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• 1 2016-04-03T18:52:57-07:00 Basics of "Transgender" 44 plain 259508 2016-10-04T12:25:19-07:00 When embarking on a new journey, it is important to have a basic understanding of the topic. Like everything else we are interested in we run to our technological devices. As you can see on this page, Googling the term transgender yields tons of information. You can scroll on the image LEFT to see basic terminology. It is very important to understand appropriate terms to be uses. A great place to start is on the Wikipedia page to further understand the concept of transgender. The word "transgender" was coined and defined (as above) by Psychiatrist John F. Oliven in the 1960's. I strongly agree with him that the word itself needed to under go its own transition. Gender and sexuality are two different ways in which a person may identify themselves. The word "transgender" needed to go through a little minor transition itself. I agree with Oliven's definition because because gender and sexual identity are two completely different identities in which a person may identify themselves. Click on the film to watch a video to help explain the multiple ways in which a person can identify (gender, sexual, and beyond), but pay close attention to where the driving force comes from (brain, heart, or the genitalia).
  Complicated at first, yes, it can be; however, I hope to provide useful insight to unpack what it means when a person identifies as a transgender female. We have had a gender binary system embedded deep into our psychology since the rise of Christianity. So it is not our fault for initially going,huh? Let me ask you this? Do you identify as cis gender (click on terminology aforementioned for the definition)? Do not know? That is ok, lets see. People who identify as cis gender feel that their gender assigned to them at birth, based on the anatomy between your legs, (take a peek if you need to) matches perfectly their gender state of mind. Do you? If yes, you are cis gender, and if no, then you possibly are transgender. It is worth noting that gender identity is not that cut and dry; however, this understanding the difference between cis gender and transgender is a perfect place to begin. Now that you have a basic understanding of transgender identity, I would like to introduce you to seven amazing transgender individuals that have been extremely brave and inspiring for sharing their stories with the public. Their journeys span a large period of time from 1944 up to 2016.
  
  Before we do, I would like to share one of my favorite quotes with you by Margaret J. Wheatley. She said, "You can't hate someone whose story you know!" I truly believe this and the first woman I would like you to meet is Christine Jorgenson. Click below and enjoy your journey!