Understanding the meaning of Shemale, Ladyboy, cosplay & crossdress.

WHAT IS SHEMALE AND LADYBOY?

It is important to understand the different identities that exist (for example, the difference between a crossdresser, cosplayer, shemale and ladyboy) so that we can effectively talk about and bring awareness to ourselves, our friends, and our family members without making assumptions or disrespect. It is important to remember in this discussion that gender is not a binary structure. Humankind cannot be confined to the categories of only “male” and “female,” as this erases the diversity and variety of the sex and gender spectrums. Being open-minded with this idea is an important part of understanding the many different terms at times!

The term transgender is an adjective and has several implications. It is generally used to describe a person whose gender identity and/or gender expression is different from the sex that they were assigned when they were born. It is an umbrella term, meaning those who identify as transgender may use other terms to describe their gender identities in addition, for example shemale & ladyboy. Transgender individuals may or may not choose to:

- Seek hormone prescriptions from a doctor to begin a transition

- Undergo one or more surgeries

- Alter their physical appearance in other ways

It is important to remember that there is no one way to be transgender. Contrary to popular misconceptions, being transgender is not dependent upon a person’s appearance or any medical procedures that they may choose to undergo. Being transgender only means that a person’s gender identity is not consistent with their sex assignment from birth. How they choose to express themself through their appearance is up to them!

Both Shemale & Ladyboy refer to transgender or transsexual women. The difference are rely on their background story and history.

Summary:

(Shemale) is a term that is used almost exclusively in reference to Pre op trans women doing sex work, either in porn or as Prostitutes. While the term was associated to western trans ( American, South American, European ), through times the term being used generally to describe any pre op trans women regardless their country or race ( although most trans women, specially those who doesn’t work in sex industry find this term to be offensive ).

(Ladyboy) is a term that popular in Southeast Asia and historically come from the word Kathoey, an umbrella term that used in Thailand to describe a third gender. Although the defenition of Kathoey can’t be translated as Ladyboy, either as literal or function, the word itself often rendered as Ladyboy in English. Due to the mispronunciation of word Kathoey as Ka-toy that sounds similar with Lady-boy or because there are too many young and underage transgender women that work as prostitutes, bar girl, or adult performer in Thailand.

In its journey, the word Ladyboy being used to describe asian transgender women in general ( Southeast and East ) and like the term Shemale, some of transgender women regardless their race find this term to be offensive.

WHAT IS CROSSDRESSER?

The term crossdresser, which is a noun, has a very different meaning, though it is commonly associated with many of the same ideas. It is most typically used to describe men who sometimes choose to wear the clothing, makeup, and accessories that are culturally associated with women but never undergo any form of medical procedures or pre op.

Though crossdressers do not wish to live as women full-time or permanently change their sex, their choice to crossdress is a form of gender expression or for entertainment. Cross-dressers do not tend to associate with the LGBTQ+ community. This is because most crossdressers identify as heterosexual males (100% straight males). It is important to remember that gender and sexual orientation are two different things.

WHAT IS COSPLAYER?

Cosplay, a portmanteau of the words costume play, it's a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character from their favorite anime, cartoons, comic books, manga, television series, movies and video games. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, and a broader use of the term "cosplay" applies to any costumed role-playing in venues apart from the stage or events. Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject and it is very common to see males cosplay as their favorite female characters.

BE RESPECTFUL AND FRIENDLY

Among all of these definitions, we must note that there is plenty of room for grey area. It is difficult to generalize when everyone’s gender expression is unique to them and their experiences or history. They may been through hell in their life that we may not know or understand. Therefore, please show some basic respect and courtesy equally. That being said, there are some common guidelines we can all follow to avoid offending and disrespect anyone.

- Ask which gender pronouns a person prefers

- Address someone by their name or nickname if you are unsure or confuse with their gender identity

- Avoid/never use the terms transgender and crossdresser if you aren’t sure about someone’s gender identity

- Ask which terms a person uses to describe themself rather than guessing

- Be accommodating if someone’s gender identity changes over time

- Avoid making assumptions about someone’s sexual orientation based on their gender identity

- Don’t use a term if you don’t know what it means!

- Never/avoid asking someone if they are shemale or ladyboy as it is very offending

You won't like it if someone put a tag on you, so please treat everyone equally.

We are all humans too.