you wear a belt, try to match it to your shoe. TG women generally need to wear a woman’s WIDE or an open toe in a medium and Nordstrom’s and PayLess Shoes carry size 10 and over and have several styles in WIDE.

Avoid wearing rhinestones, pearls, black hosiery, or any shiny fabric during the day.

Keep your look casual- sophisticated, and add femininity with colorful scarf’s, blouses, classic jewelry, and feminine accessories. Don’t be afraid to add accessories, they can be a girls best friend. Try fun things; a wool pull over cap or beret for those rainy mornings, or add a matching cashmere scarf and gloves. Straw hat and bag for summer, or pretty clips for your hair. Look in magazines and at other women to get ideas, experiment with how comfortable you are with adding in accessories and changing your look. Also, experiment with different hairstyles, perhaps wearing a French Twist or perhaps pinning a flower behind your ear for evening, gives you another look.

Should you buy expensive hosiery?

I have not found much difference between the two. Stock up on several pair and always watch for a sale. Often a store such as Mervyn’s will have a sale advertised so go early as the best colors fly out of the store; as women purchase 5-10 pair at sales. Also, stores such as K-Mart and Walgreens have some great pantyhose, so don’t feel you have to pay more. Look for the tall sizes in hosiery as they generally fit the TG woman’s frame better. Wear a hosiery color that is as close to your natural skin tone as possible. Always wear darker hose after October and wear lighter hose (scandal foot toe) starting around Easter. Sheer hose run very easily, so I recommend you select hosiery that has some spandex; generally these hose are called mild to medium support. Total support (opaque) hose are ideal for the CD that doesn’t always have the opportunity to shave her legs.

Also, purchase a lingerie bag for your washing machine that zips up. (Available at most retail stores in their lingerie department for under $15.00) Tossing your delicates in this lingerie bag helps to machine-wash your hosiery and bras without ruining them (use the delicate wash cycle). I also use my lingerie bag to wash good sweaters and other more expensive delicate items. I generally don’t use the dryer for my better clothes. Purchase a small clothes line for your garage area and hang 75% of your better clothing, or of course have it dry-cleaned. I recently bought a new Maytag Washing Machine, as it does not have the center spin pole that twists clothing. Consider this the next time you need to purchase a new washer/dryer. Keeping your clothing clean is an important part of looking feminine.

I recommend all my TG women have a “beauty day” (Sat or Sun) when they wash, iron and sew their stained or torn items. And, every 2-3 weeks you’re off to the nail salon to get your acrylic nails filled, and of course make time to color your hair and or eyebrows. Basically, stay ahead of the dressing game; and be prepared for the next week. Gosh, being a girl and looking good is hard work!

Twin sets (shells with a matching cardigan) are ideal for work and for cooler evenings. They also help cover larger upper arms and shoulders. Tunic (open slits on the sides) pantsuits are also ideal for the TG woman. Add one good umbrella, winter coat, and raincoat with a zipper lining.

Need to hide a potbelly?

Jackets and sweater vest hide a barrel shape belly, just add a feminine blouse! Clothing that drapes is better than tight clothing that you tuck. Loose is best, always. Again, a tunic style top is ideal to hide a multitude of sin. Consider waistbands that have elastic and have the blouse or sweater always on the outside. Keep one solid color around the waist area.

What is the best length winter coat to buy? Three-quarter, or knee-length, to go with pants or skirts. Short winter coats generally do not look good with a dress or skirt. And, girls keep your winter coat clean, especially if it is black. Keep a lint brush in your closet.

What’s the best coat choice for everyone?

A trench coat with zip-out lining or a wool knee length in one of your basic colors. Remember to buy your expensive items; such as your winter coat, boots, shoes and leather handbags/wallets, during the off-season in January. Shop stores such as Wilsons Leather for a 50% on your leather or better retail stores have an end of the year sale for these items.

High quality polyester travels well without wrinkling. Also add a few expensive fabrics, a silk blouse and some pretty cashmere sweaters, and wool gabardine suits. I love Jones of New York, Ann Taylor, and Liz Claiborne for great fabrics with lining for my business suits.

Ideally, the best time to buy is twice a year at the beginning of the season.

For TG women a good alterations person is a must. Buy larger tops for your shoulders and longer arm length and have your pants and skirts taken in or purchase tops that do not have buttons or zippers. A good alterations person is a must-do expense. If you prefer to wear hip pads, please wear padding on the smaller size, over time these become annoying. I encourage my TS women to generally not wear a bra over a C cup, and to keep hip padding minimal, if any.

Does dress size matter?

Yes. If you’re a perfect size 10-12 woman, you can buy less expensive clothes and they won’t pull on you. If you’re larger and don’t have a lot to spend, I suggest saving for one good outfit. Also, check for correct dress sizing.

Most TG women will wear Misses or Womens clothing so always measure yourself and understand what category you wear, before ordering anything from a catalog. If you’re able to try on clothing at a department store, you will be happier with your results. Perhaps take your SO or a genetic female with you, if you’re uncomfortable in the dressing room.

How do you draw the eye up to your face and away from larger shoulders and hands?

Wear great earrings and necklaces drawing attention to your face. I always encourage my TG women to not wear large rings or dark nail polish. Keep your nails manicured and have acrylic tips applied at your nail salon, to give your hands a more feminine look. A short to medium length is best, or an athletic length. For mature women, an oval nail shape is generally best, leaving the square tips for the younger women. If you feel your hands are too large, it is best to wear only one thin ring on each hand, or no rings at all. Again, the white French-tip acrylic nails applied at a nail salon are the absolute best effect for large hands.

What it the best jewelry color to buy?

I suggest buying pieces combining both gold and silver. This prevents you from having to buy all your pieces in both colors and this is an important tip to remember when you’re buying your watch. When you’re first beginning to purchase your jewelry buy simple pieces. Another tip I recommend for TG women is to wear jewelry in three of your four jewelry zones. Your four zones for jewelry are: ears, neck, wrist, and fingers. Leave out the zone that you don’t want to bring the most attention to. Wearing all four zones is too much jewelry for a TG woman.

Organizing Your Closet For Transition

Before a new TG woman purchases new clothing for her wardrobe, she should organize her closet and chest of drawers. How do you begin the process of knowing what clothing will work for transition? Get rid of the 50 percent of clothes that you don’t wear and keep clothes you wear most of the time. A good rule is, if you haven’t worn something in 3 years, there is a reason. Toss it out of your closet; you can’t afford a cluttered closet on those busy mornings getting out of the house in your new femme role. (Donate clothing that is in good shape, to a woman’s organization-not GoodWill.) Getting out dressed in femme is much harder than most new TS women anticipate. Remember, time is the enemy. Running late and looking half put together can ruin the experience of transition, and I see this as one of biggest problems encountered by TS women re-entering the work force. Here are a few tips I have learned from helping clients with their closets.

First, install a good light in your closet, and put a door mirror close by. Purchase extra shoe storage and plastic wardrobe boxes for folding your small items. Purchase good hangers (all available from K-Mart) and toss out all those wire hangers. Install hooks to hang necklaces, braclets, belts and purses. Buy a compartmentalized jewelry cabinet for fine jewelry. Use the special hangers designed for your skirts and pants. Keep scarves folded in plastic containers on a shelf for easy access or hang them with the outfits that match.

Next, determine if your prefer putting all your colors together, or putting pieces together, or assembling complete outfits including their accessories, on one hanger. This is very important for you new girls transitioning at work. Have separate drawers for your cotton T-shirts, workout clothes, undergarments, hose and socks. I recently bought a lingerie chest and I love it! They are tall with thin drawers and can easily fit in a corner of your closet or room. Always look for old chest of drawers at garage sales with large, deep drawers. You can always store chests in your closet or room for the clothing you fold.

Some women separate business, casual and evening clothes into different areas of your closet and others (including myself) separate clothing by sizes. In other words your thin clothing and your fat clothing! Consider hanging your evening and cocktail gowns and expensive fabrics in a zippered garment bag in the back of your closet or in another closet in the house. Store dressy shoes, evening bags, and accessories together in plastic (clear) wardrobe boxes, and again K-Mart has these containers. Also, organize your vanity or makeup area with good lighting, mirrors and remember to give your bedroom a new splash of color with a new feminine bed spread and color coordinated throw pillows. Make it fun ladies; this is what you have always wanted, so go for it

I recommend putting a clock nearby with a radio. And, give yourself enough time to get dressed. It is much more time consuming to pull yourself together as a woman. It takes time, energy, shopping, and it requires you to get up at least one hour earlier in the morning. By being organized, and having at least 5 outfits fully coordinated (like a uniform) you will find getting out of the house to be a more enjoyable experience ~ therefore helping you create success in your new femme role.

Now, get busy with organizing your closet!

2008, by Denaë Doyle @femimage.com

Transgender News

Skin Care Tips For Trans Women

9 December 2008 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

I recently spoke with a beautiful woman, who is 74 years old, and looks 50. She shared a few of her “natural, in-expensive” skin care tips.

1. Avoid soaking in your bathtub, or taking long showers–as this destroyus the substances that keep skin cells intact. And, avoid bath oils in the bath-as the oil is wasted going down the drain and can make for a slippery tub to fall in. Oils are best applied when you get of of the bath or shower, after you are well rinsed off and gently towel dried.

2. Use a pure plant oil, such as olive oil, after your mositurizer over dry areas. She has used olive oil for over 50 years. I have read about using olive in, in many other beauty books also! I always put lip balm at night to prevent dry lips, which allows day time lipstick to smoothly glide across. And, gloss (or “Chap Stick” during the day, if in guy mode).

3. Lastly, get rid of all the dry, dead skin! We have many layers of skin, and if you have never removed the first layer…you will be shocked at how gray your top layer of skin is. Turn skin cell over with a good AHA or BHA- which can be found in your local drug store. Ask for help. Many men use this, for a healthy, younger look in guy mode. Shaving does help, but you do need additional help to remove the years of buildup of old skin cells and allowing them to be replaced by newer, smoother ones. So, for these beauty tips, visit your grocery store, or drug store, and get your skin ready or summer ~ and for a smoother look while wearing makeup!

Also, don’t forget to wear sunblock on your chest and arms for protection, and to avoid the “male shirt-tan” which is difficult to hide …when wearing a lovely open cut blouse. And, wear a hat and sun-glasses to protect your eyes from getting burned also! Now, I’m off to the beach, with my hair, eyes, and skin protected! After all, I am in Santa Cruz, CA just one mile from the beach!

2008, Dane @femimage.com

Transgender News

Ten Transgender Voice Tips

7 February 2008 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

1. WATCH OUT FOR DRYNESS.

Dry climates, excessive talking, poor intake of water or clear liquids, and too much caffeine (to name a few) will dry out the throat and vocal folds. When the vocal folds become dry, they become stiffer, which makes it much harder to control your pitch. You may experience more pitch and voice breaks when your dehydrated. Depending on body size and the climate where you live, most TG women should consume between two and four liters of water daily. Remember the saying, “pee pale.”

2. GET YOUR BEAUTY REST.

Poor sleep is near the top of the list of problems that have a negative impact on the voice. Inadequate sleep results in physical fatigue causing a loss of mental focus on your voice techniques. Common remedies include the use of ear plugs, eye shades and room darkening window coverings. Also avoid caffeine, sugar, and junk food. Practice meditative or breathing relaxation techniques on a regular basis and go to bed when you’re tired, don’t resist sleep.

3. AVOID YOUR SMOKING AND USE OF ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND MARIJUANA.

Alcohol and most recreational drugs (i.e., cocaine) have a significant drying and irritating effect on the vocal folds. Marijuana and cigarette smoke are highly irritating to the delicate issues (mucosa) of the vocal folds. The heat and dry smoke “burn” the vocal mucosa causing redness, swelling (in some cases) and poor vibration.

4. AVOID THROAT CLEARING.

The vocal folds make contact (vibrate) every time you make a sound. When you clear your throat, the vocal folds “slap” together, which, if done excessively, will irritate your vocal folds. Sip water instead of clearing your throat. Keep a water bottle (near room temperature) with you at all times. If you experience excessive mucous and feel it’s impossible to avoid clearing your throat, contact your doctor-there may be medical problems underlying the excessive mucous production.

5. DO YOU SUFFER FROM ACID REFLUX?

Gastroesphageal reflux is a medical problem that requires diagnosis and treatment by your physician. Symptoms of gastric reflux are not always consistent with heart-burn. If you experience excessive mucous, a bitter taste in your mouth, a rough “morning” voice, or frequent belching, you may have acid reflux. Contact your doctor. Acid is a problem for the TG woman’s voice because the chronic irritation to the vocal folds from stomach acid will make it very difficult for you to have a “beautiful” feminine voice.

6. AVOID EXCESSIVE LOUD TALKING.

When environmental background noise is high, when we’re talking on the telephone, or in the car, there is a natural phenomenon to push the voice (called the Lombard Effect). This vocal strain can create vocal fold irritation and leave you with a rough, husky voice. The solution is to learn techniques for controlling airflow and reducing tension in the neck when you speak in noise.

7. BREATHE RIGHT FOR A BETTER VOICE.

The single best technique you can learn for your voice is abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing. There are many ways to learn these techniques. Learn to speak from your diaphragm.

