Uh, I mean that I'm MTF. Full transition, including FFS, SRS, HRT, and a bunch of other TLAs. So is/was my roommate. That was ironically part of her problem too: most johns who want a trans woman are actually after a so-called 'shemale' (a no-op transsexual; i.e. someone who gets everything done but keeps the original plumbing.)

Thanks for asking the question respectfully, I really do like explaining things to curious (although I caution you I'm almost alone in this; please don't make a habit of unsolicited questions to trans people! But for better or worse, I love to talk about myself, so let's use it to spread some understanding and peace for the holidays!)

You might want to spell it out because I have no idea what those acronyms mean.

MTF: Male to Female

FFS: Facial feminization surgery

SRS: Sex reassignment surgery

HRT: Hormone replacement therapy

TLA: Three letter acronym

Also note that 'shemale' is a derogatory term; I use it because it is, for better or for worse, the jargon of the sex industry, and that is what is relevant here. The polite term is 'no-op transsexual'.

So which words should you use to differentiate between female-to-male no-op and male-to-female no-op (she-male and he-female respectively)?

I'm partially asking because I'm curious as to what is the term preferred by the transsexuals, and partially because I feel that words are descriptive and hence void of emotional connotation, which should instead be inferred from the context in which the words are used.

The preferred language amoung trans people is: "The state of someone's genitals is none of your business unless the two of you are having sex".

You should still be able to edit your post, fyi. There should be a link on the same line as your name that says 'edit'. Editing gets disabled after a some amount of time, but IIRC it should be more then 1 hour.

I think lots of trans women who can't afford or otherwise don't get SRS would pretty strongly object to being referred to as "shemales".

Yes, see, this is why writing benefits from having an editor. Facepalm.

First draft:

most johns are after a so-called 'shemale'

Second draft (removing redundant quotes, following writing advice of Bill Zinsser)

most johns are after a so-called shemale

Third draft (shorten that sentence! Tighten it up!)

most johns are after a shemale

....Fourth draft (after walking away and coming back to my writing, suddenly hearing it): most sex-industry customers are after an MtF no-op transsexual -- a 'shemale', in the derogatory parlance of the industry.

No, a trans person is a person with a body that is one gender, but who identifies as the other gender (assuming binary genders, which is an issue the broader trans community would probably dispute with some vehemence).

Some trans people only think it, some take supplementary sex hormones (typically testosterone for FTM; and one or more of the female hormones, and possibly also anti-androgens for MTF), and some have surgery to give them parts that match their identities.

You're thinking of cross-dressers, which community has some overlap with the trans world, but is, in general, a different thing. Cross-dressing is generally also a kink, while being trans is an issue of identity.

> I can understand the reactions of people, it just looks weird;

It makes less open-minded people uncomfortable, to be around others who are not like them. This is what I mean by 'unfortunate': that not everyone is comfortable in the face of different.

There are probably sub-conscious patterns of antipathy to transexuality that other non-traditional sexualities don't engender, because widespread sexual counterfeiting would be disruptive to society. We have certain expectations of others that we meet, and TG violates those expectations in a domain (sex and reproduction) that triggers our most ancient and visceral feelings.

If you bit into a steak and found that it tasted like chocolate, you'd be confused and disturbed. Now multiply that feeling by a large factor.

I think there is a lot of truth to this, even though you seem off base in some of your other statements in this thread.

I (obviously) support equal rights and access to life saving hormones and surgery for transsexual people - since I am one myself. Yet, from my elementary knowledge of evolutionary biology, it's long been my suspicion that there is some sort of deeply rooted antipathy towards trans people that is not completely socially constructed. After all, having sex with a trans (pre or post op) person in modern times, or an intersex person (modern or historical times) would seem to work against propagation of someone's genes.

Still, the bigger causal factors in transphobic sentiments are, I believe, socially constructed and rooted in patriarchal misogyny. There are way more (cis) men with violent, transphobic attitudes against trans women than there are (cis) women with violent, transphobic attitudes against trans men.

> TG violates those expectations in a domain (sex and reproduction) that triggers our most ancient and visceral feelings

The only reason to be possessive about someone else's sexuality is insecurity, I think. Which can be very visceral, too, and loves to camouflage itself.

Human beings are not made of reason.

No, but they discovered it, and they can get better at it.

Yes and why happens when a christian marries a Jew! There is long standing history of tribes that people want.

> It makes less open-minded people uncomfortable, to be around others who are not like them.

Perhaps more relevantly, it makes less open-minded people uncomfortable to be around others who don't fit their mental model of the world.

Trans basically means transsexual / transgender. Y'know how our parents used to think gay meant happy and then it didn't? Words change. This is the new word.