It is actually pretty simple
A lot of people seem to be getting confused about what to call us transgender folk, or what a transgender individual means when they say, for example, “I am a trans woman”.
Apparently, this is confusing because it is not clear whether the trans individual is referring to their “biological sex / birth sex” or the “gender they think they are / want to be”.
Please note well the quotes. They are important here, because they are being used to denote derision of these phrases.
This confusion is rooted in cissexist thought. And it is very easily cured. Just apply these simple rules:
Gender is an identity, not a set of physiological traits. When I say “Mary identifies as genderqueer”, it is functionally equivalent to “Mary is genderqueer”. Now try it with a woman, to make sure you get the idea: “Anna identifies as a woman” is equivalent “Anna is a woman”. The important thing to take away from this is that gender is an identity for everyone, including cisgender folks. “Anna identifies as a woman” does not tell you whether Anna is transgender or cisgender. (she is transgender, in case you have not been paying attention to this blog)
When you see the phrase ‘trans man’ or ‘trans woman’, you can use basic grammar to deduce the meaning. ‘Trans’ is an adjective, and is short for either transgender or transsexual, depending on context. ‘Man’ and ‘woman’ are nouns, and they are the operative word in the description. This means a trans man is a man, and a trans woman is a woman. See rule 1 if you get confused about the implications.
So, if you have grokked these two rules, you should be good to go. In case you are still having trouble, I will rephrase (and expound):
The words man and woman apply to all men and all women, respectively, regardless of whether they are cisgender or transgender. You do not need extra language to include trans men and trans women when you say “men and women”. In fact, including extra language is cissexist, as it implies there is a need to point out the difference. You DO, however, need extra language to include non-binary folks.
“But Anna,” asks the Strangely Deferential Mob, “What if I want to make sure transgender people know they are explicitly welcomed and included? After all, trans people often face a lot of erasure.”
Well, mob, I’ve got good news: this problem can be solved! Just like ‘man’ and ‘woman’ both describe gender identities, ‘cisgender’ and ‘transgender’ describe whether your gender identity matches your birth-assigned gender. So, as an example, if you want to make this phrase trans-inclusive without causing harm:
We welcome everyone, whether you are male, female or transgender.
might be:
We welcome everyone, whether you are a man, women, or non-binary, and whether you are cisgender or transgender.
This really isn’t rocket surgery, folks.