8. THAT DARN TELEPHONE.

“Yes, sir,” may be two of the most annoying words when you’re speaking to someone on the telephone. The answer to this problem is to warm-up your voice and “tune” your pitch before you makes calls. Use an upward inflection when you speak. Avoid speaking in a whisper.

9. WHEN YOU’RE SICK (with a cold).

Acute laryngitis occurs when your sick with the flu or a bacterial infection. The “common cold” sometimes affect the voice, and when it does your pitch will drop significantly. Treat your cold, rest your voice, drink plenty of water and warm-up gently. When in doubt REST YOUR VOICE.

10. MEDICATION.

Some medications (like tricyclic antidepressants and decongestants for treating allergies) have a drying effect. The solution is to speak with your doctor about your medications if you are experiencing excessive dryness that does not resolve by increasing your hydration.

Interview with Denae Doyle and Kathy Perez Voice Pathlogiost in CO.

2008 – Denae Doyle ~ @femimage.com

Transgender News

Lingerie Glossary

7 February 2008 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

Lingerie Glossary 101 ~ Cruious about what to call our feminine unmentionables?

Ladies, I am often asked about feminine terms. Now you don’t have to be curious about a name, phrase or word related to womens lingerie. Here are the most important terms you will need when shopping, I like to call it ~ Lingerie Glossary 101

Now you will know from A to Z the correct name, terms and fabrics used to describe womans lingerie; the types of frabric, the different names of hosiery, different names for specific bras, panties, bustier, bridal lingerie, camisole, and all the other unmentionables!

Adjustable Back: The back of a garment, usually a bra, which has multiple settings to allow for individual sizing preferences. Typically, adjustments are made with hook-and-eye closures.

Adjustable Shoulder Straps: Straps located on bras, shapewear, chemises, slips and other undergarments that allow for shortening or lengthening that provide wearer with the desired fit.

Air Bra: Bra that contains air-filled pads in the cups for a fuller, natural shape. Many CD’s enjoy the natural look. Also, Gel Bra gives that nice silicon feel.

All Over Shaper: Type of women’s shapewear bodysuit designed to hold a woman’s breast, stomach, buttocks etc. in a particular position of an aesthetically pleasing silhouette.

Arthritis Bra: Bra designed especially for women with limited hand or upper body dexterity resulting from arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, torn rotator cuff, or other limiting conditions. The features of an Arthritis Bra may include larger hook closures, Velcro or loop closures for easy dressing. Helpful for many CD’s with wider shoulders.

Athletic Underwear: Varied range of underwear that is generally worn for athletic pursuits: the gym, sports, running, biking etc. Some features of athletic underwear may include wicking power (draws moisture away from your body), compression (for energy conservation and muscle support), mesh (for ventilation), specific silhouettes (tank tops) and stretch (for body-hugging security during athletic activity and a body-conscious look for fit men and women).

Average-Figure Bra: Bra that offers light to moderate support, with narrow straps, back and sides. Average-Figure Bras usually made from slightly firmer material.

Baby Doll: Woman’s short nightgown sometimes with lace, ruffles, bows and ribbons, optionally with spaghetti straps. Sometimes Baby Dolls are made of sheer cloth, like chiffon.

Back Closure: Part of the bra that hooks together behind the back and consists of two or three rows of hook-and-eye clasps.

Backless Bra: Style of bra that usually fastens low on the back so it can be worn with backless gowns.

Back Seams: Stitched seam running from heel to buttock on the back of stockings or shapewear designed to give the leg a sexy line and lean appearance.

Balconet or Balcony Bra: Bra styled to create a lifted, fuller round look with push-up features, wide straps and a low-cut décolletage.

Banded Underwire: A bra with a Banded Underwire has an extra piece of fabric below the underwire to give extra control.

Band-less Underwire In a bra with a Band-less Underwire, the underwire is the bottom of the bra. This look is designed to be more natural.

Bikini: A women’s panty or men’s brief style cut in the shape of a swim bikini. They usually offer more coverage than a thong and less than a standard brief. Typically, this brief sits far below the navel and low on the hips but is slightly higher than a low-ride or hipster cut. The sides are usually high cut, occasionally with strings, or with thin widths of fabric that connect the front to the back.

Bodice: The portion of a woman’s garment that covers the upper part of a woman’s body, including the breasts.

Bodysuit: Garment made from stretchy opaque fabric, similar to that of a leotard, which covers the entire body from neck to ankle.

Boning: Originally, corsets and bustiers were given their structured form by stitching whalebone, or similar bone, into the garment. Today, similar yet less restrictive garments are structured with man-made “bones” as support. Boning creates a defined waistline and shapely torso. Boning is also used in some bras to achieve a certain shape and support.

Boot Length Sock: Slightly longer men’s sock style designed to be worn with boots.

Bottom Shaper: Type of shapewear designed to shape a woman’s buttocks. For CD’s look for the highest waistband that will not roll down. Look for a thick band, under your bra.

Boyshort: Panty designed for women with higher cut leg holes and lower riding waistline. Legs usually rest just above or at the buttock-thigh crease, with the waist on or below the hip. Also known as “Boylegs”.

Bra Size: A Bra Size is made up of a number (in inches), determined by measuring around the body over the largest portion of the breasts (e.g. 34, 36, 38, etc.); and a letter, determined by measuring under the breasts, then calculating the difference between the two numbers (e.g. B, C, D, etc.). Examples of bra sizes would be 34B, 36C (the average size), 38D, etc.

Brassiere: Long form of Bra, a woman’s undergarment worn to support and give contour to the breasts.

Breast Forms: Silicon breast forms that fit in many bras for the CD. There are also “TABS” which look exactly like silicon breast forms but are not silicon and are much less expensive. Look for a bra with insert. Or, a breast form that you can hold on with Velcro .

Bridal Lingerie: Type of bras, bustiers, corsets etc. characterized by sensual attributes (sheer fabric, decorative flourish, racy silhouette) that are worn on wedding nights or for similarly seductive situations.

Brief: Close fitting, knitted undergarment with an elastic waistband, with or without an overlapping fly front. Originally inspired by the brief swimsuits worn in the South of France in the 1930s.

Bustier: A bustier is a one-piece garment that uses flexible boning to give a desired shape. Its length varies, going from the bust, down to anywhere between the rib cage and the hips.

Bust Shaper: Type of shapewear designed to hold a woman’s bust in particular form.

Camisole: A garment fashioned to wear under blouses, suits, etc. that covers from bust to waist. Usually sleeveless, camisoles – or camis – traditionally offer little if any breast support, though some modern styles now incorporate a sewn-in bra for additional support. Some contemporary styles are worn as outerwear.

Camisole Straps: Camisole straps are usually found on full-figure bras. This type of strap is actually an extension of the cup, and give a smooth shoulder line.

Camouflage: Inspired by military fatigues designed to help hide troupes in the jungle, camouflage is a random pattern usually consisting of earth tones and is sometimes used as a print on trendy undergarments.

Casual: A broad hosiery term used to describe all women’s sock and any men’s socks with the exception of dress, athletic, and work styles.

Chantilly Lace: A delicate ornamental lace usually in black or white with an outlined design pattern. Typically floral, these designs are sometimes used to embellish women’s underwear.

Charmeuse: A shiny, opaque fabric.

Chemise: A woman’s sleeveless undergarment or loose-fitting dress that hangs straight from the shoulder without a waist.

Chest/Back Shaper: Shapewear piece designed to hold a woman’s chest and/or back in particular form.

Chiffon: An extremely light, thin and sheer fabric usually made of nylon, rayon or silk.

Clear Straps: Transparent straps on bras made from stretch synthetics, such as polyethtlene, meant to be worn with garments where strap invisibility is desired. Clear straps can be at the shoulders and also between the cups in order to accommodate plunging necklines.

Cleavage: The clef, separation or hollow visible between a woman’s breasts when a low-cut garment is worn.

Combed Cotton: Type of extra-soft cotton. When cotton or another fabric is “combed” the shortest, additional fibers of a batch are removed. The result produces high-quality yarns with excellent strength and softness.

Comfort Top: A wide ribbed nylon band that holds sheer knee-highs up without cramping the calf.

Comfort Straps: Various types of bra straps that can be cushioned, made from gel or constructed wider for more comfort around the shoulder area.

Compression Bra: A bra designed to hold the breasts firmly against the body and restrict their movement. Compression Bras may be used for minimizing or for athletic endeavors, such as running.

Compression Underwear: Performance underwear that utilizes body-hugging synthetic fabrics for muscle support during athletic endeavors.

Contour Bra: A bra designed to help create a shapely silhouette. Typically padded, contour bras usually have underwires and provide shape and support. A Contour Bra also designed not to show, providing a natural look.

Control Brief: A panty shaped like a brief but designed to flatten the tummy and give support while providing a smooth silhouette.

Control Panty: A panty that is designed to provide support and enhance the shape of the tummy, bottom and waist.

Control Top Pantyhose with spandex in the top for soft girdle or “control” effect.

Convertible Bra: A bra that is designed with straps that may facilitate a variety of styles. The straps may be moved, removed and/or adjusted to create looks such as halter, strapless, crisscross or open back. A Convertible Bra is an innovation that gives women flexibility with a single garment. The straps can be worn or detached, or can be crisscrossed in the back like a halter top.

Corset: Type of tight-fitting, body-enhancing undergarment used for centuries by women to create an hour glass-shaped silhouette. Modern lingerie variations of the corset tend to be less restrictive and more comfortable.

Cotton: A unicellular, natural fiber that grows in the seedpod of the cotton plant. Fibers are typically 0.5 inch to 2 inches long. The longest staple fibers, longer than 1.5 inch, including the Pima and Egyptian varieties, produce the highest quality cotton fabrics. Underwear made from Pima cotton is known for its super-soft, luxurious qualities.

Crew Neck: Term that applies to a T-shirt with a neckline that forms a round, collarless circle around the neck.

Cut and Sewn Cups: Cut and sewn cups have seams because they’re made of two or three pieces of material sewn together. The seams of Cut and Sewn Cups will show through clothing.

Décolletage: A low neckline on a woman’s garment.

Demi Bra: Low-cut bra designed to enhance the cleavage.

Demi Cups: The fabric triangle of the bra that covers the breast, designed proportionate to half a full cup, the demi typically runs straight across the breast just above the nipple and has a low center front.

Drawstring Waist: A waistband designed with a fabric chord that can be pulled to adjust to an individual’s own size.

Dress Socks: Light to medium weight men’s and boy’s styles. Lengths may vary from mid to over-the-calf.

Drip Dry: Allowing recently washed garments to dry naturally by lying flat or hanging. Most lingerie requires this method to retain structure and it is recommended that sun be avoided.

Elastane: A fabric designed with elasticity that adds stretch.

Elastic: A band of rubber or latex that has the property of high elasticity. Used for the waistband of certain styles of underwear.

Embossed: Embellished with a raised pattern created by pressure or embroidery – “brocaded silk”, “embossed satin”, “embossed leather”, “raised needlework” etc.

Embroidery: Decorative designs made from needlework or machines.

Fishnet: An open mesh fabric that has the appearance of netting and is often used to make stockings.

Flatlock Seams: Seams that are sewn flat for less bulk and less abrasion against the skin.

Frame: The frame of a bra holds the cups and sides together, and runs from the center of the bra, around the cups, and around to the sides.

Footsocks: Hosiery with a top which does not extend above the ankle bone. Also known as “footies”.

Front Close: A type of bra closure that is usually hook, barrel or clasp that rests between the breasts in the center front.

Full Brief: A panty style that rests at the waist and has full bottom coverage with a low leg line.

Full Cup Coverage Bra: A bra with the fabric cup covering and encapsulating the entire breast.

Full-Figured Bra: Bra designed for sizes 32-42C, D, or DD, and covers a larger area than average bras. The fabric used is heavier, the straps are wider and sometimes padded for extra comfort.

Full Support Bra: Type of bra that usually has an underwire or plastic boning holding them up. They can be worn by women of any breast size, and are specially suited for those with larger cup sizes. These bras offer a shapely cut and are built more like bikini tops than underwear. These also come in padded or unpadded version and are flattering on any figure type.

Fully-Padded Bra: A fully-padded bra is designed to give a smooth look, meaning it doesn’t show any seams, and uses fiberfill or foam to enhance the size of small breasts by up to a full size.

G-String: A panty with a very thin (string-like) band of fabric in the back.

Gown: A long dress or sleepwear item, usually floor or ankle length.

Gripper Elastic: Elastic designed to gently grip the skin to hold garment in place. This type of elastic is often seen on strapless bras or thigh-high stockings.

Gusset: The triangular or rectangular usually cotton lining in the crotch area of the panty or shapewear.

Halter Neck: A dress, bra or undergarment style where the fabric wraps behind and around the neck for support. Halters may tie, clasp or be an uninterrupted piece of fabric that slides over the head.

High-Cut Panty: A panty cut high over the thigh and sides but with total back coverage.

Hikini: Panty variation on traditional brief or bikini featuring higher cut leg-holes for a longer leg.

Hip Shaper: Shapewear piece designed to hold a woman’s hips in particular form.

