Is there a link between being gay and transgender? Cause I see gay people both male and female who don't identify as trans, at least not openly, but exhibit many of the same characteristics of being trans in terms of the way they present themselves, the way they act, and dress, etc. It makes me wonder if there are gay people who are also trans but don't know it? Don't admit it? Or maybe it doesn't matter to them? Is there a link between being gay and being transgendered?
Maybe sometimes? I know it's possible for people who are gay to later discover or come to terms with the fact that they were actually trans but do keep in mind that this isn't the case a majority of the time. Remember that sometimes people just like certain things/styles and don't care if it's mainly categorized as something not meant for their gender as well as that there are still plenty of masculine gay men/ feminine Lesbians out there.
Well... First off, the thing is, even if someone isn't "gender conforming", that in itself doesn't necessarily mean someone is trans. A lot of gay people might enjoy things that are usually associated with the opposite gender. But so do a lot of straight people. Gender is independent of sexuality. You have gay trans people (hello), straight trans people, bisexual trans people, etc. And like burai also said, many trans people also may have previously identified as gay/lesbian before realizing they were trans, regardless of sexuality. For example, many trans man identified as lesbians pre-transition because it was a way to identify with a masculine identity and date women (if they're straight).
What separates a gender non-conformist and someone who is trans? Is this just an issue of self reporting internal feelings? Are more gay people gender non-conformists than straight people?
I wouldn't write it off (more gay men and women are gender non-conforming, compared to straight men and women, and more transgender people are something other than straight, compared to the cis population), but there just isn't enough evidence to say "Yes" flat out.
I think you're assuming that gender roles and how someone identifies are the same thing. Which isn't necessarily the case. Gender is what you experience. When a trans person says they experience dysphoria, that's a sense that their body/how they're perceived socially doesn't match up with how they personally perceive themselves. A trans person might align themselves with the clothing/roles/presentation stereotypically associated with the gender they identify with. But let's say there's someone who identifies as a man (regardless of being cis or trans) who happens to wear a dress to some event. The fact he's wearing a dress doesn't mean he's automatically a woman. It's how he personally identifies himself that matters. And I think in gay culture, yes, I think some people feel more free to play around with gender expression/roles. BUT just because someone likes to play around with their gender expression doesn't mean they're trans.
Interesting thoughts. It does seem like there aren't many straight trans people. I wonder if anyone has studied this? I guess what I'm trying to figure out is if some gay people don't have to identify as trans when perhaps they are because being gay kind of covers it? Compare a biological woman who is a lesbian that in everyday life wears her hair short with a more masculine associated style, while wearing a more masculine coat and pants to a biological man who is gay that in everyday life wears a dress and has long hair. The woman seems less likely to have to tell people that they identify as being trans than the man does because being a lesbian is like a "trans pass". Does that make sense? Am I completely off base?
You're forgetting that gay trans people exist. Also, gender expression isn't the sole indicator of how someone identifies. Look, your hypothetical lesbian might be masculine but assuming this is a person who actually identifies as a straight man, he's not going to be happy or feel satisfied? Why? Because even though he may present masculine, he's still being publicly identified as a woman, albeit a masculine woman. He's not being identified socially by other people as a man and likely there's an element of physical dysphoria on his part too. For this hypothetical example, I'm using male pronouns since we're assuming this is actually a trans person and not a cis lesbian. What about a lesbian trans woman in your example?
Doesn't this assume that being trans is either on full blast or that it isn't happening at all? There isn't any inbetween area or degrees of trans-ness? Can someone be 5% trans? Could a lesbian biological woman not completely identify as a woman but not feel a need to say she is trans because being a lesbian affords her enough comfort and satisfaction to alleviate being 5% trans? I'm not sure I understand your question. You mean what if a trans woman wore masculine clothes?
Gender and sexuality aren't the same thing. They're not. False. Equivalency. I don't think you get it. You act like being gay and being trans are the same thing. That being lesbian automatically equals being masculine. That being masculine automatically equals being male. I really don't know how to explain it better than I'm trying to, other than to point at myself, point at others and hope you at least see where I'm coming from. Being gay is not the same thing as being trans. And vice versa.
I don't think they are the same. I'm not questioning whether they are the same. I'm questioning if there is a biological link between the two. I'm questioning whether someone can be gay and trans, but being trans isn't an issue because they are gay. This makes me think of how people perceive bisexuals as unable to be with someone of one sex in a relationship because they are attracted to both. But being bi doesn't mean you can't be monogamous. It just means you are attracted to men and women, and that attraction isn't necessarily equal. Someone can be attracted to men 70% and women 30%, or men 45% and women 55%, etc. In that same sense can't you be 5% trans? How are there gender fluid people if being trans is this sort of "always on" type setting set to full blast "I'm absolutely in the wrong body all the time" feeling? Doesn't a gender fluid person sometimes feel a little more male or a little more female? And if you can be 5% trans, maybe it isn't as big of an all consuming issue as being 90%+ trans? I'm not asking these questions to be mean to anyone. That certainly isn't my intention. I'm asking because I want to know if anyone knows.
