transgender

Adjective describing people whose gender identity/expression differs from the biological features they were born with. Includes preoperative and postoperative transsexuals, female and male cross-dressers, drag queens or kings, female or male impersonators and intersex people. The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association Stylebook Supplement advises, “When writing about a transgender person, use the name and personal pronouns consistent with the way the person lives publicly.” Do not necessarily equate transsexual with transgender. Transsexuals are people who identify themselves as members of the opposite sex and who acquire the physical characteristics of that gender.