transgender
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- Lili Elbe
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transgender, term self-applied by persons whose gender identity varies from that traditionally associated with their apparent biological sex at birth. In its original and narrower sense, transgender referred to males and females who respectively gender-identify as females and males. In a later and broader sense, it has come to designate persons whose gender identities incorporate behaviors and traits traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transgender persons may thus include transsexuals, transgenderists (in one usage of the term, persons who gender-identify with the opposite sex but who choose not to undergo sex-reassignment surgery or hormone treatments), and androgynes (biologically or psychologically androgynous persons), among other groups. In its broader sense, transgender is closely related to the more-recent term genderqueer, which is self-applied by persons who are either transgender or who have no gender, a third (neither male nor female) gender, or a fluctuating gender.
In part because there is no universally accepted definition of transgender (different researchers use the term in different ways), it is uncertain how many transgender persons there are. Estimates in the United States, based on the broad definition used in this article, have varied from less than 1 percent to more than 3 percent of the population in the early 21st century.
Sex, gender, and sexual orientation
The notion of transgender presupposes fundamental distinctions between the concepts of sex, gender, and sexual orientation (see human sexual behavior). Whereas sex is a biological category, gender refers to the set of traits and behaviors that are traditionally associated with a particular sex. A person who is transgender experiences and expresses a disjunction between sex and gender. Sexual orientation, in contrast, is defined in terms of the sexes or genders to which a person is sexually, emotionally, or romantically attracted. It is a widespread but mistaken assumption that transgender persons are necessarily homosexual (i.e., attracted to members of the sex that they were assigned at birth). Although some are homosexual, others are heterosexual or bisexual or do not identify with any particular sexual orientation.
Theoretical background
Various theories of gender have been proposed as explanations of the experience of transgender persons. In addition to the concepts of sex and gender, those of gender identity and gender expression are particularly important for such theories. Gender identity refers to a person’s self-identification as male or female or as something in between or outside of those categories. Gender expression refers to the behavior through which one expresses one’s gender identity—e.g., by using certain pronouns or wearing certain kinds of clothing or having a particular hairstyle. Whereas gender identity is not something that others can view, gender expression is publicly visible.
The main theories of gender are essentialism, social constructionism, and performativity. Essentialists place emphasis on biological characteristics, arguing that a person’s gender identity is fixed at birth, whether or not it corresponds to biological sex. Essentialism is thus opposed to the view that gender identity is entirely socially constructed—i.e., a product of social or societal influences. The central case in need of explanation, according to essentialists, is that of persons who report having always (for as long as they can remember) felt that they belonged to the sex opposite the one that they were assigned at birth. Such experiences are typical of transsexuals, who feel the need to change their sex to match the gender identity they feel they have always had.
Social constructionism, as the term suggests, is the view that gender is socially constructed. That gender is socially constructed is shown, according to constructionists, by the fact that the traits and behaviors traditionally associated with the male or female sex have varied over time and across cultures, which would not be the case if gender were innate. It is important to note that essentialism and social constructivism, as those theories are defined in this article, are not necessarily inconsistent, insofar as they aim to explain different (though obviously related) things: the one concerns the supposed biological origin of gender identity (one’s self-identification as male or female), the other the supposed social or societal origin of gender (the traits and behaviors that make up the masculine or the feminine). It is entirely possible that the former is innate and the latter largely, if not entirely, learned, in the broad sense of being instilled.
As to sex, some social constructivists claim that it too is not biologically given but rather pronounced by medical professionals whose role it is to place infants into one or the other category at birth. A prominent defender of that view is the American philosopher Judith Butler, who is also known as a developer of the performative theory of gender.
An extension of social constructivism is the performative theory, or performativity, which holds that gender is a “performance” that people undertake on a daily basis, even if only unconsciously. In particular, gender is not the expression of an underlying essence or nature, whether based on sex or on gender identity. It is rather a series of acts whose constant repetition creates the illusion that an underlying nature exists. According to Butler, gender “is performatively constituted by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.”
