It’s basically the same as how Drag Queens aren’t trans. They aren’t fully conforming to the idea of being a ‘woman’, just the fashion and expression of it. Many prominent drag figures use she/her pronouns while in drag but immediately switch back to he/him when out of drag.
Crossdressing and/or drag is you like to be outwardly a woman/other gender. Trans is you ARE a woman. Full stop. Your meat suit just happens to not agree with it, thus the term gender dysphoria.
Note: I do not speak for a trans people. Nothing is black and white. This is just how I understand it best and figured it got the point across.
FYI, I am looking to learn and not state anything as fact here. I am just going to explain my current understanding and if it is incorrect, please correct me.
I think gender dysphoria just describes any feelings of distress and anxiety caused by suppressing the feelings of actual gender identity. The disconnect between mind and body may not always be traumatic.
So, if a trans woman has fully embraced being a woman in all aspects of life with no second thoughts, gender dysphoria may not be an issue.
However, if a trans woman feels socially pressured to maintain the lifestyle of a man, that could be a source of stress, anxiety and initial confusion.
There are probably millions of nuanced scenerios that do, or, do not result in gender dysphoria. However, it has been my experience that most people who are anti-trans use gender dysphoria as a generalized blanket term. (Obviously, that doesn’t mean that anyone who used the term is anti-trans, but just covering that base regardless.)
You where born in the wrong body but the technology isn’t there yet to change that fact. That’s why it’s still called Transgender. if you could just switch Cis bodies I’m not sure anyone wouldn’t try it out.
I’m with famous cross dresser Barry Humphries in considering gender affirming surgery self mutilation, but at the end of the day it’s none of my or anyone else’s fucking business what someone does with their own meat suit.
Crossdressing and drag are related to gender expression. Cis and trans are terms relating to a person’s gender identity and may or may not align with gender expression.
By no means am I an expert, especially on the intricacies of being trans and I don’t want to cis-splain their experiences, but I do know that cross dressing has an overlap of necessity with them, but it’s a ven-diagram/intersection rather than a circle.
People who are trans typically explain it as having always felt like they’ve always been in the wrong gendered-body. Wearing clothes that correspond to the gender they feel they are
(also, keep in mind MRI’s have shown brain activity that more closely matches the gender they feel they are than the gender they were born with, as well) is way for them to try and reconcile the way they feel with the way they were born. It’s usually an early stage in socially transitioning, whether they later choose to chemically/medically transition or not (and keep in mind, this is not always the end goal for people … simply being acknowledged as the way they see themselves is enough for some people and they shouldn’t be afraid to be in public because of that!).
People who cross dress on the other hand may be doing it because they’re trans and feeling out the early stages OR … just because. It could be the way a textile feels, it could be sexual, it could be non-sexual, it could be because they just like it, it could be because … you see where I’m going with this? There are as many reasons that people cross dress as there t-shirt designs (I may be exaggerating a bit with that one, but you get my meaning, I think).
I know NOFX is problematic, but I feel like “I’m a Transvest‐Lite” explains it decently (for one particular person anyways!):
I’m not transgender, I’m a lazy crossdresser
Who thinks makeup is too much of an ordeal
I paint my toes and wear shiny tight clothes
Not for the look, but how it makes me feel
I don’t need things just right, I’m a tranvest-lite
I only shave to do the Time Warp midnight Saturday
I’m done with self-pity, I don’t have to feel shitty
'Cause I wanna look pretty, so I give it the old city College try
Don’t get me wrong, I still wanna be a guy
Who sometimes likes to dress like a girl
(He sometimes likes to wear diamonds and pearls)
Don’t think I don’t know I’m not fooling anyone
(He’s a cross between Adele and Charlie Chaplin)
You gotta know it’s not just girls who just wanna have fun!
Also, the beginning of the song is about the shame felt early on about it and is generally about getting the courage to not give a flying fuck about what people think.
Hopefully I did a decent enough explanation without trampling on anyones lived experiences. The simple truth is that both groups of people have completely individualized experiences and it’s a different journey for every single person.
To be fair, being trans is not the same as being a crossdresser.
Seriously? I sincerely didn’t know that. Do you mind explaining the difference?
It’s basically the same as how Drag Queens aren’t trans. They aren’t fully conforming to the idea of being a ‘woman’, just the fashion and expression of it. Many prominent drag figures use she/her pronouns while in drag but immediately switch back to he/him when out of drag.
Here are the Google definitions
Transgender - denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex registered for them at birth.
Transvestite - a person who dresses in clothes primarily associated with the other sex (typically used of a man).
Crossdressing and/or drag is you like to be outwardly a woman/other gender. Trans is you ARE a woman. Full stop. Your meat suit just happens to not agree with it, thus the term gender dysphoria.
Note: I do not speak for a trans people. Nothing is black and white. This is just how I understand it best and figured it got the point across.
FYI, I am looking to learn and not state anything as fact here. I am just going to explain my current understanding and if it is incorrect, please correct me.
I think gender dysphoria just describes any feelings of distress and anxiety caused by suppressing the feelings of actual gender identity. The disconnect between mind and body may not always be traumatic.
So, if a trans woman has fully embraced being a woman in all aspects of life with no second thoughts, gender dysphoria may not be an issue.
However, if a trans woman feels socially pressured to maintain the lifestyle of a man, that could be a source of stress, anxiety and initial confusion.
There are probably millions of nuanced scenerios that do, or, do not result in gender dysphoria. However, it has been my experience that most people who are anti-trans use gender dysphoria as a generalized blanket term. (Obviously, that doesn’t mean that anyone who used the term is anti-trans, but just covering that base regardless.)
You think you are.
You where born in the wrong body but the technology isn’t there yet to change that fact. That’s why it’s still called Transgender. if you could just switch Cis bodies I’m not sure anyone wouldn’t try it out.
I’m with famous cross dresser Barry Humphries in considering gender affirming surgery self mutilation, but at the end of the day it’s none of my or anyone else’s fucking business what someone does with their own meat suit.
Maybe this will help?
Crossdressing and drag are related to gender expression. Cis and trans are terms relating to a person’s gender identity and may or may not align with gender expression.
That illustration is sweet
By no means am I an expert, especially on the intricacies of being trans and I don’t want to cis-splain their experiences, but I do know that cross dressing has an overlap of necessity with them, but it’s a ven-diagram/intersection rather than a circle.
People who are trans typically explain it as having always felt like they’ve always been in the wrong gendered-body. Wearing clothes that correspond to the gender they feel they are
(also, keep in mind MRI’s have shown brain activity that more closely matches the gender they feel they are than the gender they were born with, as well) is way for them to try and reconcile the way they feel with the way they were born. It’s usually an early stage in socially transitioning, whether they later choose to chemically/medically transition or not (and keep in mind, this is not always the end goal for people … simply being acknowledged as the way they see themselves is enough for some people and they shouldn’t be afraid to be in public because of that!).
People who cross dress on the other hand may be doing it because they’re trans and feeling out the early stages OR … just because. It could be the way a textile feels, it could be sexual, it could be non-sexual, it could be because they just like it, it could be because … you see where I’m going with this? There are as many reasons that people cross dress as there t-shirt designs (I may be exaggerating a bit with that one, but you get my meaning, I think).
I know NOFX is problematic, but I feel like “I’m a Transvest‐Lite” explains it decently (for one particular person anyways!):
Also, the beginning of the song is about the shame felt early on about it and is generally about getting the courage to not give a flying fuck about what people think.
Hopefully I did a decent enough explanation without trampling on anyones lived experiences. The simple truth is that both groups of people have completely individualized experiences and it’s a different journey for every single person.