Stereotypes and Myths About Transsexuals
The top ten transsexual stereotypes and myths.
1. All Drag Queens and Drag Kings are gay. While it is prominent in for DQs and DKs to be gay or lesbian, this is not always the case. There are even heterosexual queens and kings on the rainbow stage, albeit they are rare.
2. All transsexuals are perverts. Ignorance about transsexualism and sexual perversion may be tied to the misconception that transsexuals are flamboyant cross-dressers in the bedroom. The media has historically been drawn to the image of the transsexual male as a femme cross-dresser in the bedroom who succumbs to sexually deviant fantasies because of their weak-minded, feminine nature. These media portrayals are grossly inaccurate and demeaning toward the TG individual. This naivety is fading as knowledge about transsexualism becomes more widespread. There is no connection between transgenderism and sexual deviation. In fact, members of the transgender population are relatively “normal” people. Being transgender does not make one sexually abnormal at all.
3. Butch lesbians are transgender. Masculinity, transgenderism, and butch lesbians are not not the same thing. People can be both, or just one or the other. Don’t assume someone’s TG till they tell you; you could easily be wrong.
4. All transgender people want to become the opposite sex. Not true. Transgender is an umbrella term for a wide range of gender-bending identities. Not all transgender individuals wish to transform their bodies from one physical sex to another. those who do wish to undergo a physical transition may be transsexual–which is only one of the many forms of transgenderism.
5. All people that dress as the opposite sex are homosexual. Although this number may have changed over the last 10 years–as of 2000, it was estimated that only 1/3 of crossdressers and transvestites also identified as are homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual. Those figures indicate that most transgender persons are not homosexual.
6. Boys wearing dresses in school is punishable. The truth is according to many schools, the dress code says nothing about boys not being able to wear make-up, nail polish, or a dress to school. However, schools may consider cross-gender clothing to be distracting to other youth (which we vehemently disagree with). Check with your local school district or private institution for more information about the school policy in your local area.
7. Drag Queens and Drag Kings only do it for the money. Depends, some do, but others enjoy it. Also some drag performers make very little money doing it. It is an individual preference and must not be thought of as one way or the other.
8. There are no people that will date or marry someone who dresses or is a transsexual. There are people out there that will date you (and maybe marry if things go well) no matter what you wear, or what you look like, or what gender you were born, or currently are. They will love you for you.
9. Transsexuals cannot get married. This is a complicated legal matter. The result varies upon jurisdiction. There was an implicit understanding in the traditional common-law that marriage was only between a man and a woman. However, this rule did not materialize into the state statutes until fairly recently when the gay marriage debate became more profound. At that time, states began to incorporate amendments into their constitutions that a) defined marriage as between a man and a woman, or b) denied recognition of same-sex marriage outright. Whether a marriage is valid between a same-sex couple is decided by each individual state.
Note however, that under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal government defined marriage as between “one man and one woman”. The intent of DOMA was twofold: 1) to confer upon the states a right to decide whether to recognize a same-sex marriage arising in another jurisdiction as a matter of public policy, and 2) to restrict government employees from receiving federal benefits for their same-sex spouses.