I. Background
What Does ‘Transgender’ Mean?
‘Transgender’ is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity,
one’s inner sense of being male or female, differs from their assigned or presumed
sex at birth. 1 The rise of the term ‘transgender’ has symbolized humanity’s challenge
to the binary designation of gender, and humanity’s deeper and more honest
acknowledgement and exploration of the self. 2 Subsequently, the term ‘transgender’
has become a necessarily collective term that encompasses various kinds of
individuals and behaviors that differ from the gender distinctions of mainstream society.
Transgender individuals may express their gender identity through various means, such
as apparel, manner of speech or bearing; they may also use hormones and/or surgery
to change their physical characteristics to affirm their gender identity, or they may do
none of the above.3
The medical establishment’s definition of the term has influenced the understanding
and attitude of wider society toward transgender individuals. For a long time, being
transgender has been considered a form of mental illness and was considered a
condition requiring correction.4 The World Health Organization’s 10th revision of
International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems
defines “transsexualism” as a personality and behavioral disorder.5 The Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which serves as the most common
reference manual for diagnosing mental illnesses in the United States and other
countries, for a long time applied the term “Gender Identity Disorder” to intense and
sustained transgender identity and to long-term nonconformity with assigned gender
identity.
More recently, greater understanding and recognition of the health and human rights
of transgender people has stimulated considerable debate over whether the health
Lambda Legal, Transgender prisoners in crises. http://www.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/transgender_prisoners_in
crisis.pdf (accessed September 1, 2014).
Fang Gang, “Transgender: the rights that should not be ignored, “[ 跨性别：不该被忽视的权益] The Diversity of Gender[多元的性别]. (China:
Shandong People’s Publishing House, 2012): 180-184.
amfAR, Trans Populations and HIV: Time to End the Neglect. April 2014. http://www.amfar.org/uploadedFiles/_amfarorg/Articles/On_The_Hill/2014/
IB%20Trans%20Population%20040114%20final.pdf (accessed September 1, 2014).
Katy Steinmetz, “The Transgender Tipping Point.” Time, June 9, 2014, http://time.com/135480/transgender-tipping-point/ (accessed September 2,
2014).
World Health Organization, International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. 10th Revision (2010 Version).
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