A respectful starting point
A transgender person has a gender identity that differs from the sex recorded for them at birth. People may identify as women, men, non-binary, another gender, or without a gender. Individual experiences vary, and no single life story represents everyone.
Gender identity describes a person's internal understanding of their gender. Gender expression concerns presentation, such as clothing or mannerisms. Sexual orientation concerns patterns of romantic or sexual attraction. These concepts are related to identity but are not interchangeable.
Gender identity
How someone understands and describes their own gender. A person's name and pronouns are part of how that identity may be expressed socially.
Sexual orientation
Who, if anyone, a person may be attracted to. Transgender and non-transgender people may have any sexual orientation.
Language changes over time
Transgender is normally used as an adjective, as in “transgender person.” The older term transsexual still appears in historical records and may be used by some individuals, but it should not be imposed on someone. Gender dysphoria refers to clinically significant distress; it is not a synonym for being transgender.
Read more about transgender terminology or consult the two-part glossary: A–S and T–Z.
Health and research context
Gender identity has biological, psychological and social dimensions. Research has examined prenatal development, genetics, hormones and brain development, but simple claims about one universal cause go beyond the evidence summarized in this archive. Major health frameworks distinguish gender diversity from mental disorder while recognizing that some people experience distress and may seek support.
Care is individualized. It may include social support, counseling, changes to presentation or documents, and—where clinically appropriate and personally desired—medical care. Not every transgender person takes the same steps, and some seek no medical intervention.
- World Health Organization reclassification
- Research and competing explanations in the archive
- Prenatal hormone hypotheses
- Genetic hypotheses
- An archived overview of transition
- Archived material about puberty-delaying medication
Religious and ethical viewpoints
Religious communities do not speak with one voice. Some understand gender primarily through sex recorded at birth and traditional interpretations of scripture. Others emphasize conscience, pastoral care, personal testimony, human dignity or the inclusion of transgender people. Disagreement also exists within denominations and families.
The linked archive preserves material from different periods. Titles describe their historical subject and may use terminology or assumptions that are no longer preferred.
Christian perspectives
Denominational documents
Analysis and dialogue
Conflict and resolution
Civil rights and law
Debates about transgender equality involve employment, education, identity documents, public facilities, health care, housing, military service and religious liberty. Rules differ by jurisdiction and have changed repeatedly. Historical reports below should not be treated as statements of current law.
In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal employment discrimination because a person is gay or transgender falls within Title VII's prohibition on discrimination because of sex. The decision concerned employment; other legal questions continue to depend on later rulings, statutes and regulations.
- Archived summary of the 2020 employment decision
- Employment discrimination archive
- State protections and discrimination
- Laws affecting LGBTQ+ people internationally
- International rights declarations
- Professional association resolutions
- Housing insecurity and reports
Explore the archive
Background and personal experience
Studies and public opinion
Public facilities
Military service
Education and institutions
Books and further reading
Annual observances
Transgender Day of Visibility is observed on 31 March and focuses on the lives and contributions of transgender people. Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed on 20 November and memorializes transgender people lost to anti-transgender violence. The observances have different purposes: one emphasizes visibility and community, while the other emphasizes remembrance and the human cost of hostility.
Using older material responsibly
The collection includes reports written during earlier legal and cultural debates. Historical pages may contain superseded population estimates, medical framing, terminology or political context. Check an article's date, separate attributed religious belief from clinical consensus, and verify current law with an authoritative source.