Transitioning is the process of changing the way you look and how people see and treat you so that you become the gender you feel on the inside. Transitioning can means lots of different things. It can involve medical treatment and hormones. It can involve changing your name and preferred pronouns. It can involve changing your appearance and dress. It can involve coming out to your friends and family. It can be a long and ongoing process. Or it can be something that happens over a short period of time.
There are two different types of transition, or ways to affirm your gender: social transition and medical transition.
Social transitioning may include:
For trans men, or FTM, medical transition may include any of the following:
For trans women, or MTF, medical transition may include any of the following:
At this time, only some Planned Parenthood health centers are able to offer hormone treatments for trans people.
Illinois
Aurora Health Center- Yes
Austin Health Center- Yes
Bloomington Health Center- Yes
Champaign Health Center- Yes
Decatur Health Center- Yes
Englewood Health Center- Yes
Near North Health Center- Yes
Pekin Health Center- Yes
Peoria Health Center- Yes
Rogers Park Health Center- Yes
Springfield Health Center- Yes
Iowa
Cedar Falls Center- No
Cedar Rapids Health Center- No
Council Bluffs Health Center- No, but they do a service referral
Des Moines - Rosenfield Center- No, but they do a service referral
Des Moines - West Health Center- No, but they do a service referral
Iowa City Health Center- No, but they do a service referral
If your closest Planned Parenthood health center doesn’t offer hormone treatments and you want them to, tell them. Let them know that you’re interested in this service and what it would mean for you. This goes for any service you’d like to get at your local Planned Parenthood. Our health centers do their best to meet the needs of their communities, so let them know. If they aren't able to offer hormone treatments, they may be able to recommend a trans-friendly doctor in your area who does.
Coming out as transgender may mean that you tell people about your preferred pronouns (if you wish to be referred to as he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.). It may also mean that you ask people to call you by a new name and to think of you by the gender identity that you’re comfortable with.
Coming out as trans is a very personal decision and different for everyone. Some people choose to come out before they medically or socially transition, and some choose to come out after or during the process. You may choose to come out to different people at different times, or to not come out to some people at all. All of this is okay — only you can decide what’s right for you.
Although both involve telling friends and family about your identity, there are differences between coming out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual and coming out as transgender. A lot of people know what it means for a person to be gay, but there’s still a lot of confusion and misinformation out there about what it means to be trans.
And sometimes coming out or being outed as transgender can mean your identity is misunderstood, disrespected, or disbelieved.
If you choose to come out as transgender, make sure it's to people you trust and that you have a support system in place. This can include friends, family, or a support group. It's important to feel as confident as possible that coming out won't jeopardize your safety, health, or living situation.
There’s no one correct way to come out to your family and friends. You're the expert in what feels right to you, and who it feels safest to tell.
Here are some general tips for coming out:
The Human Rights Campaign's Transgender Visibility Guide is a good, step-by-step resource for helping you come out as trans and also includes information to help the people in your life understand your identity.
You can find support in a lot of places, including:
Not everyone lives in a place that has lots of trans people or an LGBTQ community center. If this is your situation, check the Internet for communities and support.
Transphobia is the fear, hatred, disbelief, or mistrust of people who are transgender, thought to be transgender, or whose gender expression doesn’t conform to traditional gender roles. Transphobia can prevent transgender and gender nonconforming people from living full lives free from harm.
Transphobia can take many different forms, including
Transphobia can create both subtle and overt forms of discrimination. For example, people who are transgender (or even just thought to be transgender) may be denied jobs, housing, or health care, just because they’re transgender.
People may hold transphobic beliefs if they were taught them by other people, including parents and families who encourage negative ideas about trans people and who hold strict beliefs about traditional gender roles.
Some people are transphobic because they have misinformation or have no information at all about trans identities. They may not be aware of transgender people or trans issues or personally know anyone who is trans.
