Understanding the transgender experience: 4 things you need to know

• Approximately 18% of people who identify as transgender are between 13 and 17. 
• 1.6 million people over the age of 13 identify as transgender. 
• 3% of youth in New York identify as transgender. 

Understanding the transgender experience. According to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, in the United States, approximately 18% of people who identify as transgender are between the ages of 13 and 17. In total, 1.6 million adolescents over the age of 13 and adults are in this group.

For this reason, it is important to understand what it means to be transgender in order to create a support system for this community, which is made up of so many young people. We’ve got four things to help you understand the transgender experience.

Understanding the transgender experience

According to the Mayo Clinic, gender identity refers to a person’s internal perception of being male, female, a combination of both, or neither. This manifests itself in mannerisms, communication style, interests, style of dress, and both the inner and outer expression of a person’s personality and essence.

Transgender people’s gender identity does not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth. They often do not follow the social norms of expression regarding the gender that was assigned to them at birth and often don’t view their gender as binary.

Gender identity and sexual orientation

People have different kinds of attractions to other people be it emotional, romantic or sexual. This has to do with sexual orientation which is not the same as gender identity.

Being part of the transgender community is not tied to a specific sexual orientation. For this reason, you should never make assumptions about a transgender persons’s sexuality, since they can be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual or asexual — just like everyone else.

Do all transgender people transition?

A 2011 survey found that at least 61% of transgender people have medically transitioned, that is, they are taking hormones, while the 33% reported having undergone a surgical transition. Many trans people never undergo surgery.

This can be due to numerous factors. On the one hand, it is possible that most people are happy with the medical transition. Another factor is the cost and painful recovery from reassignment surgery. In the same survey, 14% of trans women and 72% of trans men said they have no interest in genital surgery.

Is it a mental illness?

One of the most common myths about the trans community is that it is some sort of mental disorder. The American Psychological Association has declared that being transgender is not a mental disorder and this perception stigmatizes the community.

Sometimes transgender or gender dysmorphia is confused with gender dysphoria. The latter is considered a mental illness that causes emotional stress to those who suffer from it. The former is not identifying as your biologically assigned gender. Many with gender dysphoria identify as transgender, while many who identify as transgender don’t have gender dysphoria.