LGBT stereotypes - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...

s about lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

, bisexual, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

) people are conventional, formulaic generalization

Generalization

A generalization of a concept is an extension of the concept to less-specific criteria. It is a foundational element of logic and human reasoning. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteristics shared by those elements. As such, it...

s, opinions, or images about persons based on their sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

or gender identity

Gender identity

A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...

. Stereotypes and homophobia

Homophobia

Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...

are a learned outlook, i.e. from parents, teachers, peers, or the mass media

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

, or a lack of firsthand familiarity, may tend to lead to more reliance on learned stereotypes. Negative stereotyping is often a result of homophobia

Homophobia

, biphobia

Biphobia

Biphobia is a term used to describe aversion felt toward bisexuality and bisexuals as a social group or as individuals. People of any sexual orientation can experience such feelings of aversion...

, and transphobia

Transphobia

Transphobia is a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards transsexualism and transsexual or transgender people, based on the expression of their internal gender...

. Positive stereotypes, or counterstereotype

Counterstereotype

A counter-stereotype, reverse stereotype, or anti-stereotype is the reverse of a stereotype.Although counter-stereotypes arise in opposition to stereotypes, they may eventually become stereotypes themselves if they are too popular....

s, also exist but may be no less harmful, as they are still oversimplified views of the group being stereotyped.

Lesbians

Lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...

, or as an adjective, to describe characteristics of an object or activity related to female same-sex desire. Lesbians are subjected to the stereotypes and misconceptions of whom they are, and how they dress and behave. Typically, they are thought to be butch

Butch and femme

Butch and femme are LGBT terms describing respectively, masculine and feminine traits, behavior, style, expression, self-perception and so on. They are often used in the lesbian, bisexual and gay subcultures...

, with short haircuts and work boots, dressing more masculine. Dykes

Dyke (slang)

Dyke is slang terminology referring to a lesbian or lesbianism. It originated as a derogatory label for a masculine woman, and this usage still exists. However, some attempt to use it in a manner they see as positive, or simply as a neutral synonym for lesbian...

, a pejorative term that has been reclaimed by the LGBT community, are thought to be making a strong statement of their place in society. Portia de Rossi

Portia de Rossi

Portia Lee James DeGeneres , known professionally as Portia de Rossi , is an Australian-American actress, best known for her roles as lawyer Nelle Porter on the television series Ally McBeal and Lindsay Bluth Fünke on the sitcom Arrested Development...

made significant progress in dispelling the general misconception of how lesbians look and function.

Lipstick lesbian

Lipstick lesbian

Lipstick lesbian is a slang term used to describe lesbian and bisexual women who exhibit extremely feminine gender attributes, such as wearing make-up , wearing dresses or skirts and having other characteristics associated with feminine women...

refers to femme

Butch and femme

women who tend to be hyper-feminine

Feminine

Feminine, or femininity, normally refers to qualities positively associated with women.Feminine may also refer to:*Feminine , a grammatical gender*Feminine cadence, a final chord falling in a metrically weak position...

. The term U-Haul lesbian

U-Haul lesbian

U-Haul lesbian or U-Haul syndrome is an LGBT slang term used to describe a stereotype of lesbian relationships. The term originated from the punch line of a joke that lesbians tended to move in together on the second date. It suggests an extreme inclination toward monogamy or committed relationships...

became a stereotype of intimating that lesbians move in together in a very short period of time. This joke is considered a classic of lesbian humor. The origin of this term is an old joke which refers to a brand of rental "move yourself" trucks and trailers: Question: What does a lesbian bring on a second date? Reply: A U-Haul

U-Haul

U-Haul International, Inc. is an American equipment rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation since 1945. The company was founded by Leonard Shoen U-Haul International, Inc. is an American equipment rental company, based in Phoenix, Arizona, that has been in operation...

.

Any stereotypes of lesbianism need to be seen through the filter that generally men controlled whom the writers, subjects and content of any lesbian history

History of lesbianism

Societal attitudes towards homosexual women have varied throughout human history and between different cultures. It is notable that there are far fewer historical mentions of lesbianism than male homosexuality, possibly due to many historical writings and records focusing primarily on men.-Ancient...

related over time. The varied meanings of lesbian since the early 20th century have prompted some historians to revisit historic relationships between women before the wide usage of the word was defined by erotic proclivities. Discussion from historians caused further questioning of what qualifies as a lesbian relationship. As lesbian-feminists asserted, a sexual component was unnecessary in declaring oneself a lesbian if the primary and closest relationships were with women. When considering past relationships within appropriate historic context, there were times when love and sex were separate and unrelated notions. In 1989, an academic cohort named the 'Lesbian History Group' wrote:

Because of society's reluctance to admit that lesbians exist, a high degree of certainty is expected before historians or biographers are allowed to use the label. Evidence that would suffice in any other situation is inadequate here... A woman who never married, who lived with another woman, whose friends were mostly women, or
who moved in known lesbian or mixed gay circles, may well have been a lesbian. ... But this sort of evidence is not 'proof'. What our critics want is incontrovertible evidence of sexual activity between women. This is almost impossible to find.

