WHAT DOES TRANSGENDER MEAN?
What is Trangender?
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According to the LGBT+ lobby group Stonewall, the definiton of Transgender is as follows:
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An umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth.
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Trans people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including (but not limited to) transgender, transsexual, gender-queer (GQ), gender-fluid, non-binary, gender-variant, crossdresser, genderless, agender, nongender, third gender, bi-gender, trans man, trans woman, trans masculine, trans feminine and neutrois.
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It includes those who describe themselves as having a 'gender identity' (an inner sense of themselves that is described as separate from their body or mind) that might sit upon a spectrum of over 100 identities.
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Trans or Transexual?
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When the majority of people hear the word Trans or Transgender, they may be thinking of Transexuals. These are people, mostly men, who have decided to to change their outward expression (hair, clothing and make-up) in an attempt to live as close a facsimile of the opposite sex as possible. A small number may have gone through some form of surgical process or taken hormones to alter the appearance of their external secondary sex characteristics. There are a variety of reasons for doing this; Some of them may have been living with a form of body dysmorphic disorder, causing them to experience extreme difficulty reconciling themselves to their sexed body. Others may have experienced autogynephilia (a paraphilia in which they are attracted to the idea of themself as the opposite sex, usually but not always affecting men who want to live as women).
Until the early noughties, this was the small group that made up what was known as the transexual community. Until 2019, the World Health Organisation classified Gender Identity Disorder under the category of mental and behavioural disorders in it's International Classification of Diseases (ICD). However, following sustained lobbying, it has been moved to the section on sexual health, and renamed Gender Dysphoria, as this is considered to be less stigmatising.
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As a result, the often significant mental health difficulties experienced by those who identify as transgender are either regarded as unconnected, or considered to be the result of transphobia.
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A new name and a new definition
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Over the last ten years, and since 2015 in the UK, Stonewall and other lobby groups have adopted the word Transgender instead of Transexual. The definition of this new umbrella of identities has been greatly expanded to include not just Transexuals, but Transvestites, part-time cross dressers, fetishists and anyone who is gender non-conforming.
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Many will not be aware that this new definition means that no transition of any kind is required, merely the declaration that someone has a personal inner feeling about themselves, which must override our perception of their sexed body.​ Policymakers and governments around the world are currently writing this into legislation and this concept has been adopted by public bodies, statutory organisations and NGOs in most western countries.
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In the UK, organisations that have adopted this approach include the NHS, schools, colleges and universities, the judiciary and prison service, sporting bodies, the Police and all political parties. Public services such as toilets, changing rooms in both municipal and private gyms and leisure centres, theatres, bars and restaurants have all started to provide gender-neutral (unisex) toilets and changing rooms; there are very few areas of public life which are unaffected. Places that retain single sex spaces make clear that women are required to share those spaces with boys and men who feel 'feminine' or declare that they are either girls or women. Opposition to this from girls and women usually leads to accusations of bigotry.
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It is not uncommon online, in forum websites such as Reddit, to see the phrase 'If you think you're trans, you probably are'. This has ensured that that girls and young women who feel in any way different to their peers, who are autistic or ADHD, wonder if their disconnection to their peer group and/or their bodies is due to being 'Trans', and may well feel that this is the explanation. The disconnection from mental Health has been profoundly unhelpful for the many autistic girls and young women who have adopted a transgender identity, as they frequently have one or more of a range of mental health diagnoses.
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Non-Binary
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Some girls may identify as being Non-Binary. This is a term that describes an inner feeling of identifying with or being neither male or female or being both male or female at the same time, but without necessarily having a disorder of sexual development (a condition formerly known as being intersex, and which affects less than 1% of the global population). This is an identity that is fundamentally based upon how masculine or feminine someone's likes and dislikes are, rather than whether they are actually male or female. ​This is a controversial identity, because feeling masculine or feminine, or both or neither, makes no material difference to whether or not someone actually is male or female.
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There has been a push to replace current toilet provision across the country with 'Gender-Neutral' toilets, which are in fact unisex. Many of these toilets are simply repurposed female toilets with a no physical changes to the layout, but simply a new label on the door. The trend is to change the female toilets to unisex while leaving male toilets for male use only. This means that girls and women often have no toilet provision that excludes boys or men, while the boys and men retain single sex toilets. These toilets have been introduced in schools, within public services and in many public buildings.
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Crucially for autistic girls, adopting an identity that involves stating that you are either both male or female or neither, doesn't protect them from the risks associated with their female sex. They may believe that their risk of sexual assault, catcalling, rape or domestic abuse will be greatly reduced because of their new identity. In reality, they have no control over how others perceive them, and , their risk profile as a girl or young woman remains high.
Current Figures
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Currently in the UK, 48% of all the children and young people who are referred to the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust Gender Identity Development Service either have a diagnosis of ASC or have autistic traits as identified using the Social Responsiveness Scale.
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This is an identity that resonates with a significant proportion of the autistic community. Many of them may wish to transition, either socially or medically and we are concerned that the evidence base for the social and medical treatment of autistic children and young people who wish to transition, is not robust and is experimental in nature. There are increasing numbers of young people who transitioned as children who are now de-transitioning (reverting to living as their birth sex)
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Of course, research develops and increases our understanding all the time, and we believe more research is sorely needed. In particular, we are calling for more research not just into the fact that there is an intersection between autism and gender identity, but crucially why.