Transgender identity

Transgender identity is a term that has emerged only in the last few decades, and its definition is still under construction. Susan Stryker uses the term transgender as follows: 

[T]o refer to people who move away from the gender they were assigned at birth, people who cross over (trans-) the boundaries constructed by their culture to define and contain that gender … In any case, it is the movement across a socially imposed boundary away from an unchosen starting place, rather than any particular destination or mode of transition, that best characterizes the concept of transgender that I develop here. ¹ 1 Stryker, Susan. Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution. Seal Press, 2017, p. 1.

While in the hospital receiving care after being sexually assaulted, Gabrielle is offered a pamphlet about transgender identity by a nurse; she describes this pamphlet as being “like a revelation” (p. 188). Finding the words to name her experience, Gabrielle is finally able to find community and validation among other trans people, who she meets through online forums, and seek out gender-affirming care.