Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender Resource Center

Understanding Transgender Identities

Trans, transgender, transgendered, transexual, transsexual; what do they mean?

• TransGender Basics, link to a page from which you may watch a twenty minute educational film on the concepts of gender and transgender people
• T-VOX – a support and community website for transsexual, intersex and genderqueer people; anyone questioning their gender identity and anyone with any other gender identity issues
• The transsexual person in your life
• GenderTalk Radio Archives and other resources
• Transgender Issues page on the gsa-network site

Perspectives

These resources may be of use in gaining a perspective of what it means to 'change' one's sex or gender. (The term commonly used is 'to transition'.)

• Raven Kaldera's Letter to Would-Be Transsexuals

Resources

Additional information, links and organizations concerned with trans and gender identity issues.

• Gender identity issues at MSU
• Transgender housing options at MSU
• Unisex bathrooms at MSU
• Phi Tau Mu - MSU student trans organization
• TransGender Michigan (TGMI)
• Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA)
• FORGE (Milwaukee) has FTM and trans-aging resources
• PFLAG has a transgender network
• Safe2pee.org - awesome online directory
• Understanding Transgender Issues in Fraternity & Sorority Life (Lambda 10 Project)
• National organizations

Suggested readings

• NGLTF publication: Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People; the nine keys to making lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations fully transgender-inclusive (PDF, local copy)
• An overview of transgender identities in United States and cross-cultural contexts appears in: Analysis of LBGT Identity Development Models and Implications for Practice, by Brent Bilodeau and Kristen Renn. (New Directions for Student Services, Number 111, Fall 2005: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation: Research, Policy, and Personal Perspectives.) Recently a group of MSU trans students provided consultation and support on two studies of transgender college students authored by Brent: Beyond the Gender Binary (2005) and Genderism in Higher Education (pending). Contact Dr. Bilodeau for more information.