Hipster: Type of panty or brief that is cut low in the front and back. This style of underwear was developed to be worn under low-rise jeans and trousers and also for those who wish to make their torso appear longer. See also Low-Rise.

Hook and Eye: A closure or fastener used to secure bras, corsets, some shapewear and other garments and which allows for adjustability. The fastener includes a small hook secured to one side of the garment that grasps a small partial oval secured to the other side.

Hook Back: A term for garment closures that secure in the back with one or multiple hooks.

Hook Front: A term for garment closures that secure in the front with usually one or sometimes multiple hooks.

Hosiery: Socks and stockings.

Interlock: The stitch variation of the rib stitch, which resembles two separate 1 x 1 ribbed fabrics that are interknitted. Plain (double knit) interlock stitch fabrics are thicker, heavier and more stable than single knit constructions.

Jacquard: Type of fabric weave that creates the effect of an intricate pattern or print.

Jersey Knit: A knit fabric – which can be cotton, silk, wool or synthetic – that has a smooth, flat face and a more textured, but uniform back. Used for panties, briefs, t-shirts, socks and other garments.

Kimono: A loose, light robe worn chiefly by women.

Knee-Highs: Short hosiery that comes up to just below the knee. Some are styled with elastic tops and stay up without the help of garters. They became very popular with the advent of women’s slacks. Knee high socks are also a men’s style of socks that run up to the knee.

Knit Fabric: Fabrics made from only one set of yarns, all running in the same direction. Some knits have their yarns running along the length of the fabric, while others have their yarns running across the width of the fabric. Knit fabrics are held together by looping the yarns around each other. Knitting creates ridges in the resulting fabric. Wales are the ridges that run lengthwise in the fabric; courses run crosswire.

Lace Bra: Provocative style of bra made entirely or almost entirely of lace.

Lace Edging: A type of garment trim sometimes used in lingerie comprised of selvedge lace fabric that is applied to necklines, hems, straps etc. for a decorative flourish.

Lace-Up Back: A closure in the back of a garment, such as a bustier that is a fashionable adjustment device.

Lace-Up Front: A closure in the front of a garment, such as a bustier that is a fashionable adjustment device.

Lace-Up Side: A closure on the side or sides of a garment, such as a bustier that is a fashionable adjustment device.

Laminated: Bonded layers of fabric or cloth.

Ladder Stitching: Garment stitching that resembles ladder rungs.

Latex Free Bra: Bra that is devoid of latex designed to be worn by women who are allergic to latex. A Latex Free Bra can contain nylon and spandex elastic.

Leather: Animal hide.

Leg Shaper: Shapewear piece designed to hold a women’s legs in particular form.

Leotard: Skintight knit hose covering the body from the waist to the feet worn by acrobats and dancers and as stockings by women and girls.

Lounge Pants: Loose-fitting pants constructed from soft, flowy fabrics designed for wearing while relaxing.

Lining: A layer of fabric sewn into the underside of a garment designed to add comfort and create smooth lines.

Liquid Filled Bra: Type of bra or bra insert which features cup pads filled with water for women who desire a curvier bust silhouette.

Long Line Bra: Bra whose fabric extends down to the navel or waist for a bodice effect.

Long Underwear: Type of long (ankle length), fitted drawers, usually in a heavier-knit cotton or cotton blend, often with a waffled texture. Also referred to as long johns because they were first worn by John L. Sullivan as a boxing outfit in public.

Loungewear: Clothing suitable for lounging, such as pajamas, slips, robes, loose-fitting t-shirts, etc.

Low Back Bra: Bra with low back strap designed to be worn with backless dresses.

Low-Rise or Low-Rider: Style of underwear that sits low on the hips for an invisible look when worn under low-rise jeans and trousers.

Lycra: An extremely elastic fiber made of synthetic fiber, originally trademarked by DuPont, for an elastomeric effect.

Maternity Bra: Type of bra that provides extra support, and is expandable, using stretch fabric, to grow with the expectant mother as her pregnancy matures.

Maternity Panty: Type of panty made from fabric designed to stretch to fit during pregnancy. Maternity Panties often have no seams or elastic in the front for further comfort.

Matte: A type of finish or fabric style with a flat, non-shiny look.

Merino Wool: Type of soft wool that is gleaned during the sheep’s second or third shearing. After the third shearing, wool grows back coarser and thicker.

Mesh: Type of fabric, often made of synthetic, that is full of small openings like a net. Used for lingerie/underwear as fabric for a full piece or as inserts for an effect that is intended to be either sensual or athletic, or both.

Microfiber: An extremely fine synthetic fiber that can be woven into textiles with the texture and drape of natural-fiber cloth but with enhanced stretch, washability, breathability, and water repellency.

Minimizer Bra: Type of bra that shapes the breasts outward to reduce projection, while maintaining support.

Molded Bra: Type of bra that has cups which are machine molded. Molded Bra cups are shaped to give the breast a natural look. Molded Bras are usually unlined and may be either soft cup or underwire. They are seamless to create a smooth silhouette, unless overlaid with lace.

Multi-Pack: Identical underwear items that come packaged in groups of 2 or more.

Natural Fiber: Linen, wool, silk and cotton. Natural fibers were used for all undergarments until the development of synthetics in the 20th century.

Nightgown: A loose garment worn in bed by women and girls.

Nightshirt: A long, loose shirt worn in bed.

Non-Stretch Straps: Non-stretch straps, also known as rigid straps, are usually used for sports bras or full-figured bras.

Novelty Underwear: Underwear item that has special, often light-hearted characteristics, i.e. shiny satin men’s thongs or heart-print boxer shorts. Novelty Underwear is sometimes associated with Valentine’s Day.

No-Wire Bra: Type of bra with no underwires designed for increased comfort. Some No-Wire bras give light to moderate support, for petite to average figures. Others furnish full support.

Nursing Bra: A nursing bra is an extra-support bra that comes with removable flaps on the cups, allowing a new mother to nurse her baby without totally removing her bra.

Nylon: A synthetic fiber that, along with polyester, made underwear fabrics more user-friendly by being easily washed and wrinkle-resistant.

Opaque: Material or fabric which is impervious to light and cannot be seen through.

Padded Bras: Type of bra with padded fiberfill cups. Padding is designed to add size and definition for a well-proportioned look to smaller bust lines.

Pajamas: Loose-fitting nightclothes worn for sleeping or lounging.

Panty: A general term for women’s undergarments. Panties come in a variety of styles but are specific to coverage of the female region.

Pantyhose: Nylon, silk or other material that stretches to fit next to skin and covers legs from hip to toe, or with open foot.

Petite-Figure Bra: A Petite-Figure bra is the smallest type of bra designed for women with smaller busts and are usually made of lightweight stretchy material.

Pima Cotton: A very strong, yet very smooth and soft, high-grade cotton of medium staple developed from selected Egyptian cottons in the southwest United States.

Piping: A twisted cord covered with a biased-cut fabric that is inserted into seams or garment edges as decorative detail and to add structure.

Plus Size: An extra long or oversized clothing size.

Polyamide: A synthetic fabric with wrinkle-resistant capabilities.

Polyester: Large class of synthetic fabrics known for their wrinkle resistance.

Pouch: The fabric triangle creating the cup area in a man’s thong or g-string.

Pull-On Bra: Type of bra made of stretchy material designed to be pulled on and are devoid of hook and eye closures.

Push-Up Bra: A Push-Up Bra uses padding and wires to push the breasts up, thus enhancing the cleavage and giving a fuller look.

Queen Size: Stockings, pantyhose, or knee-highs sized to fit the heavier woman. Queen size is usually considered an extension of standard garments into a larger size. Outsize, on the other hand, is considered a separate category of merchandise altogether.

Racer-Back Bra: Type of bra named after racing swimsuits that also have straps meeting in a V shape on the back between the shoulder blades. This bra style is designed to be worn with sleeveless tops, and also prevents straps from slipping off the shoulders.

Rayon: Any of several synthetic textile fibers sometimes used for underwear, which are produced by forcing a cellulose solution through fine spinnerets and solidifying the resulting filaments.

Reinforced: The stress areas such as the toe or panty portion which have been strengthened with yarns of heavier denier.

Rib Knit: Type of knit with raised ridges that has a very high degree of elasticity in the crosswire direction. Ribbed knits can be used for complete underwear pieces, such as briefs, boxer briefs, tees and tanks, and is also used for trim on such garments (leg bands, cuffs, neck bands).

Rings and Slides: Rings and slides are the mechanisms used to adjust the length of the straps and may be placed in the front or in the back of the bra, depending on how smooth a look is desired.

Robe: A long, loose-flowing outer garment.

Sandalfoot Hosiery: Type of hosiery with a nude toe, meaning no heavier yarn is used in the toe than in the leg.

Satin: A smooth fabric of silk or rayon which has a glossy face and a dull back.

Seamless Bra: A seamless bra uses a single piece of fabric for the cups, so there’s no stitching on the cups, giving a bra-less look.

Shaper: A style of lingerie created to provide support, shape and control.

Shapewear: Modern term for fitted women’s underwear, especially a girdle, that is designed to hold a part of the body in particular form.

Sheer: Thin, fine and transparent fabric.

Sheer-To-The-Waist: Pantyhose without visible panty line or reinforcement in the panty portion. It is an all-sheer garment from waist to toe.

Shelf Bra: Same as Demi Bra.

Shimmer: Reflective finish on fabric, usually satin, that creates a subtle shine effect.

Silicone Cups: A type of bra cup filled with silicone as opposed to fabric options to create a smooth natural look.

Silk: Fine lustrous fiber composed mainly of fibroin and produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons, especially the strong, elastic, fibrous secretion of silkworms used to make thread and fabric. Silk fabric is sometimes used for men’s and women’s underwear.

Silk Knit: Silk fabric designed with stretchable blend to fit and stretch with the body.

Slip: A woman’s undergarment of dress length with shoulder straps.

Sleepwear: Garments designed to worn for sleep, such as boxer shorts, slips, camisoles, pajamas, etc.

Sock: A short stocking reaching a point between the ankle and the knee.

Soft-Cup Bra: A Soft-Cup Bra uses elastic under the cups for support, as opposed to wire.

Softel: Synthetic performance fabric with advanced absorption and wicking power. See Wicking.

Spandex: Synthetic stretch fabric or fiber made from polyurethane.

Sports Bra: A sports bra, sometimes known as an activity bra, is specially designed to eliminate bounce (as much as possible), for use in any activity that involves a lot of movement. The cotton-lined cups are high at the front and sides for support, and they have a comfort underband with non-curl elastic to stop it from riding up. They may also have a non-slip Velcro fastening strap.

Sports Sock: Sock with extra padding which differs according to where the protective padding is placed – ball, toes, instep, heel, arch, shin – how thick the padding is and what materials they are made of.

Stockings: Hosiery styled from above the knee or mid-thigh to toe.

Stretch Lace: Lace designed with stretch ability to create form fit.

Strapless Bra: A strapless bra has no shoulder straps, and is especially designed for wear with evening gowns and other sleeveless wear.

Stretch Straps: Stretch straps use low-stretch elastic to give more control and comfort, while reducing bounce.

String Bikini: A bikini panty with high cut leg line, thin string sides and full back coverage.

Tactel: Registered brand of synthetic performance fabric known for its springy, lightweight construction and wicking power.

Taffeta: A stiff lustrous silk or silk-type fabric with a slight rib.

Tailored: Garments designed to have the appearance of being custom fit and cut. Typically fitted to the body.

Tanga: A lingerie pant style that has thin straps across the hips. Similar to a boy short but slightly higher in the waist and lower in the leg.

Tank Top: Sleeveless shirt for men or women.

Teddy: Lingerie item that combines a camisole with a panty. A Teddy can be fitted to the body or loose and is worn either under clothing or as sleepwear.

Thermal Underwear: Long sleeve pullover or long underwear made in thick cotton or cotton blend with a waffled texture designed to retain heat for winter wear.

Thigh-Highs: Stockings that just reach the thigh and are held up by elastomer bands.

Thigh Shaper: Shapewear piece designed to hold a woman’s thighs in particular form.

Thong: An underwear style for both men and women with a thin fabric back that rests between the buttocks.

Thong Back: Term defining the back of a panty denoting the thin strip of material resting between the buttocks and exposing most or all of this area.

Thong Panty: A panty with a thin fabric back that rests between the buttocks, exposing the area.

Tie Back: A type of closure involving ties or laces that ties or fastens in the back.

Tie Belt: The sash or fabric used to tie a robe or Kimono that holds it closed.

Tie Front: A type of closure involving ties or laces that fastens in the front.

Tights: A heavy, opaque one-piece garment from hip to toe worn with leotards for dance, exercise, etc. It is usually made with 40 denier yarn and over and is sometimes made of yarn other than nylon.

T-Shirt: A knitted undershirt with short sleeves, usually a crew neck, although sometimes produced with a V-neck.

T-Shirt Bra: Type of seamless, contour cup bra designed to appear invisible under form fitting clothing. T-shirt Bras are absent of lace or ornamentation.

Tummy Shaper: Sometimes called a “tummy tamer”, this shapewear garment is designed to hold a woman’s stomach in particular form.

Undergarment: A garment to be worn under another, see also Underwear.

