Transwomen

Transwomen or trans-women are transsexual or transgender people who have been identified as members of the male sex since infancy, but believe that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves and therefore usually identify and live as female.

Transwomen who feel that their change of gender, with any medical treatments, has been completed often prefer to be called simply women. They consider transwoman or male-to-female transsexual to be terms that should only used for persons who are still transitioning. However, this usage of women is not completely scientifically accurate because transwomen are, in some ways, not females; for example, they are chromosomal males. However, women does not necessarily refer to biological sex, it can also refer to cultural gender role distinctions. Those who still identify as transwomen after transition often describe themselves as post-op transsexuals as distingusihed from pre-op. Others dislike the term transsexual and prefer to call themselves transgendered (or transgender) woman or simply use transgender as transgender.

Not all transwomen decide to have or desire to have sex reassignment surgery, in which case they may describe themselves as non-op. Some transwomen feel that surgery is only a small part of a complete transition and that transwomen should not be defined by their surgical status.

People of conservative cultural backgrounds or beliefs tend to look upon transwomen, if they are attracted to men, as effeminate gay men who took their effeminacy to an extreme level. They may be thus perceived by the conservatives as drag queens. If attracted to women, they are perceived by social conservatives as otherwise straight men with an abnormal fetish. This view is contested, as part of the debate on the associations and distinctions between homosexuality and transgender, and the issue of autogynephilia.

Sexual orientation
Most recent scientific studies and reports by support groups, help lines, etc. indicate that the percentage of transwomen who consider themselves lesbian, bisexual or asexual is higher than in the general female population. The details, however, differ; with scientific papers usually reporting a higher number of heterosexual-identified transwomen than support groups report, perhaps influenced by demographic factors: what kind of people have access to support groups, as well as methodologies used for individual studies.

Transition-related

 * Transitioning
 * Hormone Replacement Therapy for Transwomen
 * Hair removal
 * Genital reassignment surgery for Transwomen
 * Facial Feminization Surgery
 * Other surgical procedures

General transgendered topics

 * List of transgender-related topics
 * Transgendered

Fiction

 * Transamerica (film)