The stress of transphobia on trans people can be very harmful and can cause:
Outing is the act of revealing someone else's transgender identity or sexual orientation without their consent or permission. Sometimes outing is intentional and sometimes it’s accidental, but by sharing information about someone's gender identity against their wishes, you risk making them feel embarrassed, upset, and vulnerable. You may also put them at risk for discrimination and violence.
If someone shares their trans identity with you, remember that this is very personal information and it's an honor that they trusted you enough to tell you. Always ask them what you're allowed to share with others, and respect their wishes.
People who experience transphobic harassment often feel alone and afraid to tell anyone what’s happening. You should never have to deal with transphobia, and you’re not alone.
You may find support from:
Not everyone lives in a place that has a supportive school administration or an LGBTQ community center. In this situation, the Internet can help you find online communities and support with dealing with transphobia and discrimination.
If you’re a young person who’s experiencing transphobic harassment at school, it’s important to tell someone, even if that seems scary. Young people who experience transphobia at school sometimes stop going, which can affect your grades, friendships, and future plans. Some schools may have an anti-bullying and harassment policy, and some states have adopted a Safe Schools Law, which means that your school administrators are legally required to stop the harassment. If possible, find a teacher or adult who’s an ally to LGBTQ students and ask for their help.
If you’re experiencing transphobia and it’s causing you to feel depressed or suicidal, there’s help available:
No one has the right to discriminate against another person, or to hurt them emotionally or physically. There are things you can do to help stop transphobia:
When addressing transphobia in others:
It’s okay if you mess up a person’s pronouns or name by accident sometimes, especially if their transition is new to you. If this happens, apologize and make an effort to use the correct pronoun in the future.
When it comes to language, the following things are bullying:
Transgender people are more visible in the media and in our society than ever before. Transgender communities are fighting for equal rights. While great progress has been made, there’s still a lot of work to do to make sure everyone feels safe expressing their true gender identity and are given the same rights as cisgender people.
Far too many transgender people are negatively affected by transphobia. Transphobia can result in violence and even murder. It can also result in depression, substance abuse, self-harm, and suicide. A 2011 survey conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equality showed that 41% of trans people had attempted suicide, as compared to 1.6% of the general population.
It’s important that everyone — cisgender and transgender — work together to create communities that are welcoming to trans and gender nonconforming people. Everyone deserves to live in a world free of violence and discrimination, including those whose gender identity and expression doesn’t match their assigned sex. Everyone can play a part in supporting transgender people and making communities safer and more inclusive.
Respect the words a person uses to describe themselves. Transgender and gender nonconforming people use many different terms to describe their experiences and not all terms fit all people. Some trans people may use terms that others are uncomfortable with. It’s important to ask people what language they want you to use. It’s okay to ask someone for their preferred name and pronouns. Always use the name and pronouns they choose.
If a trans person isn’t sure which identity label fits them best, give them the time to figure it out for themselves. The terms or language a person prefers may change over time, and that’s totally normal and okay.
Approaching transgender people with respect, awareness, and a desire to learn about gender is an important step in making sure you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Most people want to treat others with respect. But sometimes even someone with good intentions can still cause pain, embarrassment, or offense. Such moments are an opportunity to listen to a transgender person’s concerns, learn more about gender identities and language, and work to improve how you use language that may be inaccurate or offensive.
Cisgender
Those who identify and present as the gender they were assigned at birth. For example, a baby born with a vulva is categorized a girl. If she also sees herself as a girl throughout her life, she is considered cisgender. In its simplest terms, cisgender describes someone who is not transgender.
Cross-Dresser (sometimes shortened to CD)
A person — typically a straight-identified, cisgender man — who sometimes wears clothing associated with the opposite sex in order to have fun, entertain, gain emotional satisfaction, for sexual enjoyment, or to make a political statement about gender roles.
Drag King
A female performer who exaggerates male behaviors and dress for the purposes of entertainment at bars, clubs, or events. Some drag kings might identify as transgender.
Drag Queen
A male performer who exaggerates female behaviors and dress for the purposes of entertainment at bars, clubs, or events. Some drag queens might identify as transgender.