Underwear: Clothing or an article of clothing worn next to the skin and under other clothing. Examples of underwear include: briefs, boxers, panties, bras etc.

Underwire Bra: An underwire bra has a wire that runs under the cups for extra support.

Unmentionable: Term, used as a noun, to indicate an undergarment. Use arose in the Victorian era at the close of the 19th century when it was considered improper to mention the name of an undergarment by its actual name in public.

Vent: Predetermined slit, especially on the legs of boxer shorts, that provides more freedom of movement.

V-Neck: Neckline on a t-shirt that dips into a “V” in the front.

Velcro: Closure consisting of a piece of fabric of small hooks that sticks to a corresponding fabric of small loops.

Velvet: A cotton, silk or nylon fabric with a dense soft and usually lustrous pile and plain underside.

Viscose: A type of rayon with a soft and silky feel made from a cellulose solution.

Waist Shaper: Shapewear piece designed to hold a woman’s waist in particular form.

Wicking: Certain fabric’s ability to pull moisture away from the skin, allowing it to evaporate in order to keep the wearer cool and dry.

Wings: Side panels of a bra typically found in the larger or plus size cups that provide support in the bust area and under the arms.

Wool: Fiber or fabric made from the fleece of sheep or lamb. Wool also refers to all animal hair fibers, including the hair of the Cashmere or Angora goat or the specialty hair fibers of the camel, alpaca, llama or vicuna.

Woven Fabric: Fabrics composed of two sets of yarns. One set of yarns, the warp, runs along the length of the fabric. The other set of yarns, the fill or weft, is perpendicular to the warp. Woven fabrics are held together by weaving the warp and the fill yarns over and under.

Wrap-Around Elastic Band: In a bra with a wrap-around elastic band, the frame has an elastic band running completely around the bra, keeping it in place. It’s commonly used in sports bras.

Zipper Front: Womens garment with zip closure that opens and closes in the front.

2008, Denae Doyle ~ Femininity Coach ~ @femimage.com

Transgender News

Etiquette and Dining Tips for The New Trans Woman

7 February 2008 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

Are you really nervous about going out to eat en femme? Know you’re not alone, this is an important right of TG passage, and all “new women” have these normal concerns. I often see very well groomed TG women who have spent endless hours on perfecting their makeup and clothing, revert back to their male conditioned habits, when the food arrives.

Etiquette is an extremely important aspect of being a lady, so next time– think about how you’re being perceived by others before you begin chowing down while you’re beautifully dressed.

Here are some helpful dinning tips to consider before your next luncheon or dinner.

Check out the restaurant ahead of time. That way you’ll know exactly what’s on the menu what you might want to order, what other women are wearing and where the rest rooms are located.

Always take your coat off when entering, and carry your coat and handbag to the table. Spread your coat open and lay it across the chair (sitting on the inside of the coat) placing the collar over the back of the chair. Place a small handbag next to you in your chair, or a larger one beside your foot. Please don’t hang your coat over the back of the chair, and don’t leave your purse on the table or on the floor where others could trip on it.

Be polite. Make an effort to speak softly and say “please” and “thank you” to your server as well as to your host and call them by name. Smile! A smile is an important part of being a woman. Always tip well, so you are welcome to return the next time you are dressed and want a safe place where you feel welcome.

Are you not sure what utensil to use? My mother taught me an easy way to remember what to use when. Start at the outside and work your way in. Your salad fork will be on the far left; your entree fork will be next to it. Your dessert spoon and fork will be above your plate.

Generally, liquids are on your right, solids on your left. For example, your water glass will be on the right and your bread plate will be on the left.

The very first thing you do, once everyone is seated is put your napkin on your lap.

Remember what your mother spent years telling you – keep your elbows off the table, sit up straight and don’t talk with your mouth full!

Slow down, men generally eat very fast. I recommend you eat a small snack before you go out and always stop fluids 2 hours before leaving.

Keep your voice soft. Set your utensil down between bites.

Pat (don’t wipe) your mouth with your napkin. Use a straw for your cold beverage.

If you need to, apply lipstick only at the table; do not apply other makeup. Excuse yourself to go the ladies room for makeup touch-up and hair. Ladies, always and get in and out of the ladies room as quickly as possible. Limit your conversation in the restroom. Please realize women wash and dry their hands!

During the Meal:

Don’t order messy food – pasta with lots of sauce, chicken with bones, ribs, big sandwiches, large portions and whole lobsters are all dangerous. Try food a woman would order, such as a salad.

Do order food that is easy to cut into bite-size pieces. Ladies always leave some food on their plate!

The polite way to eat soup is dip your spoon away. There’s less chance of spilling in your lap that way too!

Break your dinner roll or bread into small pieces and eat a piece at a time.

If you need to leave the table, put your napkin on the seat or the arm of your chair.

When you’ve finished eating, move your knife and fork to the “four o’clock” position so the server knows you’re done.

Remember to try and relax, listen, and participate in the conversation. Females are very animated listeners. Smile! You can always ask your dinner guest questions as this avoids bringing up the subject of your own transgendered expression and feeling the need to always discuss it.

If you take your cell phone, leave it off unless you have Caller ID or the caller is expecting a woman to answer. It could be embarrassing having to speak using a male voice.

Alcohol:

It’s wise not to drink more than a glass of wine while out in your new femme role. Passing effectively while out is touch enough without adding alcohol to the mix. Also, if you will be driving you will enjoy the evening more if you don’t stress about being pulled over– while en femme.

After the Meal:

Put your napkin on the table next to your plate.

Realize many TG women forget their social graces when they are nervous and when they’re hungry. Again, please remember to eat slowly, with your mouth closed, while taking small bites. You may be able to speak with your mouth full-with your guy friends- but not so when dressed.

If a lady must smoke, she should be considerate of the feelings and needs of those around her.

Think of female conversation to have during and after dinner.

If you’re eating alone. Have cash to pay for your dinner. Unless you have female ID and credit cards. (You might have to show your ID with a credit card). If eating with a gentleman, women can share in the cost of the meal, depending upon the circumstances. Women eating together will generally pay for what each of them has ordered, and most often will not split the bill, as men generally do.

Put your coat on at the door, not at the table. Find your keys and place your purse into position before stepping outside.

Walking, gesturing, sitting and rising from your chair correctly will top off the perfect dinning experience. While passing is important; if you’re a kind and interesting person who dresses with integrity and respect, you’ll be accepted in most circumstances. Don’t expect perfection the first time out, even the most refined lady might slip now and then. And remember-have fun and enjoy your dining experience.

Bon Appétit!

2008, Denae Doyle @femimage.com

Transgender News

Feminine Body Language & Dating For The New Trans Woman

7 February 2008 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

Feminine gestures can send silent signals of desire, or communicate a complete lack of interest.

Are you new at going out as a woman and understanding the subtle signs of attraction or lack thereof? Before you launch yourself into the line of fire, take time to practice the basics of creating that first three-second impression that states Female and not “Guy In A Dress”.

As a “Femininity Coach” for genetic women and now Transgendered women, I have created the most important signals a TG woman must focus on and practice – to not give off those subtle male cues. I often hear, “Is it my voice”? Or, “perhaps my beard concealer isn’t working”. Being perceived as female is not as simple as paying to have makeup, wigs, and beautiful clothing, but instead requires time, practice, and a new awareness of not falling back into moving, gesturing and speaking as a male.

First, let’s remember that when it comes to the silent signs of sexual attraction, we are no different than the animal kingdom – which communicates their interest in mating, by using certain body signals. Often, with females it boils down to the message, “I am submissive, harmless and more approachable”. For the new TG woman, you may be wondering ‘what are these secret signals genetic women know how to use?’ Welcome in to the circle of knowing and using age old flirting techniques of confident women – and now this secret potion lies within your reach also! I have made a list of my top eight body language cues, which I teach my TG women to be perceived as a female especially during flirtation. Let’s start at the top and work down.

Tilted Head and Lifted Shoulders

Women tend to have more animated head and shoulder movement, while men are socialized to hold their head and shoulders very linear. When a female is flirting, two of the most easily detected signs of attraction are (1) tilting her head slightly forward while looking up at someone from under the eyebrows and (2) smiling while lifting and rolling her shoulders. These motions indicate that a woman is softer, more compliant and interested in dating!

Pointed Toe and Knee Movement

While standing, a feminine woman keeps weigh back only on one foot, allowing the free front foot to be pointed so she can tilt and move her toe. Next time you’re out, lift the heel of the pointed toe and allow the knee to rotate in an inward “swaying” movement and see if those new heels will suggest definite interest. This technique also creates a more “shrinking” effect, which is a less threatening profile.

Wrist Forward, Cupped Hands

When speaking, woman use softer, more flowing hand movements. Specifically, take note of whether the palms are facing upward, while gesturing and resting on a table. Practice, using slow, fluid flowing hands with a broken wrist, as if you were moving your hands under water. Keeping your wrist forward, using flowing hands, and cupping your fingers, are all gestures, which are psychologically friendlier.

SSSS- Curve. Everything Starts With S!

S-CURVE – There is a distinctly feminine way to move and hold yourself. Simply put, truly feminine women have learned to stand, sit and move their bodies in curves – mostly S curves, while men generally stand, sit and walk very linear – they stay in a box, such as the letter “I”. A truly feminine woman pulls her weight up by lifting her torso and bust – while twisting at the waist. Lift and twist. Lifting your weight prevents weight from dropping down into your feet, especially when wearing heels!

Slower Steps

Men walk twice as fast as most women, especially in heels. Make an effort to slow your stride down. Regardless of how nervous you are, slow everything down. There is no weight dropping down into your feet, especially when your heels are over two inches!

Shorter Stride

To appear more sensual and feminine, try taking half the size step you generally take.

You will find walking in heels will require balance. By taking shorter steps, you will avoid tripping and you will appear more feminine and poised.

Smaller Space

Men have spaces – open space between their arms and body, and between their knees and feet. Men stand linear on the floor with their weight evenly distributed on both feet. Ideally, a feminine woman (and we know all women today are not always feminine) will generally close up the spaces between their arms and torso, between their knees and their feet. The smaller size capsule you have, the smaller space you will take up. By walking and standing in less space, you appear shorter, smaller, and more feminine.

Swinging Arm

Swinging your arms from your shoulder (as men do) may be a behavior that is giving you away. Let your arms rest gently down the side of your legs allowing for a natural delicate arm swing from your elbows. You should practice keeping your elbows turned inward and slightly bent and touching your torso. Men generally have longer arms than women, so bending your elbows; will give the appearance of shorter and smaller arms.

Now, go put on your favorite pair of heels, and create your own unique, feminine, flirtatious body language

2008, by Denae Doyle @femimage.com

Transgender News

Transgender Voice Therapy and Treatment

9 December 2003 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

For the male to female transsexual acquiring a female voice which is convincing, even over the telephone, can be one of the most difficult aspects of changing gender role. Speech therapy is a very important part of the gender reassignment package and may or may not be available through medical referral. This information sheet does not make any recommendations or comments on the relative benefits of different ways of changing the voice such as surgery and re-education through speech therapy. The following three articles report on different approaches to the subject.

1) Voice Surgery for Male to Female Transsexuals by Selina of Newcastle upon Tyne (575). First Published in GEMSNEWS No. 24

This is an area of treatment which is sadly neglected and lacking in the UK and about which there is very little reliable information even amongst professional advisers. I am very surprised that so little priority and importance is placed on having a really acceptable female voice. I have found that whilst I can be accepted as female in personal contact (people generally accept what they see) the telephone is the big problem. As I use the phone a great deal for my business, it is a thorough nuisance having to correct wrong gender assumption umpteen times every day.

After much research I discovered two places where the procedure known as “cricothyroid approximation” is undertaken. One is in Beverly Hills, California, USA and the other is Amsterdam, Holland. I know people who have been to both places. The biggest problem with California is the expense both of the treatment and of travel, hotels, etc. Dr Toby Mayer who does this work has been doing it for a considerable number of years and is thus very experienced. I was quoted $7,000 (approx £4,600) for the surgery which included a reduction of the thyroid cartilage (Adam’s Apple). In Amsterdam a consultation with Prof. H.F. Mahieu to see if surgery was feasible cost approx 200 Guilders (£180) and surgery about 3,000 guilders (£1,200). Having decided on this route and having undergone surgery there, I am in a position to describe what happened to me.

”The initial consultation took most of one day and included meeting with Prof. Mahieu to find out about the procedure and for him to find out about me. He told me that it was an inexact science and that everyone responded differently. Very much in my favour was that I have never smoked and I drink very little. On the deficit side was my age but Prof Mahieu said that I seemed very good for my years and so this was hopefully not a problem. In laymen’s terms what is done is that the hard sections of cartilage, which are separated by soft tissue, are pulled together with stitches thereby putting extra tension on the vocal chords and producing a higher pitch than before.

This causes the thyroid cartilage (Adam’s Apple) to become more prominent and therefore necessitates its reduction, known as a tracheal shave. This is still done at the same time as the pitch raising surgery. Physical examination of ears and throat was followed by photographs of throat, X-ray of throat, blood tests (both for blood group and to check for HIV). Also a phonetogram was taken to record my vocal pitch prior to treatment. It was explained to me that patients must have completed their gender re-assignment before voice surgery can be considered. I was then given an appointment for surgery some months ahead of the consultation date. This interval is usually about six months. The surgery is done on an out-patient basis with return for check-up two days later and again at three months and one year later to monitor results. If at check up it is found that insufficient pitch rise has been maintained, apparently a11 is not lost.