Female sexuality is often not adequately represented in texts and documents. Until very recently, much of what has been documented about women's sexuality has been written by men, in the context of male understanding, and relevant to women's associations to men—as their wives, daughters, or mothers, for example. Often artistic representations of female sexuality suggest trends or ideas on broad scales, giving historians clues as to how widespread or accepted erotic relationships between women were.

Gay men

Homosexual men are often equated interchangeably with heterosexual women by the heterocentric

Heterosexism

Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the only norm and therefore superior...

mainstream, and are frequently stereotyped as being effeminate, despite the fact that gender expression, gender identity

Gender identity

and sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

are widely accepted to be distinct from each other. The "flaming queen

Queen (gay slang)

In gay slang, queen is a term used to refer to flamboyant or effeminate gay men. The term can either be pejorative or celebrated as a type of self-identification.-Drag queen:...

" is a characterization that melds flamboyancy

Flamboyant

Flamboyant is the name given to a florid style of late Gothic architecture in vogue in France from the 14th to the early 16th century, a version of which spread to Spain and Portugal during the 15th century; the equivalent stylistic period in English architecture is called the Decorated Style, and...

and effeminacy, it remains a gay male stock character

Stock character

A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...

in Hollywood

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

. Theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

, specifically Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

musicals, are a component to another stereotype, the "show queen". The stereotype generalizes that all gay men listen to show tune

Show tune

A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...

s and are involved with the performing arts

Performing arts

The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...

, are theatrical or dramatic and are campy

Camp (style)

Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...

.

The bear subculture of the LGBT community is composed of generally large, hairy men called bears. Stereotypically, they are usually seen with facial hair and also wearing suspenders. They embrace their hypermasculine

Hypermasculinity

Hypermasculinity is a psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, body hair, body odor, and virility. This term can be pejorative, though it is also used when examining the behavior dispassionately.One of the first...

image, and some will shun a more effeminate man, such as a twink

Twink (gay slang)

"Twink" is a gay slang term describing a young or young-looking gay man with a slender, ectomorph build, little or no body hair, and no facial hair. In some societies, the term chick or chicken is preferred. The related term twinkle-toes, which implies that a man is effeminate, tends to be used in...

Appearance and mannerisms

In addition to being called effeminate, gay men are also identified with a gay lisp

Gay lisp

Gay lisp is a stereotypical speech attribute associated with gay males in English-speaking countries. The phenomenon of "gay lisp" and its study are poorly understood similar to other secondary external attributes or verbal and non-verbal mannerisms of both gay and straight people...

and/or a female-like tone and lilt. Fashion, effeminacy and homosexuality have long been associated. A stereotype based on the visibility (within popular and consumer culture) of a reciprocal relationship between gay men and fashion; gay men who are visible in popular culture may purchase fashion as a means of expression; and gay men have high visibility within the industry creating fashions. This has become a countertype in recent years with the arrival of mainstream shows such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Queer Eye
Queer Eye is an American reality television series that premiered on the Bravo cable television network in July 2003. The program's name was changed from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy after the third season to broaden the scope of its content...

. The "Queer Eye" countertype has been criticized for its use of stereotypes to create a false impression of groundbreaking progress while simply reinforcing old, patronizing identity scripts and convenient generalizations with questionable validity. Designers, including Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana

Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....

, have made use of homoerotic

Homoeroticism

Homoeroticism refers to the erotic attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female , most especially as it is depicted or manifested in the visual arts and literature. It can also be found in performative forms; from theatre to the theatricality of uniformed movements...

imagery in their advertising. Some commentators argue this encourages the stereotype that most gay men enjoy shopping.

Sex and relationships

A prevalent stereotype about gay men is that they are promiscuous

Promiscuity

In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...

and are either unwilling or unable to have enduring or long-term relationships. However, several surveys of gay men in the United States have shown that between 40 percent and 60 percent are involved in a steady relationship. Research also suggests that a slightly higher proportion of lesbians than gay men may be in steady relationships. A 2007 study reported that two large population surveys found "the majority of gay men had similar numbers of unprotected sexual partners annually as straight men and women."

