Transgender issues: Public awareness is on the rise

In the last year, there has been a growing public awareness of transgender people, both in pop culture and mainstream media.

The signs are everywhere from characters in the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black and the Oscar-nominated film Dallas Buyers Club to the album Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Florida punk band Against Me! to the spring 2014 campaign for U.S. department store Barneys, which features 17 transgender models.

Trans issues are also cropping up in the news.Last week, a judgein Kansas approved a request by Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning, the soldier previously known as Bradley Manning who got a 35-yearprison term for handing government secrets to WikiLeaks, to officially change her name asshe now identifies as a woman.

Meanwhile,Alberta Premier Dave Hancockrecently announcedthat transgender people will no longer be required to have reassignment surgery before they can change the sex on their birth certificates.

Despite this rising awareness, there have also been a number of recent stories that highlight basic misunderstandings about transgender people. TV interviewers such as CNNs Piers Morgan or ABCs Katie Couric have been accused of using offensive language and asking intrusive questions. Sports journalism site Grantland was roundly criticized for a feature on a unique golf putter that ended up outing its inventor, a trans woman (who subsequently committed suicide). Meanwhile, the reality show RuPauls Drag Race has come under fire for its use of the slur she male, which many people find to be transphobic.

These types of misunderstandings have real-life consequences. For example, when transgender actress Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black) appeared on Katie Courics show, she explained to Couric why some trans people don't like getting questions that focus on their body.

The preoccupation with transition and surgery objectifies trans people. And then we dont get to really deal with the real lived experiences. The reality of trans peoples lives is that so often, we are targets of violence, Cox said.

We experience discrimination disproportionately to the rest of the community. Our unemployment rate is twice the national average; if you are a trans person of colour, that rate is four times the national average. The homicide rate is highest among trans women. If we focus on transition, we dont actually get to talk about those things.

Janet Mock, a transgender author and advocate, acknowledges that even well-intentioned people struggle with finding the proper language to address trans issues. When she recently appeared on CBC Radios culture show Q, Mock stressed that being an ally to the trans community means actively and continually trying to learn for yourself.

• Q interview with Laura Jane Grace (of punk band Against Me!)
• Q interview with Miss Universe contestant Jenna Talackova
• Q interview with Chaz Bono

I think the next part of learning and wanting to heighten your own awareness is making it transform beyond curiosity, because curiosity can also be dangerous," says Mock. "If were just looking at someone as a piece of education for us, or something to heighten our awareness about something, then were not really seeing the person.

CBC News takes a closer look at this often confusing issue.

What does transgender mean?

Transgender is an umbrella term that describes someone whose gender identity or expression does not match the gender they were assigned at birth a phrase that recognizes how sex and gender are given to individuals at birth, rather than being innate or unchangeable qualities. Most people would probably consider themselves cisgender that is, they identify as the gender they were assigned at birth.

People who describe themselves as transgender or simply trans may include female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals, cross-dressers, drag queens and drag kings, androgynous people, genderqueers or anyone whose gender defies typical societal expectations. The trans community is very diverse and includes a multitude of identities and experiences. (Some advocates prefer to refer to the community as trans* -- the addition of the asterisk signifies the most inclusive version of the term.)

While some transgender people transition from one side of the gender binary man/woman, masculine/feminine to the other, some prefer to exist in between, or outside the binary altogether. Whereas the term transsexual often refers to trans men or trans women who physically transition to bring their bodies more into alignment with their gender identity, transgender identity is not dependent upon altering ones body with hormones or surgery. Many trans people prefer to identify as transgender rather than transsexual, because it doesnt emphasize or denote bodily characteristics, which they may or may not decide to change.

Transgender is an adjective, not a noun, which is why advocacy group GLAAD says theres no need to put an -ed at the end. Trans people may use a variety of pronouns to describe themselves, such as he, she or the gender-neutral they, and trans advocates stress that its important to refer to trans people with the pronoun they prefer.

If youre unsure, its best to ask.

What is the difference between gender identity, gender expression, sex and sexual orientation?

• Gender identity is one's personal, inward sense of being a man or a woman (or boy or girl) or any other shade of gender. Gender identity is not determined by bodily characteristics while some trans people undergo hormone therapy and/or surgery, others decide not to change their bodies at all.
• Gender expression is how an individual chooses to outwardly demonstrate gender, which is often conveyed through masculine, feminine or gender-variant behaviour, clothing or mannerisms. Gender expression doesnt necessarily indicate gender identity. For example, just because British comedian Eddie Izzard cross-dresses as a woman once in a while doesnt mean he identifies as one.
• Sexual orientation (gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, queer, pansexual, etc.) denotes the gender(s) youre sexually and/or romantically attracted to. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not the same just because one shifts genders doesnt mean one changes whom they are attracted to. Like cisgender people, trans people can be straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual or queer.
• Sex (female/male/intersex) is the classification people are assigned at birth based on a combination of physical characteristics, including external organs and chromosomes. Transgender people often seek to match their gender expression with their gender identity, rather than their birth-assigned sex.

The web site Its Pronounced Metrosexual illustrates the differences with a diagram called the Genderbread Person.

How can I be an ally to transgender people?

Here are some tips from transgender advocates:

1. See trans people as people rather than objects or oddities.

2. Accept trans people for who they say they are, including their preferred name and pronoun.

3. Avoid asking inappropriate questions about a trans persons body, medical history or sex life questions youd be unlikely to ask anyone else.

4. You cant tell if someone is trans just by looking at them, so its best not to assume anyones gender.

5. Instead of saying someone was born a boy or born a girl, try saying they were assigned male or female at birth.

6. Remember that transgender women are women and transgender men are men, and that some people prefer to exist somewhere in between or outside of the gender binary.

7. Dont use offensive and outdated terms such as transvestite, tranny, she-male, he-she or prefixes such as real or bio- when describing someone who is not trans (its best to use cis-). Although trans people may use these terms in self-reference, cisgender people should avoid this language.

8. Be careful about outing trans people. Not all trans people feel comfortable sharing their status publicly and disclosing confidential information can be dangerous to their safety.