There is a second stage procedure and even a third stage which can be applied should it be deemed necessary. The second stage consists of an endoscopical laryngeal procedure creating a web in the anterior or front part of the glottis. This procedure results in a reduction of the length over which the vocal folds can vibrate so the vocal folds form the web. Negative side effects such as hoarseness and breathiness are said to be possible in patients with a laryngeal web. The stage three procedure which is regarded as only to be undertaken as an absolute last resort consists of scarification and mass reduction of the vocal fold mucosa by CO2 laser vaporisation. This can result in a deterioration of the voice quality which is why it is a last resort.

Before describing the actual treatment I received, let me say that there is nothing to be afraid of. Dr Mahieu and his staff were extremely efficient and kind using most impressive up-to-date facilities. I really suffered nothing that I would describe as pain – only discomfort and no hint of sickness. At this point, I should say perhape that I seem to have a fairly high pain threshold; my GRS surgery was not a problem to me and I never have injections at the dentist. Half an hour before surgery I was given a jab of morphine and atropine in my thigh to dull the senses and give a dry mouth so that I would not want to keep swallowing. Immediately prior to surgery I was given a local anaesthetic to the anterior side of my neck with xylocaine and adrenaline.

My view of what took place was most effectively hidden by a blue plastic sheet which was draped over a bar running horizontally 12″ above my face and the plastic was securely taped around my jawline. From then on I had to lie very still and could hear (but not feel) various sounds from the tools used. From time to time there were scratching, clipping and sizzling sounds and a slight smell of hot flesh as, I assume, various things were cauterised.

After about half an hour Dr Mahieu told me that my cartilage had calcified to a certain extent and that he could not push a needle through (not unexpected) and he would have to drill holes for the thread to pass through. This was done with a dentist’s type drill. The nylon thread was then inserted and initially tightened. I was asked to make an extended ee… sound whicb to my amazement was really high pitched. As Dr Mahieu released the tension my pitch dropped back down to its former level. He said that he was very satisfied and would now pull it up again and tie it off permanently. When he had finished his work he inspected it internally by pushing an endoscope up my nose and down my throat to see that no stitches were visible and that the vocal folds were as they shou1d be. Again he said that it looked fine and he would now reduce what he called “the notch” (Adam’s Apple) with a rotary burr. He then handed over to his aasistant to stitch up the incision in my throat.

The endoscopy was probably the worst part as it made me feel I was choking but it was only quite brief. I was actually on the operating table for one and three quarter hours in total and was then put to bed far a couple of hours to recover. I was brought some light lunch (somewhat late in the day at 2.30pm} and then allowed to leave by taxi for my nearby hotel.

1 was told that I must not try to speak or even whisper for two days and then return to hospital far a check-up. If all was well, which fortunately it was, I could then go home to the UK. On the day of surgery I had great difficulty in swallowing but, nevertheless, managed some soup, a hot cross bun with jam and a dish of ice cream. I slept well and next morning was able to eat a good breakfast with swallowing much improved. I kept my neck covered with a chiffon scarf to avoid frightening Joe Public with the initially rather angry looking bruising and swelling: the bruising faded quite quickly although I still have some swelling.

The stitches came out after eight days at the hands of my own GP’s nurse. It was actually one continuous thread and I was told that it had to be mobilised by pulling at alternate ends and then withdrawn in one piece. The suture came out quite easily and painlessly and the scar is neat and unobtrusive. At this time it gives every indication that it will fade very quickly and hopefully be virtually invisible.

The average male frequency range is quoted by Dr Mahieu as being approx 98 to 131 Hz and the average female range 196 to 262 Hz. Prior to surgery my rnean pitch was measured at 133 Hz which is at the top of the male range. I am writing this article only ten days after surgery while it is still fresh in my mind. It is early days yet for me to know how my voice will be at the three months checkup. For two days following surgery I communicated with masses of little notes and on the third day I tried out my new voice. That is actually too exotic a description for the croaky frog noises that I could make. It sounded like the worst case of laryngitis ever recorded. However, I had fortunately been forewarned what to expect so it came as no real shock, (at least to me!)

In the intervening few days the voice has gradually grown stronger but at this time of writing is still a miserable monotone. I was told that anything from three to twelve months is usually needed for full recovery. I am under no illusions about the surgery being a magic wand and I know that patience and further speech therapy will be needed.

2) Voice Therapy in the Case of a Transsexual

By Meryle Kalra. First published in GEMSNEWS Number 8

This paper was designed to present and evaluate a therapeutic approach to the vocal rehabilitation of a transsexual. It was presented at the International Congress on Sexology, University of Quebec, Montreal, Canada, October 27-31, 1976. The goal was to raise the voice pitch of a 27 year old morphological male who became a female.

The male voice is about one octave lower than that of the female. The average normal range of the male voice lies between 100 Hz and 132 while the habitual pitch levels in normal females reported from study samples range between 142-256 Hz.

No specific data on the incidence of transsexualism have been compiled in Canada or the USA. However, the Erickson Foundation of New York estimates that 2000 people in the US have had sexual conversion up until 1975. Gender alteration male to female is four times more frequent than female to male. Hoenig and Kenna, (1973) found the incidence in England and Wales to be 1.51 transsexuals per 100,000 population. Approximately 1 male per 40,000 population and 1 female per 154,000 population, the male to female ratio being 3.41:1

Materials and methods

The subject, BL was a normally developed physiological male whose sexual identity at age 32 was altered to become that of a female. BL, the second son of 11 children, described herself as being close to her mother, having a strict, controlling father, she remembers feeling sensitive and expressing continuously the wish and desire to become a girl. After successive experiences as a homosexual, a female impersonator and transvestite, BL decided at 29 years to seek sexual identity change and become a female. In 1969 hormone therapy was commenced while several months later sexual reassignment surgery was performed. At the time of her referral for voice therapy BL appeared feminine; however, the distinct male quality to the voice was the most likely characteristic to betray her masculinity. BL complained of being mistaken for a male over the telephone. At the time of her referral her vocal characteristics were judged subjectively to be: 1) male vocal quality; 2) poorly controlled pitch levels; 3) clavicular and shallow breathing patterns; 4) laryngeal tension; 5) absence of vocal resonance; 6) poorly controlled loudness which was associated with irregular pitch use. Without professional guidance the client had obvious difficulty in adjusting the male larynx to the functioning requirements of female larynx. At present no precise histological date describe the effects of oestrogen on the intrinsic muscle mass of the human larynx.

Therapeutic procedures

Voice therapy was administered over a three month period, once a week for approximately 45 minutes each session. Optimum pitch at this time was in the area of D sharp well below middle C at approximately 150Hz. Treatment was directed toward controlling intercostal and diaphragmatic muscle activity to reduce clavicular breathing patterns and lessening pharyngeal tension. Elevation of the optimum pitch to more appropriate and desirable pitch levels was achieved through exercises which reinforced resonance and maintained a balance between the vocal generator and supraglottal resonators. As new pitch levels were acquired, Foeschels’ chewing method was used to increase anterior oral resonance. The first pitch level above optimum pitch was F below middle C at approximately 170Hz. Gradually the fundamental frequency of the voice was moved up the musical scale to G below middle C or approximately 220Hz and the therapeutic procedures were repeated. Analysis of data collected throughout the therapeutic process consisted of both subjective and objective measures.

Results

Subjective data contained a condensed therapy log as well as laryngological examinations during and after therapy to determine whether any structural changes had occurred to the client’s vocal mechanism as a result of therapeutic procedures. Laryngological examination during the course of therapy described the normal configuration of the male larynx in size and appearance and indicated improved function of the crico-thyroid muscle two years post-therapy. No vocal strain or pathology had been induced by raising the client’s original male pitch level to within a low average female pitch range. Optimum pitch had been obtained with maximum comfort for the client’s laryngeal mechanism and integrated into the client’s spontaneous speech patterns. Objective data was demonstrated using a KAY sonograph to determine the fundamental frequency through spectrographic print-outs of voice samples using narrow band widths (45Hz) and wide band widths analysis (300HZ).

Discussion and conclusion

The goal of this study was a) to prescribe a therapeutic model for altering the vocal pitch of a male transsexual, thereby creating a vocal quality more appropriate for a female, and b) to assess the efficacy of this model. Results indicate that in the initial period of therapy the subject exceeded the provided model on imitative speech tasks. At this time excessive laryngeal tension was evident and repeatedly the clinician had to re-establish correct breathing patterns and improve supraglottal resonance through chewing practice.

In the second recording, although laryngeal tension had been reduced, the client ‘was unable to achieve a model of 193Hz introduced on imitative speech tasks. Although an increase in the habitual pitch between the first two recordings could be demonstrated, spontaneous speech deviated from the model by minus 25Hz. Carry over into imitative tasks or transfer to spontaneous speech was not occurring.

For a period of four weeks therapy concentrated on improving carryover from imitative speech work at 193Hz to spontaneous speech. Spectrographic measures for spontaneous speech in the third recording showed the client had increased her habitual pitch to a level close to the stated mode. Her speech had become more functional and stabilized in everyday use. Laryngeal tension was less apparent during spontaneous speech, demonstrating an overall increase in the complementary use of the vocal generator and oral resonator. Improvement in vocal resonance appeared to be directly connected to accentuated anterior oral resonance which best accommodated this higher vocal pitch. The therapeutic success in this case appeared to be an important and significant factor contributing greatly to the improvement of the self-image of the patient. She now perceives herself more completely as a woman, and is perceived by others as a woman, which serves to enhance her self-image and reinforce her new gender identity.

3) Feminine Voice Techniques

A collection of practical suggestions and ideas for self help in the feminisation of the voice, developed by a group of male-to-female transsexuals within the Looking Glass Society. First published in 1997 and reproduced here with thanks to the Looking Glass Society.

Neither hormones nor genital surgery will ‘un-break’ a male voice, and voice-changing surgery is widely regarded as inadvisable, in addition to being at best only a partial solution. Thus, speech training is necessary in order to produce a satisfactory ‘female’’ voice. At first, it may seem hard to concentrate on all the different facets of producing a feminine voice, and lapses will happen. The only solution is to practice and practice again until it gradually becomes second nature.

The Methods

1. Sing! To loosen-up the voice box, extend your pitch range, and help develop good control, it can be very helpful to choose a female vocalist who you like, preferably one with a relatively deep voice, and sing along. The musically-minded may also wish to perform singing exercises, such as singing scales.

2. Raise the position of the laryngeal cartilage. This raises your voice pitch and decreases the characteristic male resonance. (The laryngeal cartilage is the ‘movable’ piece of cartilage that you can feel rising if you place a hand on your throat and sing a rising scale ( doh, re, mi, fa, sol, lah, ti, doh ). The point of this is to try to gain a higher ‘baseline’ pitch than you have previously used, and then increase the pitch further when placing emphasis. For example you might decide that if you pitch the “doh” as your baseline male pitch raising your basic pitch to about “fa” or “so” would be sufficient. But do not overdo the pitch-raising: a squeaky, falsetto voice sounds very inappropriate on an adult woman. The pitch adjustment is a compromise – for the technically-minded you should aim for above 16OHz; if you have access to a musical instrument that’s about the G below middle C. Of course, everyone starts out with a different original voice and some will be able to raise it more than others without sounding squeaky. You might find it slightly tiring on your voice-box at first, as you are unused to speaking in that register, but it should become comfortable with a little practice. If it does not, then you are probably trying to force your pitch up too high.

3. Partially open the glottis when speaking. The position of the glottis controls how much air passes over the vocal cords. When breathing rather than speaking, when whispering , or when producing an ‘unvoiced’ sound where the vocal cords do not vibrate, like ‘hhh’ or ‘sss’ ), the glottis is full open and all the air bypasses the vocal cords. With the glottis firmly closed, all the air is forced over the vocal cords, producing a fully-voiced and typically male voiced sound. You need to try to find a ‘semi-whispering’ position that eliminates the fully-voiced sound with heavy resonance in the chest, and imparts a breathy quality to the voice. You can hear the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds by comparing S and Z sounds (say ‘sss’ and ‘zzz’ , and feel how your vocal cords vibrate on the Z but not the S). You’re trying to find a midpoint between an unvoiced (whispered) sound, and a fully-voiced ‘male’ sound. Try saying the word ‘hay’, and pay attention to how you change between the unvoiced H sound and the voiced A sound: say it very slowly ( ‘hhhhhaaaay’ and feel the change in the vocal cords as your voice slides from the unvoiced hhh sound to the voiced ‘aaa’ vowel sound. Then try to stop before you reach the full voiced point, and you should be producing a soft, breathy feminine) ‘aaa’ sound. Then try to learn to always use that half-open position for all voiced sounds. This is simply a matter of practice.

4. Place emphasis with pitch not volume : Upward intonation places emphasis. Men place emphasis in their speech by varying the loudness, but keep their pitch within a very narrow range; on the other hand women tend to keep their loudness much more constant but vary their pitch a great deal to express emphasis.

