transgender

From trans- +‎ gender. First used in English by John Oliven in 1965,[1] the term had acquired its current senses by the 1990s (by which time it had also largely displaced the earlier term transsexual; see usage notes).[2]

• (General American) IPA^(key): /tɹænzˈdʒɛndɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /tɹanzˈdʒɛndə/
• Rhymes: -ɛndə(ɹ)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

transgender (not comparable)

1. (narrowly) Having a gender (identity) which is different from the sex one was assigned at birth: being assigned male at birth but having a female or non-binary gender or vice versa; or, pertaining to such people. (Compare transsexual, and the following sense.)
   • 2010, Jessica Green, "I'm sorry, I'm not lesbian", The Guardian, 3 Mar 2010:

     One head of a small gay charity visibly flinched when I mentioned my boyfriend and has been cold towards me ever since. I've even caught someone staring down my top to see if I'm transgender.

   • 2010, Natasha Lennard, "City Room", New York Times, 7 Apr 2010:

     But the inclusion of the word “trannie” — a pejorative, in some circles — in the title, and the film’s parodic representation of transgender women, has offended many people.

2. (broadly) Not identifying with culturally conventional gender roles and categories of male or female; having changed gender identity from male to female or female to male, or identifying with elements of both, or having some other gender identity; or, pertaining to such people. (Compare genderqueer, transsexual.)
   • 1992, Maximum rocknroll, number 109:

     I think the new punk rockers are going to be more androgynous, more bisexual, more transgender, more ethnically diverse and less willing to take shit than ...

   • 1998, John Cloud, "Trans across America", Time, 20 Feb 1998:

     Their first step was to reclaim the power to name themselves: transgender is now the term most widely used, and it encompasses everyone from cross-dressers (those who dress in clothes of the opposite sex) to transsexuals (those who surgically "correct" their genitals to match their "real" gender).

3. (of a space) Intended primarily for transgender people.
   • 2001, Walter O. Bockting, Sheila Kirk, Transgender and HIV: Risks, Prevention, and Care, page 46:

     In Boston, no AIDS prevention messages are posted at the primary drag queen and transgender bar.

   • 2011, Connie Emerson, Top 10 Las Vegas →ISBN:

     The Las Vegas Lounge is the city's only transgender bar.

   • 2013, Norbert Paxton, The Rough Guide to Korea →ISBN:

     Trance A thriving transgender bar on the main Itaewon drag, […]

4. (of a space) Available for use by transgender people (in addition to non-transgender people).
   • 2002 October 2, Boston Globe, Group wants transgender bathrooms for UMASS, quoted in 2010, Sheila L. Cavanagh, Queering Bathrooms →ISBN
   • 2010, Harvey Molotch, Laura Noren, Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, page 199:

     Why the sudden outcry for transgender bathrooms?

   • 2013, William Keith, Christian O. Lundberg, Public Speaking: Choice and Responsibility:

     In contrast, in a democratic conversation or dialogue, the speaker would begin by identifying the larger public issues that connect to the availability of transgender bathrooms: equality, civil rights, […]

• The term transgender was coined in 1965[1] and popularized in the late 1970s,[3][4] and by the 1990s it had largely displaced the older, narrower term transsexual.[2][5] Transsexual is now often considered outdated[3] although some people still prefer it; see its entry for more. Neither term should be confused with transvestite (which see for more).
• For the usage of this word (and similar adjectives) as a noun, see below.

• LGBT
• LGBT+

(in the broad sense of not identifying with culturally conventional gender roles and categories, including both, neither, extra or opposite)

• agender
• ambigender
• bigender
• genderfluid
• genderqueer
• non-binary
• third gender
• transsexed
• transsexual
• trigender
• two spirit

• TG (abbreviated form)
• trans (abbreviated form)
• transgendered (uncommon, offensive)

• cisgender

• Japanese: トランスジェンダー (toransujendā)ニューハーフ (nyūhāfu)

transgender (usually uncountable, plural transgenders)

1. (uncountable, now rare) Transgenderism; the state of being transgender. (Compare transsex.)
   • 2007, Alison Stone, An Introduction to Feminist Philosophy →ISBN, page 41

     Before we can answer this question, we need to consider two other phenomena – transsex and transgender – which also expose the muddle within conventional categories of sex.

2. (countable, now often offensive) A transgender person.
   • 2005, Walter Bockting & Eric Avery, Transgender Health and HIV Prevention, page 116:

     In a patriarchal society in which machismo rules, MTF transgenders represent a challenge to traditional masculinity due to their renouncing of the male position of social power.

   • 2006, Jayne Caudwell, Sport, Sexualities and Queer/theory, page 122:

     Individual transgenders could compete in any division; however, transgender teams could not play against biological women's teams.

   • 2015, Helen Davies, Transgender woman forced to move house after death threats and knife in her front door (in The Liverpool Echo)

     Nat spent years being victimised as a male to female transgender but was too scared to report it.

• In Western countries, many transgender people consider the use of transgender (and similar adjectives) as a noun to be offensive, and several guides advise against such usage.[6][7][8][9] "A transgender man" (for a man who was assigned to the female sex at birth) or "a transgender woman" (for the reverse) is frequently more appropriate.

• LGBT

• two-spirit, berdache
• hijra

transgender (third-person singular simple present transgenders, present participle transgendering, simple past and past participle transgendered)

1. (uncommon) To change the gender of; (used loosely) to change the sex of. (Compare transsex.)
   • 2005, Sue Tolleson-Rinehart, Jyl J. Josephson, Gender and American Politics →ISBN, pages 15 and 205:

     […] and one that is still dominated by male nominees, women nominees might be seen as either contributing to the regendering, or the transgendering, of the Cabinet.

     […]

     This chapter examines women secretaries-designate in terms of their contributions to regendering or transgendering a cabinet office, to a gender desegregation or integration of the cabinet.

   • For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:transgender.

• LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQIA
• crossdress; drag
• SRS
• intersex
• acault
• sworn virgin

transgender

1. transgender

From English transgender. See also gender.

• Audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈtrɑns.ɣɛn.dər/, /ˈtrɑns.dʒɛn.dər/

transgender (invariable, not comparable)

1. transgender

• transseksueel