What It Means to Be Transgender

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When a child is born, a doctor says, “It’s a boy” or “It’s a girl.”

Assigning someone’s sex is based on biology — chromosomes, anatomy, and hormones. But a person’s gender identity — the inner sense of being male, female, or both — doesn’t always match their biology. Transgender people say they were assigned a sex that isn’t true to who they are.

Many people have assumptions about what it means to be transgender, but it isn’t about surgery, or love and support. Don’t insist that they “act like a boy” or “act like a girl.”

“Parents should let the child lead, not trying to force them back into the gender stereotype assigned at birth, but not pushing them toward other things,” Hendricks says.

Transgenderism Isn’t a Mental Illness

Many trans people seek counseling, but being transgender isn’t a mental illness. Many trans people are depressed or anxious or become socially isolated, but often it’s the fear that loved ones will reject them (or have already done so) that bring those feelings.

“People struggle with anxiety or depression when they feel they can’t be who they are,” Friedman says.

For some, it can lead to GLAAD’s web site.