In last month’s column, I wrote a story about Vanessa Facen, a pre-op transsexual that died while in the custody of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

After the Gay & Lesbian Times ran a picture of a transsexual woman on the cover of the Nov. 17 issue, I discovered through a series of interviews that our community has limited knowledge of the transgender community. Comments ranged from, “Aren’t you all drag queens?” and “You’re just a bunch of men in dresses – something like crossdressers” to “You’re all just she-males.”

Their facial expressions changed after I gave them a five-minute lesson on who comprises the transgender community. It was amazing. Most people don’t know that the transgender community is comprised of several segments.

Some individuals progress through crossdressing into transsexualism and finalizing surgeries. Some stay in their specific groupings. I will highlight the different groupings here.

Transvestite: From the Latin words “trans” meaning “to cross” and “vestere” meaning “to dress or to wear.” Magnus Hirschfeld coined the term transvestism around 1915 in Berlin. He used it to describe a group of people who habitually and voluntarily wore clothing of the opposite sex – both males and females, with any sexual preference.

He also noticed that sexual arousal was often, but by no means always, associated with transvestite behavior, and he clearly distinguished transvestism as a person’s transgender feelings and fetishistic behavior, even if it meant wearing clothes of the opposite sex. (www.wikipedia.com)

Crossdresser: This group of masculine men, who do not necessarily have fetishistic feelings, enjoy the feeling of feminine clothing. Many men find the time spent in en femme a pleasant time-out from their stressful lives. As in the gay world, the term “closeted” applies to crossdressing men. Most men never tell their wives and remain closeted throughout their lives.

Drag queens and drag kings: Drag queens are wonderful men that spend hours perfecting the feminine persona, lip syncing to various songs on stage. Drag kings are lesbians that mimic the male persona to a tee with humor and expertise. One of the differences between a queen and king is the level of exaggeration of the opposite gender. A drag queen is all about fabulous gowns, huge hair, Max Factor Panstick makeup and eyelashes. A drag king is a little more subtle; they’ll wear black suits and beards, and have mustaches drawn with eyeliner. Both of these groups give countless hours of their time performing in benefits for various nonprofit organizations in our community.

Transsexuals: They can be separated into three segments: pre-op, post-op and non-op. All groupings pertain to sexual reassignment surgery. Pre-op is before surgery, post-op is after surgery and non-op pertains to those not wanting surgery due to personal convictions or those unable to afford surgery.

When most transsexuals decide to live in the opposite gender, they begin hormone therapy. Endocrinologists will prescribe estrogen and progesterone for male-to-female patients and testosterone for female-to-male patients. In either case, the hormones will cause significant changes in to the person’s body.

Estrogen changes the male body by softening the skin, increasing fat tissue around the hips and breasts, and slowing some body-hair growth. However, it will not cause the voice to rise in pitch nor stop the growth of facial hair. Unwanted hair will require electrolysis or laser hair removal.

Testosterone changes the female body by causing zits and allowing facial hair to develop, as well as causing muscles to develop and the body to become more angular. Testosterone also lowers of the voice, causing the female voice to deepen with a more masculine sound.

Sexual reassignment is the ultimate goal of most transsexuals. In surgery, natal sex organs are refined so that they resemble those of the opposite gender.

The next time you meet a transsexual, take time to ask questions. Many transgender people will take the time to explain some of the difficult terms and concepts that make up the transgender world. When a person is identifying with the opposite gender, it is appropriate and kind to address them in the gender of his or her choice.