Constantly "partying" is another stereotype associated with the male homosexual community. Before the Stonewall riots

Stonewall riots

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...

in 1969, most LGBT people were extremely private and closeted and house parties and later bars and taverns became one of the few places where like-minded men could meet, socialize and feel safe. The riots represented the start of the modern LGBT social movement and acceptance of sexual and gender minorities has steadily increased. Social occasions which are generally festive and party-like remain at the core of organizing and fundraising even currently. In cities where there are large populations of LGBT people, benefits and bar fundraisers are still common and alcohol companies invest heavily marketing to LGBT subcultures. The disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

era starting in the 1970s ushered in by underground gay clubs and disc jockeys kept the 'partying' aspect vibrant and ushered in the more hardcore circuit party

Circuit party

A circuit party is a large dance event, extending through a night and into the following day, almost always with a number of affiliated events in the days leading up to and following the main event...

movement that was hedonistic and associated with party and play

Party and play

Party and play , also known as a chemical session, chem session, or simply as partying, is a phenomenon and subculture of recreational drug users who play together sexually, either one-on-one or in groups....

(PNP or PnP), or simply 'partying'.

The relationship between the modern day gay man and his heterosexual best girl friend has become highly stereotypical. The accepted behaviors in this type of relationship can predominantly include physical affections (such as kissing and touching) and a depth that suggests star-crossed lovers whose sexualities prevent them from being together. One example from modern day culture, comes from the show Will & Grace

Will & Grace

Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...

Sex and drugs

There is a phenomenon and subculture

Subculture

In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...

of recreational drug users who have sex together, either one-on-one or in groups. The term is frequently used by and associated with gay men and men who have sex with men

Men who have sex with men

Men who have sex with men are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, regardless of how they identify themselves; many men choose not to accept sexual identities of homosexual or bisexual...

(MSM). The drug of choice is typically methamphetamine

Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...

, known as crystal or tina in the gay community. Other "party drugs" such as MDMA

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine

MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...

and GHB

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

γ-Hydroxybutyric acid , also known as 4-hydroxybutanoic acid and sodium oxybate when used for medicinal purposes, is a naturally occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits, and almost all animals in small amounts. It is also categorized as an illegal...

are less associated with this term. While the term PNP

Party and play

probably has its genesis in the distinct subculture of methamphetamine users, and is most associated with its use, people have been quick to generalize it to include partying with other drugs thought to enhance sexual experiences, especially ecstasy

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine

, GHB

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid

, and cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

. This article in the New York Times describes PNP as simply "shorthand for sex with drugs." The GBLT glossary notes that PNP is a term "denoting that someone wants to combine sex with use of drugs such as methamphetamines,[ sic

Sic

Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...

] etc." A list of gay slang says PNP is "an interest for casual sex that includes hard drugs such as ecstasy". A glossary of drug-related terms produced by the United States Department of Health and Human Services defines PNP as "Methamphetamine used in combination with MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and Viagra". The San Francisco Department of Public Health defines it as "a way to describe men who like to use crystal methamphetamine during sex." in its FAQ section.

A report from the National HIV Prevention Conference (a collaborative effort by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a U.S. Government agency, and other governmental and non-government organizations) describes PNP as "sexual behavior under the influence of crystal meth or other 'party' drugs." Although most sources only mention meth, this is inexactly constricting since the term has come into use for other drugs and/or combinations. It has been referred to as both an "epidemic" and a "plague" in the gay community. British researchers report that up to 20% of gay men from central London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

gyms have tried methamphetamine, the drug most associated with PNPing.

Bisexual people

Bisexuality

Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...

is sexual behavior

Human sexual behavior

Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons...

or an orientation

Sexual orientation

involving physical

Sexual attraction

Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...

and/or romantic attraction to both male

Male

Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...

s and female

Female

Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...

s, especially in regards to men

Man

The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole...

and women

Woman

A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...

. "A bisexual individual may experience conflict with a homophobic society; however, such conflict is not a symptom of dysfunction in the individual. The APA Board recognized that a significant portion of homosexual and bisexual people were clearly satisfied with their sexual orientation and showed no signs of psychopathology." Pansexuality

Pansexuality

Pansexuality refers to the potential for sexual attractions, sexual desire, romantic love, or emotional attraction, towards people of all gender identities and biological sexes...

may or may not be subsumed under bisexuality, with some sources stating that bisexuality encompasses sexual or romantic attraction to all gender identities

Gender identity

. People who have a distinct but not exclusive preference for one sex over the other may also identify themselves as bisexual, Bisexuality has been observed in various human societies and elsewhere in the animal kingdom throughout recorded history. The term bisexuality, however, like the terms hetero- and homosexuality, was coined in the 19th century.