5. Speak slowly, enunciate clearly especially consonants at the beginning and end of words. Don’t mumble; clear voice requires fat big lip movements. On the whole, women enunciate much more clearly and precisely than men.

6. Pace your speech carefully. Start and end sentences slowly and gently; do not sound clipped. Do not swallow pronouns, articles or other little words at the beginning or end of sentences. Male speech tends to be characterised by what speech therapists call ‘hard attack’ – the first syllable is pronounced very hard, and quickly. Women usually start a sentence more softly.

7. Use appropriate content. Men and women tend to talk about the same things in different ways; what you say contains gender cues, just as much as how you say it. Women tend to concentrate more on thoughts and feelings, while men concentrate on objects and actions. Men generally use more ‘short cuts’, colloquialisms and bad language, too. A simple illustration is to imagine someone asking a friend if they are going to go for a drink after work. A male might say something like ‘Coming down the pub?’ rather abrupt, using the minimum of words and concentrating on the desired action in a rather impersonal way. A woman might say ‘Do you feel like going for a drink tonight?’ : concentrating on her friend’s feelings and desires, personal, and not abbreviated.

8. Pay attention to tongue position. The tongue is higher and flatter for female than for male. This gives ‘dental’ sounds (ones that involve the teeth, like T and D) a softer, breathier, almost sibilant quality in the female. Say ‘tttt’ in male mode then ‘ssss’; find the halfway position, that is the female position for the letters T and D; likewise for a TH sound, etc. Use plenty of air to get a breathy sound.

9. Hold your mouth in the right shape. A slight smile helps, and is the ‘resting’ facial expression for a woman anyway. Rounder lips (a slight pout), and good lip movement, help produce a clearly enunciated voice.

10. Develop head resonance . One of the biggest problems facing TS women is, after learning to produce a soft, feminine voice, to then learn how to speak loudly when necessary without the voice returning to a masculine sound. Women gain loudness by using the cavities inside the head as a ‘sounding box’ whereas men use the chest. To gain a louder feminine voice, develop head resonance rather than chest resonance – open your mouth a little more, use more air, and ‘push’ your voice up into your head.

11. Use Feedback. Record samples of your voice and listen to yourself. Read a passage of text, listen to yourself and keep practising. It can be helpful to actually read these notes aloud, practising each point as you read it. Then listen to yourself and successfully refine your voice.This information sheet is distributed by the Gender Trust and is intended as a basis for information only. The Gender Trust does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of any information contained in this sheet.

Gender Trust – 2003, This information sheet is distributed by the Gender Trust and is intended as a basis for information only. The Gender Trust does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of any information contained in this sheet.

Transgender News

Transgender Theory

13 February 2003 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

To understand the history of transgender people, one must also understand how both transgendered people themselves, and non-transgendered people explained the presence of such apparent misfits in the otherwise neat binary sex/gender social fabric. One can understand how law, medicine, and society in general treated transgendered people only within the context in which the transgendered person fit into a theoretic framework. If transsexuals were a medical entity, one still needs to know if it is a psychiatrically pathological entity, or a developmentally intersexed entity. If the former, one would expect that “cures” would be attempted, if the latter, then compassionate, though not always welcome, medical treatments might be applied. The law could see the transgendered person as a civil indentity question, a criminal pervert, or as a medical entity. The law’s treatment very much depends on the explanitory world view surrounding the transgendered in society.

Judeo-Christian-Moslem culture, drawing on a single verse in one old testament book, Deuteronomy 22-5, held that cross-dressing was an “abomination in the sight of the Lord”. Some biblical scholars hold that this line refers to a prohibition of the Hebrew people from participating in religious practices of the neighboring cultures, which included the followers of Cybele whose priestesses were post-operative male to female transsexuals. This single edict, surrounded by edicts that are seldom if ever followed today, save for the Ultra-Orthodox Jews, is sometimes quoted as sanctioning the worst transphobic treatment of transgendered people. Other old testament laws detail the status of “eunuchs”, males whose genitals have been surgically removed. Primarily these laws prescribe a second class status to the eunuch, since they are no longer “men”, they do not have male privileges, including the right to “testify” in court… since they no longer have the required equipment, testicles. (This is not a pun, but literally the origin of the words… one needed testicles to testify… and the old testament really does refer to the story, or testimony, of patriarchy.) Thus, built into Judeo-Christian-Moslem is the assumption that MTF transgendered people are untrustworthy abominations. This explains why Judeo-Christian-Moslem cultures have mistreated transgendered people while other cultures have either tolerated, or sometimes, venerated transgendered people, why Joan d’Arc was burned at the stake for wearing men’s vestments as well as armor, while the hijra of India have houses that have been in existence for hundreds of years.

Early in this century, as the United States population moved to the cities, transgender people, though extremely rare, started finding each other, just as they had in other city cultures in more populated countries as China and India. These gatherings of transgendered people were noted by their neighbors. These good people, educated in Christian values, complained to the civil authorities, who duly passed ordinances outlawing transgender expression, society, and existence. It was the cities who passed the laws against transgendered people. It must be noted that these laws were passed in the same climate and time that produced laws prohibiting citizens of African descent from owning property in the city limits, or of Catholics to operate schools. It should be noted that while the cities passed ordinances against transgendered people, the States were concerned with criminalizing homosexual conduct. City police, when they wanted to harrass homosexuals, used the ordinances against the transgendered as more visible targets. Thus, the Stonewall riots of 1969, naturally began with the standard sweeping arrests of transgendered people. The ordinances began to be repealed in the 1970s. It is perhaps fitting that the first governmental bodies to atone for past discrimination by passing anti-discrimination measures in the 1990s should be the very cities that once had laws designed to expose them to criminal sanction.

Laws criminalizing homosexuality were also used to incarcerate or force medical treatment on the transgendered. In the name of eugenics, homosexual and transgendered people were sterilized against their wills. Later, when hormones became available, various medical treatments were devised. Some sought to reduce the libido by suppressing natural hormones, others sought to replace putatively low hormones. These actions were done under the theory of enlightened criminologists that many lawbreakers were rehabilitable using modern medicine. It was rarely questioned in law enforcement that the law itself was in need of rehabilitation. But there were movements to do just that, lead by social reforming physicians such as Magnus Hirschfeld in Germany.

There were times, when the transgendered person came to the attention of the courts through the medical establishment, rather than the police, when compassionate justice prevailed. Until the mid to late century, the prevailing mechanism for transgendered people to gain protective legal status was to seek a change of sex status through correction of birth certificates or registry in the same manner as was done in cases of intersex, where physicians provide for a ‘second opinion’ as to a person’s sex later in life. The law literally saw transsexuals as a form of intersex and helpfully corrected sex designations when asked. It was not until the popular press created the myth of “sex change” that the law began to see transsexuals as separate from intersexed people. Only after this change in perception was it neccessary for specific statutes needed to secure a mechanism for transsexuls to change birth certificates and indentification cards. Even then it was done as an extension of the intersex theory, a reaffirmation, to counter the “sex change” paradigm.

At the turn of the century, the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity were conflated. One was either a normal man or woman, or one was an abnormal psychosexual invert. In some respects this concept is closer to the modern concept of the classic transsexual in that it was conceptualized as a person who both identified with and shared the same sexual object as a normal member of the opposite sex. Only through education by the homophile community and open minded sexologists such as Evelyn Hooker and Alfred Kinsey was the homosexual person viewed as having a congruent gender identity, merely finding one’s own sex to be the chief object of amorous affections. This left the concept of gender identity separable from sexual attraction, opening the door to conceptualizing the catagories of the lesbian identified male to female and the gay male identified female to male transsexual. Still, it took the work of FTM transman Lou Sullivan in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, to get the medical establishment to recognize the distinction.

There are three main currents of thought on the origin of gender identity in humans, Essentialism, Social Constructionism, and PsychoSocialism. In academic circles these differing theories are hotly debated. But in the lives of ordinary people, especially transgendered people, the model that is applied by the medical, educational, legal, and even parental authorities that transgendered people interact, as individuals and as a class, deeply influence the interaction and the outcomes.

PsychoSocial Theories

Though Sigmond Freud was from Austria originally, his work influenced North American thought to a greater degree than European. His thoughts on the developing sexual identity and sexuality of infants and children profoundly influenced how transgendered people would be viewed in North America. Freud felt that gender identity was mediated by the existance or absence of a penis, directly. In the case of the owner of a penis the discovery that not all humans have one occasions deep anxiety lest that delightful organ of pleasure might be removed. This “Castration Anxiety” led to a distancing of the owner of the penis from the caretaker who did not own one… presumably because that person might want to steal it. While simultaneously, the owner of the penis wishes to emulate the other caretaker who by good fortune still owns a penis. Thus the owner of a penis learns to be a boy. Meanwhile, the infant who does not own a penis discovers that there are individuals who do own one. This occasions extreme jealousy. This “Penis Envy” leads one to court, and compete for, the affections of the caretaker who owns this marvelous appendage, while simultaneously emulating the caretaker who does not own a penis, who demonstrates ways of successfully courting the affections of the owner of a penis. Thus the one who lacks a penis learns to be a girl.

The existance of transgendered people brought the theory a serious challenge. How to explain people who end up having the exact opposite reaction to the presence or absence of a penis? The first answer of any theorist to such a challenge is denial, “transgendered people are psychotic”, likening the transsexual to a delusional man who believes himself to be Napolean. This glib answer sufficed for those who had never actually spoken at length with transgendered people. But the diagnosis of psychosis failed to hold up apon examination. The challenge remained.

For FTM transgendered people the failure to resolve “Penis Envy” was enough explaination. But MTF trangendered people were still a mystery. The psychoanalytic theorists response was to posit a family constellation involving an overly close mother, who kept her son wrapped up in her emotional world, and a distant or absent father. The son could not make the emotional and subsequent identity break with his mother. Perhaps we can call this theory “Castration Envy”? This seemed at first glance to hold up well, since such family histories were indeed present in MTF transgendered people. Except it didn’t explain all of the cases since many profoundly transsexual MTF individuals had extremely good relationships with their fathers. The theory further broke down when comparing the statistics with non transgendered people. The were many families with an absent or emotionally distant father, the vast majority of single mothers, whose sons did not show signs of being transgendered. Though it remained popular to blame mothers, especially single mothers for all sorts of society’s woes, transgenderism was not able to hold up as being caused by family dynamics when tested statistically.

Still the psychoanalytic model held for most of the 20th Century, inspite of repeated failures of psychoanalytic therapy to dissuade transgendered people to abandon their gender identity. It is probably responsible for the prevailing attitude that Gender Identity Disorder is a psychiatric illness as defined by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistic Manual.

Toward the middle of the 20th Century, as the psychoanalytic model for all mental illness began to be cast into doubt, a new model of gender identity came into vogue, “Imprinting”. One the chief proponents of the theory was John Money, Ph.D. Observing that intersex infants with the same physical features at birth who had been assigned to different sexes both seemed to adjust equally well, Money theorized that there was a critical period in the infant’s early life when the parents’ sexually dimorphic treatment imprinted apon the child a congruent gender identity. The notion of imprinting comes from observation that some animals imprint the image of a caretaker in infancy. The popular image is that of gosslings first sight of a farmer’s child, who subsequently is followed around as “mother”. This lead to the standard procedure of early genital surgery for intersexed infants to unambiguously assign a sex, any sex, to child so that an unambiguous gender identity will be imprinted by parents and family who “know” the childs sex. It lead to a medical ethic of misinforming even the parents as to the intersexed nature of the child. It also resulted in sterilization of thousands of male children, who born with a phallus too small to be comfortably described as a penis were reassigned as female.

Transgender people were explained by the imprinting theory simularly to the psychoanalytic model, blaming the mother. Again, an overly emotionally close mother, and sometimes the father as well, coset and pamper a male child in a manner that the hapless male child gets the message that it is female. Sometimes it was noted that the feminine male child was “physically beautiful”, that is, like a pretty girl child, illiciting a response from adults in a manner that reinforces the mistaken identity as a female child. Similarly, a physically adventurous female child might illicit masculinizing responces.

Money’s hypothesis and recommendations lead directly to the tragedy and “experiment of opportunity” of John Theissen, a man who’s penis was accidentally destroyed during circumcision. Mr. Thessien was later surgically reassigned as female. His parents then proceeded to raise him as their daughter, while his identical twin brother served as “control”. When the children we several years old the clinics declared that the reassigned child was accepting “her” gender as a girl. The case became known as that of John/Joan. Money published this case as proof of his hypothesis. Unfortunately, John Theissen as a teen refused to continue the program, insisting that he was a boy… he grew to be a man, obtained phalloplasty, married, and is raising three children from his wife’s prior relationships. It can be said that his is a case of surgically created transsexuality, as his personal gender identity was at odds with his sex assignment as an infant. Mr. Theissen’s story was published in Rolling Stone magazine in the mid ‘90s after a scientic paper was published by Milton Diamond, a proponent of pre- and neonatal hormonal brain sex differentiation.

