There are trans gender people, people whose gender is trans, that is, does not match the gender they were presumed to be at birth.
There are cis gender people, people whose gender is cis, that is, does match the gender they were presumed to be at birth.
In a sane world the fact that some one is trans would be treated as on par with having a cleft lip - something that should be appropriately addressed by medical professionals but does not alter that person’s worth as a human being or ability to function in society.
I assume that this position was not motivated by bigotry, but it is, at the very least, a position that enables bigotry. For instance, police agencies used to track stats for things like how many victims of violence are transgender. Under the direction of the current administration, many of them are no longer doing so. Are you saying that this is the correct decision, because trans people are just people?
For comparison, there is a word “homosexuality”. I’ve never heard anyone claim that that word was just a “snarl word”. It’s a word that’s used, without value judgement, by homosexual people and their allies. What’s the equivalent word for trans?
I see your point. I suppose “trans-genderness” could work. The problem (to me, and perhaps to GLAAD) was with the -ism suffix, which is used for lots of things, but often is associated with a political (or partly political) movement or philosophy. (I would guess that “Marxism” and “socialism” are among the most widely used -isms).
A person should not believe in an ism - he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon: “I don’t believe in Beatles - I just believe in me.” A good point there. Of course, he was the Walrus. I could be the Walrus - I’d still have to bum rides off of people.
Just a note - I have been informed by trans people I’ve encountered that the preferred way of spelling the term is as two words, “trans gender”, rather than “transgender”. I, myself, am not entirely clear on the finer points of this distinction but try to comply with the practice.
I never heard of adding a space to the word transgender. Putting a space between “trans” and the following word that it modifies is standard; e.g., a trans woman.
Well, eventually, when the private prison industry catches up with the demand for accommodating half the US population. (How else to bring back slavery in a really big way?!?)
What I frequently see, and use, is the term “transgender identity”.
As in “Transgender identity, like same-sex sexual orientation, is not part of the lived sex/gender experience of the majority of people, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a real thing.”
As in “Transphobes are people who deny the validity of transgender identity, and think that transgender people are just ‘mentally disturbed’ (as many homophobes thought/think about gay people).”
