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Editors:
Friedemann Pfäfflin,
 Ulm University, Germany
 
Walter O. Bockting,
 University of Minnesota, USA
 
Eli Coleman,
 University of Minnesota, USA
 
Richard Ekins,
 University of Ulster at Coleraine, UK
 
Dave King,
 University of Liverpool, UK

Managing Editor:
Noelle N Gray,
 University of Minnesota, USA

Editorial Assistant:
Erin Pellett,
 University of Minnesota, USA

Editorial Board

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Published by
Symposion Publishing
  
ISSN 1434-4599

  
XVII Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Symposium
31 October - 4 November 2001, Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.

The Language of Gender Variance

DENNY, DALLAS U.S.A.
Co-authors: Jason Cromwell & Jamison Green (U.S.A.)

In the fall of 1997, we distributed a questionnaire via the internet, asking transgendered and transsexual respondents to tell us the term(s) they used to describe themselves and to rate terms which have been used in the popular and scientific literature to describe gender-variant people. We also asked respondents to specify what they considered appropriate pronoun usage for transgendered and transsexual men and women with various gendered presentations. We received 137 completed surveys (134 usable). In the fall of 2001, we held meetings at several transgender conferences to talk about issues of terminology.

Results, based on results of our survey and group discussions, suggest:

  • The issue of terminology is complex indeed
  • The terms by which transgendered and transsexual people refer to themselves are many and varied
  • There is a general lack of consensus about which are the "best" terms
  • Some terms are considered disrespectful by most transgendered and transsexual people and should not be used.
We will present our data, give suggestions for terms which should be avoided, and suggest usage least likely to be considered offensive by transsexual and transgendered people.