Table 1.
Selected definitions of the term “transgender” and its variants, 1965-2021, showcasing how the term continues to evolve and change over time, oftentimes making results of studies utilizing the term (or similar terms) nonreproducible85
| Year | Definition | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Where the compulsive urge reaches beyond female vestments, and becomes an urge for gender (“sex”) change, transvestism becomes “transsexualism.” The term is misleading; actually, “transgender[ism]” is what is meant, because sexuality is not a major factor in primary transvestism. | 86 |
| 1978 | [Transgenderists] are people who have adopted the exterior manifestations of the opposite sex on a full-time basis but without any surgical intervention. | 87 |
| 1988 | It used to be that a “transgender[ist]” was a person who could express him or herself comfortably in both masculine and feminine terms… Recently, however, the term “transgender[ist]” has come more and more to mean a person of one sex living entirely in the gender role generally considered appropriate for the opposite sex (cross-living). Most people who consider themselves to be transgender[ist]s do not want or need sexual reassignment surgery, and do not identify with “transvestite.” | 88 |
| 1998 | Originally, transgender referred to the group of people, also know[n] as full-time cross-dressers or nonsurgical transsexuals, who live and work as the opposite gender continuously and for always. Now it more often refers to the group of all people who are inclined to cross the gender line, including both cross-dressers and gender-benders, the “umbrella definition” that covers everyone. | 89 |
| 2008 | An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The term may include but is not limited to transsexuals, cross-dressers, and other gender-variant people. Transgender people may identify as female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF). Use the descriptive term (transgender, transsexual, cross-dresser, FTM, or MTF) preferred by the individual. Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically. | 90 |
| 2011 | Relating to or being a person whose gender identity does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. | 91 |
| 2018 | Often shortened as “trans.” An umbrella term for people whose gender and/or expression does not match their birth assignment. Transgender includes many of the terms in this list and may or may not include transsexuals, cross dressers, drag kings/queens, and others who defy what society tells them their gender should be. How people identify with this term depends on the individual and their relationship with their gender. | 92 |
| 2021 | A term describing a person’s gender identity that does not necessarily match their assigned sex at birth. Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically to match their gender identity. This word is also used as an umbrella term to describe groups of people who transcend conventional expectations of gender identity or expression—such groups include, but are not limited to, people who identify as transsexual, genderqueer, gender variant, gender diverse, and androgynous. | 93 |