Social Constructionism:

As the Second Wave of Feminism grew in strength, critism of discrimination against women led to a reaction to prescribed restrictive societal roles for the sexes. “Biology is not destiny” became a rallying cry. What started out as a critism of socially constructed roles developed into a theory of gender which denied Essentialism in every form, stating instead that society took the biological differences of procreation, and instilled in them an artificial behavioral difference. The theory, thus expanded, denies that there is any natural basis for gender identity. Thus it denies to transgender people any rational cause… while at the same time, presenting no reason why not.

To some authors this meant that transgender people were free to express themselves in any manner they chose since all gender expression is as valid as any other. Only societal convention stands in the way of such freedom. Such conventions can be modified by the society as is deemed desirable. To some, all such restrictions are to be avoided, in a live and let live ethos.

Other authors, Janice Ramond and Germain Greer being notable examples, saw MTF transgender people as exploitive of women, aping the forms of femininity, supporting the artificial sexist forms that oppress women. It is interesting that in this regard they exhibit a hidden Essentialism, one that focusses on the genitalia as defining classes of human beings. They decried the restrictions on one class, while dispising those of the other class when they break those very restrictions.

Still the existence of transgender people poses a challenge to the social constructionist theory. One must explain both why gender identity exists, how it is perpetuated, enforced, and why some rare individuals “chose” to express a gender identity at odds with societally prescibed gender expression norms.

Performance Theory has it that we are taught to Perform Gender, to act it out, in the same way that we learn to act out social roles like teacher, student, friendly store clerk, police officer, etc. One is said to “do gender” rather than “have a gender”. This is very similar in basics to the psychosocial theory of imprinting, save that there is no instinctual basis for having the ability to absorb a particular gender identity. We are taught a set of gender behaviors that become so ingrained as habit that we forget that we are merely acting them out.

Transgender people are explained by this as having been improperly instructed. Even among those inclined toward psychosocial models as one would expect physicians to be, one finds this theory in currency. It is the model used in justifying Behavioral Modification Therapy to treat Gender Identity Disorder in children. Under the assumption that even though gender identity is arbitrarily socially constucted and taught to children, one should not allow children to express gender behavior different than the norm. Some rationize it on the basis of wanting the children to fit in, experience less rejection and bullying, a ‘blame the victim’ mentality. Others are simply moralists that insist that God has ordained that we should all behave in a certain prescribed manner.

One Post-Modern philosophical theory, one that has a striking resemblance to the psychosocial theory that transgendered people are simply crazy, has it that transgendered people are suffering under a “false consiousness”. That they are not really experiencing a gender at all… but an alienation from their social and biological reality. This theory is perhap the most transphobic of all theories in that it denies what is called in Post-Modern cant, “agency”, the characteristic of experiencing and expressing their existence and very real psychic pain.

Oppression Theory starts from the assumption that transgendered people are very much in command of their faculties and have made a rational decision to avoid societal restrictions on desires they experience. The usual script is that an ambitious woman noting that she is unable to succeed “in a man’s world”, dons mens clothes, assumes a fictious identity as a man, in order to achieve career success. These “passing women” are the darlings of the feminist historian because they are reveared as daring pioneers for women’s liberation, or they are held as examples, proof, of how horrible conditions were in some past epoch. To the feminist historian, modern FTM transsexuals are an embarrassing disproof of the theory. Similarly, Oppression theory is used to explain modern MTF transgendered people as being examples of internalized homophobia in gay men, too ashamed to live openly, and so have to “pretend” to be women in order to express their desire for same sex relations. To such gay male chauvenists, the fact that half of transgendered people identify as lesbian or gay male after transition, are an equally ebarrassing disproof of the theory.

Social Constructionist theories fail to note that ethnobiological studies of sexually dimorphic behavior in animals is not socially constructed for non-humans. Nor does it explain the cross cultural similarity and temporal stability of core gender identity throughout history around the world.

Essentialism:

Essentialism posits that men and woman are “made that way”. It is a deceptively self-evident fact that most everyone accepts since for over 99% of the population there is a clear cut correlation between genital morphology and gender identity. It is easy to for the average person to ignore the disquieting cases of intersex that cast doubt on the simplistic assumption of binary sex assignment. The question of which sex an intersex person “really is” demonstrates the esentiallist bias through much of Western Society for the past two centuries. Historically, Essentialism divided on which of two somatic characteristics was indicative of the “real sex” of an individual, genitalia or gonads. For most people the genitalia, the presence or absence of a penis was the overriding feature. As medical science grew more sophisticated in the 19th century, the gonads came to be the indicative feature. But early in the 20th Century the newly discovered chromosomes, specifically the presence or absence of the “Y” chromosome, became the newly crowned final arbiter of “real” sex. The faith in microscopic examination to “scientifically” determine one’s sex was unquestioned.

In 1968 the International Olympic Committee instituted chromosomal karyotyping for all female athletes. Any that did not have the required 46,XX chromosome karyotype were disqualified from competition, informed that, scientifically speaking, they were not women. The demonstrable fact that they had female genitalia, had lived as female all of their lives not knowing that they did not have the officially approved karyotype for women, did not enter into the unfeeling officials minds. Reductionist Essentialism had no room for intersexed people. They were counselled to fake an injury, slink away into silence to keep their shame of being “not female” from becoming known.

In 1970, the Corbet vs Corbet decision to nullify the marriage of a MTF transsexual to a non-transsexual man used karyotyping as the “scientific” marker for sex and gender that the law was henseforth to follow in the United Kingdom, throwing the legal status of transsexual and many intersexed people into limbo, neither male nor female.

Although essentialism has often been used as a philosophy to ‘prove’ that transsexuals and transgendered people do not have a valid claim to their identity, Essentialism still has explanitory power. If the locus of gender is found, not in the genitals or chromosomes, but elsewhere, transsexuals could be rationally described as “men trapped in women’s’ bodies” or “women trapped in mens’ bodies”. There are several loci that are, or have been proposed as the Essential Seat of Gender, but they come down to two main catagories, “Brain Sex”, and “The Soul”.

Many religions have a concept of an essential self, separable from the body. In Judeo-Christian-Moslem belief systems one’s soul separates from the body after death. This soul retains the sense of self, including gender indentity. Some religious thought includes the concept of the soul entering the body at some point in becoming a living being… and therefor must become, or always have been a gendered self. For religions that included the concept of reincarnation, the notion that a being always returns to the same sex body suggested an explanation for transgendered identity. Once in a while, a soul finds itself in the wrong sexed body. This idea was openly discussed in newsletters published in the ‘60s and ‘70s by the Erickson Education Foundation, as this was the personal belief of Reed Erickson, the Foundations benefactor. The Church of Latterday Saints (Mormon) debated the issue of pre-born souls finding themselves in the wrong body with Kristi Independence Kelly in 1980 at her excommunication. The Church held that, though the pre-born souls did have a gender before birth, God did not make mistakes: “There is no such thing as a man in a woman’s body or a woman in a man’s body” was declared, ex-cathedra by the leader fo the Mormon faith. Apparently, intersexed people must have also intersexed souls?

Some non-Judeo-Christian-Moslem cultures held that transgendered people were indeed gendered souls in the wrong body. Some believed that this juxtaposition have the transgendered person a special status with the spirits of nature or the powers. In ancient times in the mediteranean culture, MTF transsexual women became priestesses, Galla, of the goddess, Cebele. The Hopi Nation held that a transgendered spirit, or katchina, sent visions to transgendered people. In India, the hijra, transgendered and intersexed people are both reviled and revered, given varying circumstances. Mystical Essentialism has played an important role in various cultures, including our own.

The early 20th Century european researchers and medical practitioners believed that gender and sexual behavior in general are the result of a sexually dimorphic brain. That is to say that the brain itself has a sex. This sex usually conforms with the chromosomal and the genital sex. However, just as there can be chromosomal and genital >intersex conditions, the brain might also exhibit intersex morphology leading to behavior and that elusive personal experience, gender identity, at odds with either somatic or chromosomal sex. Magnus Hirschfeld, a leading early researcher described the entire spectrum of what today we would call Queer expression, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, as forms of “Sexual Intermediates”, or intersex. This was not a metaphor or a rationalization. Instead it was an earnest theory, based on careful observation and scientific generalization, understanding the then current lack of neurological science. Hirschfeld and his colleague, Harry Benjamin believed that as our understanding of the brain grew we would discover just where and how the brain was organized to produce sexual orientation and gender identity. For Hirschfeld, there was no major divide between non-conforming sexual orientation and gender identity, they were simply different forms that intersex could take. Thus for Hirschfeld, the late 20th century division between the concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation, the great political divide between the gay & lesbians and the transgender community would be meaningless. To Hirschfeld, we are all transgendered, gay and transsexual alike.

In the first decades of the century, experiments with cross sex gonadal implants in animals suggested that there was a connection between hormones and gender specific behavior. This lead to horrific experiments in humans during the NAZI era and beyond as hormones became available as a common pharmaceutical. Testosterone was administered to gay men and MTF transgendered people in an attempt to ‘cure’ them. The hormone treatments had no effect on the sexuality or gender identity of the experiments. No lasting harm was done to the gay men. But the supermasculinizing effects on the transgendered victims was severely traumatizing.

In the later decades of the century, neuroscientists found significant sexual dimorphism in microstructures in the brains of animals and humans. Experiments on rats indicated that hormone levels during a period in late gestation and early post-natal development to be critical to the development of these structures and subsequent behavior. Gorby was able to create what he described as a laboratory model of transsexuality in rats. He demonstrated this in both MTF and FTM cases. When he introduced them to each other, the FTM rats mounted the receptive MTF rats.

Using human children to explore gender identity and sexual orientation would be extremely unethical in the laboratory, but science often uses “experiments of opportunity”. Simon La Vey used autopsy material from straight and gay men who had died from aids to find that a small microstructure of the brain differed in the two populations, suggestive of a sexual orientation controlling microstructure. The same technique of using autopsy was performed by Swaab to discover a different structure associated with gender identity. Shaffer, in an as yet unpublished study, used MRI data from a large pool of controls, MTF and FTM transsexuals to demonstrate that the corpus collosum showed sexually dimorphic structures that, on a statistical basis, correlated with gender identity. Both Swaab’s and Shaffer’s work ruled out effects of hormones in adulthood.

The early data is tantalizing, and agrees with laboritory findings using animals. However, it is also known that experience can shape the brain. Lack of sensory stimulus and a chance to work out problems leads to dramaticly less brain development in infantile rats. In humans there is a suggestion that early musical training affects the shape of the corpus collosum, building greater connectivity between the two hemispheres of the brain. These early experiences suggest that early gender experiences could also lead to sexual dimorphism in the human brain by a similar mechanism. This would agree with Dr. Money’s imprinting hypothesis… But would be at odds with Gorby’s work with rats, and the results of the case of “John/Joan”.

Science could very well demonstrate that the seat of sexual orientation and gender identity is located in the brain. How that arises developmentally is still open for further research.

transhistory.org/history/TH_Theory.html – 2003

Transgender News

The Rights of Man, Woman and Transsexual

8 February 2003 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

Employers are disturbingly ignorant of sex change issues, say . With 5,000 transsexuals in Britain, issues about gender reassignment are arising within the workplace with increasing regularity. Several employers have sought advice from us in the past year about the treatment of employees undergoing gender reassignment. Although few cases about transsexuals have been reported, it is clear from the output of the Equal Opportunities Commission that many cases are being brought, and often settled. But there appears to be a disturbing ignorance among employers about the legal protection of transsexuals and good equal opportunities practice.

In 1996 the European Court of Justice held, in the case of P v S and Cornwall County Council, that the dismissal of an employee because she was starting gender reassignment was unfair and contrary to the European Equal Treatment Directive. As a result, the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 were brought into force. They amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to extend protection in employment and vocational training to anyone who ‘intends to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment’.

Gender reassignment is defined as ‘a process undertaken under medical supervision for the purpose of reassigning a person_s sex by changing physiological or other characteristics of sex and includes any part of such a process’. There is no definition of ‘intends’ within the regulations but clearly more than cross-dressing is envisaged (although individual freedom of expression by way of dress is now to some extent protected by the Human Rights Act 1998). The category of individuals protected is wide, with no differentiation between pre and post-operative transsexuals.

Less favourable treatment of a transsexual is permissible in limited circumstances: where the job requires performance of intimate physical searches or doing work or living in a private home where objection may reasonably be taken by the individual to this degree of intimacy and contact. These genuine occupational qualifications are applicable at all stages of the gender reassignment process.

There are two further exceptional circumstances: where it is necessary for the employee to live in shared accommodation, or where personal services are being provided to vulnerable individuals ‘and in the reasonable view of the employer those services cannot be effectively provided by a person whilst that person is undergoing gender reassignment’. However, these two genuine occupational qualifications do not apply to individuals who have undergone gender reassignment.

There is thus, evidently, potential for difficulty with, for example, a care worker who has completed the process of changing but by whom an elderly client does not wish to be cared because the client is aware of the transsexuality. A refusal to provide work would amount to discrimination. Employers and prospective employers should bear in mind that tribunals are able to draw the inference of discrimination from the very fact of less favourable treatment.

It is often practical issues that cause difficulties at work. In particular, there is the question of which lavatory a transsexual should use. The answer is straightforward: whichever he or she prefers to use. If this preference causes embarrassment among staff, the employer must attempt to inculcate a more enlightened attitude. A last resort may be to agree with the transsexual that a lavatory be designated as unisex (this should preferably not be the same as the disabled facility).