Woody Allen is quoted as saying: "Being bisexual doubles your chance of a date on Saturday night." Stereotypes exist for bisexuals about an inability to maintain a steady relationship on the assumption they are promiscuous because of their attraction for both genders. Another stereotype is that they just cannot decide between being gay or straight which assumes a binary either/or spectrum of sexuality. Over a person's life their sexual desires and activities may vary greatly including being in mostly gay, straight or combined relationships. In 1995, Harvard Shakespeare professor Marjorie Garber

Marjorie Garber

Marjorie B. Garber is a professor at Harvard University and the author of a wide variety of books, most notably ones about William Shakespeare and aspects of popular culture including sexuality....

made the academic case for bisexuality with her Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life, in which she argued that most people would be bisexual if not for "repression, religion, repugnance, denial, laziness, shyness, lack of opportunity, premature specialization, a failure of imagination, or a life already full to the brim with erotic experiences, albeit with only one person, or only one gender."

Rock musician David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

famously declared himself bisexual in an interview with Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

in January 1972, a move coinciding with the first shots in his campaign for stardom as Ziggy Stardust

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is a 1972 concept album by English musician David Bowie, which is loosely based on a story of a rock star named Ziggy Stardust. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number 75 in the United States on the Billboard Music...

. In a September 1976 interview with Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...

, Bowie said: "It's true—I am a bisexual. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me." In a 1983 interview he said it "the biggest mistake I ever made", elaborating in 2002 he explained "I don’t think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people. I knew what I wanted to be, which was a songwriter and a performer [...] America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do.

Transgender people

Transgender

Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

is an umbrella term

Umbrella term

An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...

that encompasses a wide range of people with more specific identities. In general, a person who is transgender self-identifies with a gender other than their biological one; it is their gender identity, their self-definition. There are vast differences in the people that may be generalized under this "umbrella" that are transsexual people, cross-dressers, drag queens, drag kings, masculine

Masculine

Masculine or masculinity, normally refer to qualities positively associated with men.Masculine may also refer to:*Masculine , a grammatical gender*Masculine cadence, a final chord occurring on a strong beat in music...

women, and effeminate men. In a broad sense, the term "transgender" includes all people who fall outside of gender stereotypes. The beliefs that transgendered people are all prostitutes and caricatures of men and women are two of many erroneous misconceptions.

Transsexualism

A transsexual

Transsexualism

Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...

is a person born with the physical characteristics of one gender (natal sex) who psychologically and emotionally belongs to the opposite sex; in other words they were born into the wrong body. It is a painful and confusing phenomenon, especially to those afflicted with transsexuality and their parents, much less society. There is a high rate of suicide among transgendered young people.

Lou Sullivan

Lou Sullivan

Louis Graydon Sullivan , born Sheila Jean Sullivan, was an American author and activist known for his work on behalf of trans men...

founded FTM International, the first exclusively FTM

Trans man

A trans man, transman, trans guy, or FTM is a transgender or transsexual man: a person who was assigned female at birth, but who identifies as male....

organization and is largely responsible for the modern acknowledgment that sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

and gender identity

Gender identity

are two totally different concepts; however, many in sexology

Sexology

Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism....

research dispute this division, especially those scientists investigating the Bailey-Blanchard-Lawrence theory

Blanchard's transsexualism typology

Blanchard's transsexualism typology is a psychological typology of male-to-female transsexualism created by Ray Blanchard through the 1980s and 1990s, building on the work of his colleague, Kurt Freund...

on the etiology of male-to-female transsexuality.

Stereotyping transwomen (male-to-female or MTF) as tall and transmen (female-to-male or FTM) as short is a popular misapprehension. While some MTFs and FTMs will fall into this stereotype, far more do not. Taking steps to alter the body early can avoid the height differences. A transwoman will switch from a tall man's body to a tall woman's body. Another stereotype is that it is possible to "tell" a transwoman by her hands, that they will be larger and more masculine than a woman born female.

Transvestites

Transvestites are often assumed to be homosexual. The word transvestism is from the Latin, combining (trans-, "across, over" and vestitus, "dressed") to refer to the sexual interest in cross-dressing

Cross-dressing

Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...

. However, most transvestites are heterosexual. Transvestism may have a fetishistic

Sexual fetishism

Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...

component, whereas cross-dressing does not, although many people use the words interchangeably.

Lesbians

Gay men

Appearance and mannerisms

Sex and relationships

Sex and drugs

Bisexual people

Transgender people

Transsexualism

Transvestites

See also