Gender Dysphoria
A diagnosis, often used by psychologists and doctors, to describe the distress, unhappiness, and anxiety that transgender people may feel about the mismatch between their bodies and their gender identity. A person may be formally diagnosed with gender dysphoria in order to receive medical treatment to help them transition.
Psychologists used to call this “gender identity disorder.” However, the mismatch between a person’s body and gender identity isn’t in itself amental illness (but it can cause emotional distress), so the term was changed to reflect that.
Gender Fluidity
The flexibility of gender expressions and identities that may change over time or even from day to day. A gender fluid person may feel male on some days, female on others, both male and female, or neither. A gender fluid person might also identify as genderqueer.
Gender Nonconforming or Non-binary
When a person’s gender expression doesn’t fit inside the traditional male or female categories (sometimes called the gender binary). These labels can include someone who identifies as both male and female, neither male nor female, or some other gender altogether. The term isn’t a synonym for transgender and should only be used if someone self-identifies as gender nonconforming or non-binary.
Genderqueer
A term for people who don’t identify as a man or a woman or whose identity lies outside the traditional gender binary of male and female. Some people use genderqueer, gender nonconforming, and non-binary interchangeably, but others don’t. Genderqueer has a political history, so many use the term to identify their gender as non-normative in some way. For example, someone could identify as both cisgender female and genderqueer.
Intersex
A general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male. Sometimes a female or male gender is assigned to an intersex person at birth through surgery, if external genitals are not obviously male or female. Intersex babies are always assigned a legal gender, but sometimes when they grow up, they don’t identify with the gender selected for them. Some intersex people are transgender, but intersex does not necessarily mean transgender.
Transgender (sometimes shortened to Trans or Trans*)
A general term used to describe someone whose gender expression/gender identity are different than the sex assigned at birth. Some people put an asterisk on the end of trans* to expand the word to include all people with nonconforming gender identities and expressions.
Transgender Man (sometimes Trans Man, Female-to-Male, F to M, F2M, or FTM)
A person whose sex assignment at birth was female but whose gender identity is male. These identities can also refer to someone who was surgically assigned female at birth, in the case of intersexpeople, but whose gender identity is male. Many trans men identify simply as men.
Transgender Woman (sometimes Trans Woman, Male-to-Female, MTF, M2F)
A person whose sex assignment at birth was male but whose gender identity is female. These identities can also refer to someone who was surgically assigned male at birth, in the case of intersex people, but whose gender identity is female. Many trans women identify simply as women.
Although some people may use the following terms to describe their own gender, most of the labels below range from out-of-date to offensive.
Gender Identity Disorder (or GID)
The preferred term is gender dysphoria.
Hermaphrodite
The preferred term is intersex.
Pre-operative, post-operative (also pre-op or post-op)
A set of terms to describe a transgender person who has had or not had sex reassignment surgeries. Focusing on whether someone has had surgery can be considered invasive or a violation of someone’s privacy. Also many transgender people don’t want (or don’t have access to) surgeries that would change their body. Lastly, there are a variety of other ways transgender people transition besides sex reassignment surgery.
Sex Change Operation
Preferred terms are Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) or gender affirming surgery.
Shemale
An offensive term for a transgender woman, especially one who has had medical treatment for her breasts, but still has a penis. This term may be used by sex-workers or within the porn industry.
Tranny (sometimes referred to as The T-word)
While some transgender people use the word tranny to describe their gender, most find it highly offensive — a derogatory slur.
Transgendered
Adding -ed to the end of transgender isn’t grammatically correct. You wouldn’t say that someone is gayed, womaned, or Latinoed. Similarly you wouldn’t call someone transgendered.
Transsexual
An older term for people whose gender identities don’t match the sex that was assigned at birth and who desire and/or seek to transition to bring their bodies into alignment with their gender identities. Some people find this term offensive, others do not. Only refer to someone as transsexual if they tell you that’s how they identify.