Title: 
Headings: understanding transgender
Frequentl
y
 
asked
 
questions
 
about
 
transgender
 
PeoPle


 
Resource
 
from
 
the
 
National
 
Center
 
for
 
Trangender
 
Equality
May
 
2009

understanding
 
transgender

How
 
many
 
transgender
 
people
 
are
 
tHere?

wHy
 
are
 
people
 
transgender?
 
wHat
 
causes
 
it?

is
 
being
 
transgender
 
a
 
mental
 
illness?

How
 
do
 
transsexual
 
people
 
cHange
 
genders?
  
wHat
 
is
 
tHe
 
process
 
like?

wHat
 
are
 
tHe
 
costs
 
of
 
transitioning?

wHy
 
do
 
people
 
crossdress?

How
 
is
 
gender
 
identity
 
different
  
from
 
sexual
 
orientation?

wHat
 
is
 
being
 
done
 
about
 
tHe
 
discrimination
 
tHat
 
transgender
 
people
 
face?


Content: When
  
you
  
look
  
across
 
cultures,
  
you
  
will
  
find
  
that
  
people
  
have
  
had
  
a
  
wide
  
range
  
of
 
beliefs
 
about
 
gender. Some
 
cultures
 
look
 
at
 
people
 
and
 
see
 
six
 
genders,
 
while
 
others
 
see
 
two. Some
 
cultures
 
have
 
created
 
specific
 
ways
 
for
 
people
 
to
 
live
 
in
 
roles
 
that
 
are
 
different
 
from
 
that
 
assigned
 
to
 
them
 
at
 
birth. In
 
addition,
 
different
 
cultures
 
also
 
vary
 
in
 
their
 
definitions
 
of
 
masculine
 
and
 
feminine. Whether
 
we
 
view
 
someone
 
as
 
transgender
 
depends
 
on
 
the
 
cultural
 
lenses
 
we
 
are
 
looking
 
through
 
as
 
well
 
as
 
how
 
people
 
identify
 
themselves. Biologists
 
tell
 
us
 
that
 
sex
 
is
 
a
 
complicated
 
matter,
 
much
 
more
 
complex
 
than
 
what
 
we
 
may
 
have
 
been
 
taught
 
in
 
school. A
 
person
 
has
 
XX
 
chromosomes
 
is
 
generally
 
consid-
ered
 
female,
 
while
 
a
 
person
 
with
 
XY
 
chromosomes
 
is
 
generally
 
considered
 
male. How-
ever,
 
there
 
are
 
also
 
people
 
who
 
have
 
XXY,
 
XYY,
 
and
 
other
 
variations
 
of
 
chromosomes; these
 
genetic
 
differences
 
may
 
or
 
may
 
not
 
be
 
visibly
 
apparent
 
or
 
known
 
to
 
the
 
person. Some
 
people
 
are
 
born
 
with
 
XY
 
chromosomes,
 
but
 
are
 
unable
 
to
 
respond
 
to
 
testoster-
one
 
and
 
therefore
 
develop
 
bodies
 
with
 
a
 
vagina
 
and
 
breasts,
 
rather
 
than
 
a
 
penis
 
and
 
testes.