OPENING THE DOOR
If your survey or form specifically deals with transgender people, you may wish to break it down further by asking about different types of gender identities, such as: Cross-dresser
FTM
MTF
Genderqueer
Other:
and so on, using whatever terms are culturally appropriate to the group in question. Also, it is very important to recognize the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. This is not an appropriate question if people can only choose one (such as radio buttons on a website): Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Heterosexual
After all, transgender people might be any of those sexual orientations in addition to being transgender. Many transgender people will read this as a sign of complete ignorance about the difference between sexuality and gender. It is much better to ask about sexual orientation: Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Heterosexual
Other:
and then ask separately about gender identity/expression as noted above. Written Materials/Website Look at your brochures, website and program listings. It is important that they clearly communicate the presence of transgender people in your organization. Transgender people often look to see if the mission of an organization includes language like “gender identity and expression.”
Communicating Transgender Inclusion Here’s a good example of how an athletic organization, with gendered sports teams, has made clear on their website (http://www.federaltriangles.org) that they have considered the inclusion of transgender people in their programming. “Federal Triangles Soccer Club has many options for those who seek the intensity of a refereed game and the camaraderie that comes from playing with the same group of people week in and week out. League teams often form the core roster of teams that represent FTSC at travel tournaments. We have women’s, men’s, and co-ed teams and we register them to play in DC
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area recreational leagues (DC, Arlington, Fairfax, Montgomery County). We support transgender players playing on whichever team matches their self-identified gender.”