What is transgender?
Transgender people refer to those who are born with the wrong gender which they don’t recognize. They are often known as “Trans”, “Shemales” and “ladyboy”. When we were born, doctors would often tell we are either male or female based on how our bodies look like. Most people who are tagged with boy are actually male and most girls are female. However, there are a few of them are different from their birth expectation. Most of them call themselves as transgender people.
A transgender woman is someone who lives with the gender identity of female while was recognized as man when she was born. As for transgender man, he is recognized as girl while growing up to realize he is actually a man. Very few transgender people cannot find exact gender identification between male and female. They think they are neither of them, nor their combination. There are also words to describe them---non-binary or gender queer.
No matter for cisgender people or transgender people, everyone has its own gender identification. Most people never thought what their gender identifications are, because their gender identification matches with the gender they are assigned.
For every individual, transition can mean differently. Just like ethnicity and religious, everyone is different. There is no exact one way to perceive oneself. The best way to know transgender people is to talk with them and listen to their stories.
How should one know they are transgender people?
Some people know they are transgender people since they can think. It can trace back to their early memories. They just know it. Most people may need more time to figure it out. Some of them think they cannot blend into any community without knowing the reasons. They might be terrified, ashamed or confused about it so that they try to avoid talking about it. It won’t be helpful to suppress or revert one’s gender identification. As a matter of fact, it can be very miserable and also have the risk of break down one’s mental health. With more and more transgender people coming out and appearing in public and social media, increasingly number of people can really understand them and embrace them. Their living situation is becoming better and safer.
For many transgender people, it takes a lot of time and energy to think it through from who they are to transition. When they choose to come out, they will be facing with harassment, discrimination and violence from society. They may or may not be accepted by friends and family. Even though coming out is not the easiest way to live their life, to be their authentic self, they choose to go through it anyway. All we can do is to have a little more embracement and respect.