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What does “transgender” mean?

andrea james selfie

Hello! I am a transgender person. When I was a baby, they said I was a boy. When I was a child, I thought they were wrong. When I grew up, I changed my body and my name. Now I am a transgender woman!

Transgender people, also known as trans people, might seem new to you. But we are not new. Transgender people have always been here. Every language has names for us. We live everywhere in the world.

Here in the United States, there are over 5 million transgender and non-binary people, according to 2022 data. Among people under age 30 in the United States, 5% (1 out of every 20 people) identify as part of our community.

It can be hard to answer some questions about trans people. There are many things to explain. There are a lot of words and ideas that most people do not know. We do not know all the answers about trans people, either. This is a good place to start:


What is this site?

I made this site to help other transgender people. But many people who come here are not transgender. They only want to know more about transgender people. Maybe that is why you are here!

Maybe you heard about a famous person who is transgender. Maybe you saw something in the news about trans people. Maybe you heard that a person where you work or live is transgender. Maybe a friend or loved one came out as a transgender person.

Maybe you like trans people. Maybe you do not like us. Maybe you are not sure yet. No matter what, you are welcome here!


What trans people want from you

People should be fair to each other, yes? Trans people want everyone to be fair to us. We hope you are already fair to trans people!

Not everyone is ready to be fair to trans people. Maybe there is a reason why you are not ready:

  • Your faith
  • Your ethics
  • Your politics
  • You had a problem with a trans person
  • You never met a trans person

There may be something you worry about, like trans people in the military, or which bathroom a trans person uses.

Today, many people are talking about transgender issues. It is a big deal all over the world.

In some places, transgender people get hurt or killed by people who do not like us. Many of us want to stop the bad things that happen to trans people.

In some places, people are not fair to transgender people. But they say transgender people are the problem. They think transgender people are not fair to them. Sometimes, good people do not agree about things. The right answers can be hard to find.

If we all work together, we can find the right answers.

Thank you again for being here!


Learn more

Other pages here use easy words:

For the main site, use the menu or the search bar at the top to learn more.

This page uses easy words. This helps young people read it. This also helps people who do not know many English words. You can use these links to look up words you do not know:

Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary