# What does "transgender" actually mean?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-transgender-actually-mean/792439>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 30, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-transgender-actually-mean/792439 "2017-07-30T14:35:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-transgender-actually-mean/792439/21 "2017-07-31T22:02:09Z")

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I think that there’s enough potential for variation among humans, and enough of us in the world, that pretty much any time you ask “are there not people who…”, the answer will almost always be “yes, there are some”.

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**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-transgender-actually-mean/792439/22 "2017-07-31T22:20:04Z")

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> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Does it have to be sexual stimulation, though? Are there not guys who like to dress up as women, but not as part of a sexual act?

I know male-bodied people who like to wear dresses/skirts/makeup, just because they like the way it looks and not for sexual purposes. Often they identify as nonbinary or genderqueer, but some consider themselves guys who happen to have that taste in clothing. But those folks aren’t trying to “dress up as women”, they’re just people wearing clothes that aren’t generally worn by people with their genital configuration.

Drag queens would be another example of this, and more accurate to your question.

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [July 31, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-transgender-actually-mean/792439/23 "2017-07-31T23:56:55Z")

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> [@Hari\_Seldon](#):
>
> I had assumed it meant someone who had undergone hormonal treatments, surgery, etc. and had actually changed their gender. But having read the figure of 1.4 million transgender Americans, including up to 15,000 in the military, I am wondering if it has actually come to include all who are uncomfortable with their “assigned” gender and might some time in the future undergo actual reassignment treatment.
> 
> Just the facts, please.

Since you bring up the military, I will give you the military’s definition:

"_A Service member who has received a medical diagnosis indicating that gender transition is medically necessary, including any Service member who intends to begin transition, is undergoing transition, or has completed transition and is stable in the preferred gender._

DoD Instruction (DoDI) 1300.28, “In-Service Transition for Service Members Identifying as Transgender,” June 30, 2016  
[https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2016/0616\_policy/DoD-Instruction-1300.28.pdf](https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/features/2016/0616_policy/DoD-Instruction-1300.28.pdf)

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