 CD, TV, TS, DQ, HPW - a hornet's nest!If I had a pound for every time an argument had struck up in chat rooms or forums about the differences between cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals, she-males and all the other monikers that us t*girls get called, I'd probably have quite a few pounds by now. The problem is that some people like a label and others don't, some people feel they should be called one thing and others think they should be something else. None of this promotes transgender harmony, which is one of the reasons that I tend to stick to using the phrase 'T*Girl' or sometimes 'tranny' which are both acceptible abbreviations for most of the possible connotations. |
 Sort it out!Whilst the debate between what means what rages on, there are some relatively commonly accepted definitions of what the different names generally relate to. So, for your delight and delectation, here's Vicky's guide to transgender terminology:
- Hairy Pant Wearer (HPW) - Unflattering and somewhat negative term used to describe those men who like to wear ladies underwear under their male clothes whilst working, shopping etc.
- Cross Dresser (CD) - There's some confusion over whether this is any different from a transvestite but the term tends to be applied more to those who like to wear womens' clothes but who aren't fussed about putting on make-up or 'passing'.
- Transvestite (TV) - Someone who likes to dress up in womens' clothes with the aim of looking like a woman.
- Transsexual (TS) (sometimes spelled 'transexual' with just one 's') - A woman who was born inside a man's body. Transsexuals are either 'pre-op' meaning that they still have all their male bits (though they might have had female bits added such as breast enlargement) or 'post-op' meaning that they have been cosmetically altered to have all female bits and no male ones.
- She-Male - A term used mostly in the pornography industry for any kind of t*girl who is prepared to get her kit off/out for the camera and a few bucks! Not to be used in pleasant company as 'chick with a dick' isn't either.
- Drag Queens (DQ) - Gay men (note that other definitions say nothing about sexuality) who ape or imitate women. Drag queens normally get tarted up to go and work at a club whereas transvestites get tarted up to go and have fun at a club!
In addition to these internationally recognised terms, there are also some local variations and deviations which you might come across:
- Lady Boy (Kathoey or Katoey in Thai) - Usually refers to transvestites and transsexuals from Thailand
- Hijra - A hindu term for certain male to female (M2F) transsexuals who, whilst being castigated by some parts of Indian society, are regarded as special in others and are often called upon to bless new babies, harvests and other successful events.
- Metis - A Nepalese term for T*Girls. Sometimes just gay men who are forced to look like women in order that they can go out in public with their partners.
- NewHalf - The Japanese for 'T*Girl'!
- Damenwäscheträger - German word for 'cross-dresser' (literal translation is 'ladies washing carrier'!)
There are also a whole host of words for transvestite in various other languages including travesti (French and Portuguese), transvestit / travestie (German), travestito (Italian), travestido (Spanish), transvestiet / travestie (Dutch), travestiti (Romanian) - the gist of how these work is quite apparent! Another common international phrase is transex. |
