Hi Eric, thanks for the great tips. Even as a seasoned outreach worker, I found a lot of great reminders in here about how to be a good ambassador, as you so aptly put it.

Eric,
This is great stuff and very useful. I have probably been in front of nearly a hundred college and university classes on different subjects, and in different states. One of the first "rules" I tell them is, "I'm not afraid of any question you might ask me, as long as you aren't afraid of the answer I give you." It seems to set the tone for my presentation.

You might want to address the B in LGBTQA a bit instead of just framing everything in terms of gay. Also in terms of the fact that Bi and I imagine Trans people often have to answer questions coming from gay people.

VERY good tips.

eric,
You can use "trans" if you want, along with "transsexual, transgender, FtM, MtF, trans men, trans women, trans community, and transgender community," We would hope you would refrain from using "trannie, transvestite and she-male." Since the majority of the community feel this way, then you will be fine. There just maybe a small minority who would not be satisfied what you use.

Eric,
Monica aside....
The proper way to refer to a woman who transsexed is woman.....period. If you absolutely must use a modifier, woman of transsexual history. "Transgender", as Monica is well aware, is considered by many if not most of us in that place a deadly insult.....like the "n" word for someone black. Please, do not use the word "transgender" as an all inclusive umbrella term. I'll explain it for you and hopefully not suffer the usual insults for doing so. Someone who was born with the neurological intersexed condition formally known as transsexualism (when it still had a real meaning) knows from earliest childhood what their gender (sense of who you are) is. They NEVER "trans" or cross it. It is just as consistent as your own gender identity. The problem is the mind/body mismatch and so are driven to correct the body to the maximum possible in order to achieve "congruence" of body and soul.......they trans the physical sex. Once they have done so, they wish mainly to get on with their lives now on a level playing field with the rest of the world in at least that respect. It's actually a rather simple concept.

Unfortunately, referring to a woman of operative history or of transsexual history as just "woman" is not terribly helpful in a Q&A format. I would suggest using the common polite-intent terms transgender, transsexual, trans, so that the audience that maybe knows "Transamerica" and not much else can get a starting point. Then go into the etiquette of asking the individual what pronoun they want, what they consider a plural term for those like themselves, and so on.

Face it - to 95% of the population, trans, bi, and even lesbian and gay aren't all that well-defined in their minds, or at least as the members of these groups define themselves. And I confess that I get confused when the younger generation starts in with variations on "genderqueer" (not common Midwestern usage yet).

How many of you are fans of Stargate SG1? Do you remember toward the end, the Ori? The Ori was this totally evil entity whose only purpose in life was to convert all non-believers, or destroy those who resist. They had no sense of humor and always believed they were right, to a fault. Somehow, their superiority was shown to be only an illusion and they were defeated in the end by the "good guys." Whenever they spoke, the proper response from their minions was, "So say the Ori." Remember this.

Alyssa,

My understanding is that there's a disagreement in the trans community over whether individuals who have transitioned can/should still be labeled as 'trans.' (Of necessity, I'm using the term 'trans community' to include men and women who do not believe 'trans' is an appropriate identifier for themselves.)

Specifically, MonicaHelms left a comment about how to refer to trans individuals, saying, in part:
You can use "trans" if you want, along with "transsexual, transgender, FtM, MtF, trans men, trans women, trans community, and transgender community,"

However, Cathryn came at the issue from the opposite side, and replied with, in part:
The proper way to refer to a woman who transsexed is woman.....period. If you absolutely must use a modifier, woman of transsexual history. "Transgender", as Monica is well aware, is considered by many if not most of us in that place a deadly insult.....like the "n" word for someone black. Please, do not use the word "transgender" as an all inclusive umbrella term.

It certainly sounds like all involved agree that, when referring to an individual, you should use whatever description they feel is most appropriate. However, when referring to 'the trans population,' it becomes a sticky issue because each perspective is somewhat mutually exclusive - either it is 'the trans population' or it's not, it's the 'population with a trans history.'

That's my understanding of the general disagreement, and how it played out in this discussion specifically (at least, as a very brief summary). For my two cents, I do I identify as a trans woman, and am not uncomfortable with the term, and I don't know many trans individuals who feel differently. From my perspective, 'trans' is a modifier of the designation 'woman,' and does not supersede it. Likewise, a friend who is diabetic could be a 'diabetic man' without his diabetes canceling or nullifying his identity as a man - my identity as trans can exist, for me, without nullifying or obliterating my identity as a woman.

-R

I've only ever heard this argument used by virulent transphobes.

Hey, I'm trans and I thought it was a good argument.

I'm with Monica, here. I get so tired of people arguing "post-op" that we're no longer transsexual. I personally understand the word carries a lot of pain and baggage, but why not acknowledge that along with the fact that it IS the term society uses to describe our condition. After transition, we are NOT just men or women. We were born with gender-identities that are opposite to the sex of our bodies, and Monica is right: if our skeletons are dug up centuries from now, with no other identifying information, we will be sexed as male or female according to our birth sex.

If HALF the energy and time spent arguing about this terminology were spent instead working on campaigns for equal rights, I venture to say we'd be further along than we are right now.