This course of action was approved by an employment tribunal in the 1999 case of Bourne v Roberts & the Post Office. Equally, employers are often concerned about when other employees should be informed about a change of gender. All that is required is agreement on a timescale and to be flexible. Again, it should be borne in mind that the legislation encompasses the whole process from the stage of intention onwards. Personnel records should be updated at an appropriate point, and any references to previous gender removed (save if required for specific and legitimate purposes, such as insurance or pension records). It is an anomaly at present that transsexuals are unable to alter their birth certificates to reflect a change in sex.

The regulations do not address the question of discrimination in areas other than employment, such as education and access to goods, facilities and services. However, it is recognised that domestic legislation is inadequate and is likely to be expanded. Last May a case brought by a transsexual, Lisa Jones, against a landlord who asked her to stay away from his pub in Honley, near Huddersfield, settled for £1,000 compensation plus a £600 contribution towards costs. We can expect more such cases in future.

By Lucy McLynn and William Garnett

Transgender News

Frequently Asked Questions about Transsexuality

8 February 2003 lgbtipolitics Leave a comment

Most of us are perfectly comfortable with the fact that we are male or female. In fact we normally never give it a thought. But there are a very few people who feel they were born with the wrong body – men who feel they should have been born women and vice versa. These people suffer from a recognised medical condition known as gender dysphoria and are generally referred to as transsexual.

Because transsexual people are born with bodies that seem perfectly normal to other people, we may suspect that the source of these deep seated feelings about the body arises from the brain. A report from the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research confirms this theory. In examining the brains of many individuals, including homosexual men, heterosexual men and women and six male-to-female transsexuals, they found that a tiny region known as the central region of the bed nucleus of the stria terininalis (BSTc), which is believed to be responsible for gender identity, was larger in men than in women. The BSTc of the six transsexuals was as small as that of women, thus the brains of the transsexuals seem to coincide with their conviction that they are women.

The rate of occurrence of transsexuality is not accurately known. Because of the social stigma attached to being transsexual, arising from a widespread lack of awareness of the true nature of the condition, it is something that is often kept hidden. Therefore it is only possible to collect statistics on the numbers of declared transsexuals and such figures undoubtedly represent only a proportion of those affected. Not very long ago estimates of the rate of occurrence of male-to-female transsexuality might have been around 1 in 100,000 of the male population. Today, with the greater awareness and openness that exists, some estimates now put the figure at greater than 1 in 10,000. It is known that other chromosomal or intersexed conditions can have rates of occurrence of, or approaching, 1 in 1,000 of the population and it may well be that this is the true order of magnitude of transsexuality.

Rates of occurrence of known female-to-male transsexuals are significantly lower, typically being around 1/3 to 1/4 of the rate for male-to-female transsexuals. However, this rate has varied somewhat with time and between different parts of the world. This suggests that varying cultural factors might play a role in the decision to be open about the condition.

The currently accepted and effective model of treatment for the condition of transsexuality utilises hormone therapy and surgical reconstruction and may include counselling and other psychotherapeutic approaches. Speech therapy and facial surgery may be appropriate for some male to females, and most will need electrolysis to remove beard growth and other body hair. In all cases, the length and kind of treatment provided will depend on the individual needs of the patient. The male to female will take a course of female hormones (oestrogen) similar to those used in the contraceptive pill and HRT, the female to male will take the male hormone testosterone.

At this time they will also be required to carry out the Real Life Test, during which they will be required to legally change their name and all documents to show their new gender identity. All documents including passport, driving licence, medical card, etc can be changed, but at present it is not possible for UK citizens to change their birth certificate. During the Real Life Test they will also be expected to live, work and socialise full time in the new gender role, to deal with any problems which may arise for example at work or within the family, and generally become familiar with the reality of living this way. After a minimum of a year (two years if being treated via the NHS) if the Real Life Test has been successful and the psychiatrist is satisfied with the person’s progress, they can be referred for surgery. After surgery the person will continue to take hormones for the rest of their life, but probably at a reduced dosage.

Because the BSTc is so small none of the non-invasive imaging techniques currently available can measure it, it cannot be detected through scans, X-rays of blood tests. Diagnosis is carried out through lengthy and in-depth assessment by a specialist consultant psychiatrist, however it is important to understand that gender dysphoria is not a psychiatric condition, nor is it a mental disorder.

In a male to female transsexual person, the effects of feminising hormones vary greatly from patient to patient but most patients experience noticeable changes within 2-3 months, with irreversible effects after as little as 6 months.

The main effects of feminising hormones are as follows:

1) Fertility and ‘male’ sex drive drop rapidly, erections become infrequent or unobtainable and this may become permanent after a few months.

2) Breasts develop, the nipples expand and the areolae darken to some extent, but typical final breast size is usually somewhat smaller than that of close female relatives.

3) Body and facial fat is redistributed. The face becomes more typically feminine, with fuller cheeks and less angularity. In the longer term, fat tends to migrate away from the waist and be re-deposited at the hips and buttocks, giving a more feminine figure.

4) Body hair growth often reduces and body hair may lighten in both texture and colour. There is seldom any major effect on facial hair, although if the patient is undergoing electrolysis, hormone treatment does noticeably reduce the strength and amount of re-growth. Scalp hair often improves in texture and thickness, and male pattern baldness generally stops progressing.

5) Many people report sensory and emotional changes: heightened senses of touch and smell are common, along with generally feeling more ’emotional’. Mood swings are common for a while following commencement of hormone therapy or any change in the regime.

In the female to male transsexual, where biological females are prescribed androgens, changes include:

1) A permanent deepening of the voice, this usually occurs within four months and is irreversible.

2) Permanent clitoral enlargement occurs.

3) Some breast atrophy, but at this stage it is usual to bind the breasts.

4) There is cessation of menstruation within three to six months

5) Increased strength and weight gain particularly around the waist and upper body with decreased hip fat. With exercise this can take the form of muscular development. Testosterone will not alter height or bone structure.

6) Growth of facial and body hair is likely to follow the pattern of hair growth inherent in the family, for example if other male members of the patient’s family have a tendency to baldness or if they do not have a great deal of body hair this is what can be expected with hormone treatment.

7) Increased social and sexual interest and arousability may occur and there may also be heightened feelings of aggression.

The most frequent form of surgery for male to female patients is known as penile inversion. When carried out by a skilled and experienced gender surgeon the results look almost indistinguishable from the external genitals of a natal woman. The transsexual women, however, does not have ovaries and a womb, is not able to conceive and does not have monthly periods. During the operation tissue and skin from the penis and scrotum is relocated to form a vagina and clitoris. Following surgery the patient will need to keep the newly formed vagina from closing up by performing regular dilation.

In the female to male, surgery is often carried out in stages, and the first stage is usually removal of the breasts with a bilateral mastectomy during which the nipples are preserved but may need to be reduced in size. The next stage is usually hysterectomy and oophorectomy to remove uterus and ovaries. Both these stages are commonly performed operations and can be carried out by any competent surgeon who does not necessarily need experience of gender reassignment surgery. Further stages are more specialised and involve metaidoioplasty for construction of a microphallus by surgically releasing the enlarged clitoris, or possibly phalloplasty which is construction of a penis. There are various techniques in use for phalloplasty, but as yet there is no method which can produce a totally realistic and fully functioning penis. Scrotoplasty may be carried out at the same time, or separately, to create a scrotum from the labia and silicone implants.

There is no evidence of any genetic link to the condition of gender dysphoria and therefore it is not something that is known to be passed down through generations of the same family. Nobody knows exactly what causes the condition, although there are various theories that consider a possible link between hormone disturbance in the mother during the first weeks of pregnancy or other interruptions to the normal course of pregnancy while the foetus is at a critical point of development.Is this Person a Man or a Woman?

In this example let us look at the male to female transsexual person. Gender dysphoria occurs when the person believes themselves to be a woman, their brain knows them to be a woman, even though their physical body may be that of a man. The only ‘cure’ for gender dysphoria is to change the body to match the brain. Therefore after surgery both brain and body are those of a woman. This person is in all respects a woman, even her passport will show this. It is therefore extremely painful for such a person to be addressed as ‘him’ or ‘Mr’. Having gone through so much to find a sense of inner peace in their true gender role, they should rightly expect to be treated as the woman they know themselves to be.

Even after hormone treatment and surgery, a transsexual male to female, may still retain certain male physical characteristics. These may include a voice that is unusually deep for a woman, or they may be very tall, or have large, hands and feet and heavy bones, particularly in the jaw and brow area of the face. They may have a receding hairline and need to wear a wig. When you meet this person for the first time you may feel shocked, uncomfortable or uncertain how to treat them. Hopefully you will understand that this is a medical condition for which the person is receiving treatment from highly qualified doctors and consultants, that they have been carefully assessed and diagnosed, and in many cases their treatment has been carried out under the National Health Service. If you think of it in this way you will find it easier to accept that this is a genuine and serious situation. If you are willing to accept this person for who they are, you will be helping them to adjust to a very difficult life challenge, and you may find you are making a very good and loyal friend.

What is the Difference Between Transvestite and Transsexual?

The differences are very distinct between a person who cross dresses and someone whose brain is telling them they belong to the opposite gender role. The transvestite may just cross dress occasionally, or may enjoy dressing regularly either in the privacy of their own home or to socialise. Some live full time in female clothes, but they always retain their core identity of themselves as male and will not want to consider gender surgery. Generally TVs who are “out” are sociable and may attract a lot of attention, they may enjoy wearing outrageous or fetish outfits and spend a lot of time involved with their clothes and appearance. It has often been observed that TVs tend to be heterosexual males while drag queens and female impersonators are often gay men. Although transsexual people are often very concerned about their dress and appearance, this is not the driving force behind their cross dressing. For the transsexual person clothes are an expression of their core female identity and many strive to blend in by studying how women of their age and background dress and learning how to tailor their appearance and mannerisms to attract as little attention as possible.

The above is a general guideline, but this is far from being a black and white issue and most cross dressers would place themselves somewhere on a gradient between the outrageous female impersonator at one extreme and the totally integrated post operative transsexual at the other. Many people who later go on to complete full gender reassignment begin the search for their true identity within the transvestite community, perhaps this is the only obvious and safe place where they feel they can cross dress. Also there are very few social groups where transsexual people meet, so those who enjoy socialising may be attracted to transvestite clubs. Many individuals feel very confused about their true gender identity, so how can an outsider be expected to judge whether a person is TV or TS when that person themselves does not know – or cannot accept – where their true identity lies and is therefore not giving out any clear signals about themself.

Long before they begin medical treatment, in fact often long before they even realise what is happening within them, most transsexual people will already show signs of thinking and behaving in ways more usual to the sex opposite to that of their physical appearance. They will frequently recall knowing from childhood that they were in some way “different” and it is usual for a transsexual woman to remember dressing in the clothes of a mother or sister, having a dislike for traditional boys’ toys and games, and feeling more comfortable in the company of girls.

Because of social pressures, particularly on young men, many transsexual people enter a period of denial in their late teens, in which they try to suppress any thoughts or feelings to do with their gender identity. For example it is common for a male to female to take up a typically male profession such as the armed forces, police, engineering, lorry driving, and also to marry and have children. They tell themselves that this proves they cannot possibly be a woman. At this time of their life they may also absorb themselves totally in a career – often becoming very successful – or in some form of sport or hobby which occupies all their spare time. Some may continue to cross dress.

But in time the stress begins to build until the person no longer feels able to keep this thing hidden and they need to seek help and medical treatment. When the gender dysphoria has been suppressed in this way for many years, the person may have developed other problems such as severe depression or a dependence on alcohol or drugs, and this will also need to be dealt with, along with any commitments to family responsibilities. There may be a break with wife, children and siblings, a change of career, loss of home, money and security, so the road to gender transition is an extremely difficult and often painful one.

Transsexual people often reveal themselves to be extremely isolated individuals, some people never make it through transition. Those who do have to find a lot of inner strength and determination to keep going. During transition these people need the support and understanding of friends and family as well as work colleagues and society in general. After surgery it is common for many people to melt away into society, living a normal life and often nobody guesses what they have been through. However the scars created by the pain of living with gender dysphoria for many years may remain and make it difficult for them to settle into an ordinary lifestyle.

Transsexual people are just ordinary people who experience all the challenges and problems that everyone has to deal with. Some are optimistic and cheerful, some slip easily into depression, some are determined, some are fragile, some make friends easily, some find socialising difficult. They are people like everyone else – they also suffer from a condition called gender dysphoria.

Understand what is happening, and accept the person for who they truly are – this is often all a transsexual person wants from you. Try to offer encouragement and support. Imagine how you would feel if it was you – take a moment to try and imagine how you would feel if you woke up tomorrow morning to find your body had become the opposite gender.

After all it could easily have been you who was born with this medical condition, nobody knows exactly what causes it but the dysphoria is believed to occur in an unborn baby during the first three months of the mother’s pregnancy. Someone who has already been through so much does not need to be victimised and taunted, humorous remarks, clever comments and other subtle ways of intimidation can cause intense pain. Also remember it is now against the law to discriminate against someone because they are transsexual.

Gender Trust – 2003

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