Other languages' terms for transgender?
November 13, 2015 12:33 PM   Subscribe

What are some terms for transgender in other languages, especially Spanish? What words do they use to identify themselves?

I work in public health with a population from around the world but largely Central America and Mexico. Our organization is revamping its policies regarding the ethical treatment of transgender, but even the Spanish speakers among us are not sure what the proper terms in Spanish are (those that the people themselves actually use) and absolutely no idea what terms are in languages more far flung but equally as common. (Asian subcontinent languages would be useful as well especially Punjabi, Bengali and Hindi.) What terms, slang or not, do transgender persons around the world use to designate themselves in their language?
posted by the bird at the bottom of the tree to Writing & Language (11 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Looks like "travesti" is a common term in South America but I'd definitely check with someone who speaks the language.

Some other terms are hijra (South Asia), fa'afafine (Samoa), kathoey (Thailand). Note that these generally refer to people assigned male at birth who present as feminine, and not to trans masculine people, who are largely just ignored.
posted by desjardins at 12:48 PM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


Best answer: In Mexico we use transexual (idem) and transgénero (transgender), trans for short. Many of our LBGTI~ terms come from English.

Travesti means transvestite, which, as you know, is not always correlated to gender identity.

I found a government clinic that specializes in support for trans and queer population, maybe their page will be helpful.
posted by clearlydemon at 12:54 PM on November 13, 2015 [2 favorites]


Best answer: In guatemala the shortened "trans" is by far the most common. One would say "hombre trans" or "mujer trans" or "persona trans." I've heard transgenero as well, but in the abstract, not referring to an actual individual.

I work with LGBTI advocacy organizations in Guatemala. Terms could be totally different anywhere else.
posted by exutima at 1:03 PM on November 13, 2015 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Well, for the most part I refer to myself just as "mujer" (woman), but I´ll try to explain the words you´ll hear when transsexuality needs to be specifically mentioned.

I participate more in English speaking trans groups than I do in Spanish speaking ones, but I do know the terms.

There is actually a difference with English in most places, it´s not a direct translation like clearlydemon said (maybe it is in Mexico because of the greater influence from the US, but I´ve seen what I´m about to say in different official places, government related and websites maintained by trans people, so it is the most common in other countries).

I suppose you are aware than in English "transsexual" refers to someone with a binary gender identity (either man or woman) that doesn´t match the one they were assigned at birth, while "transgender" is an umbrella term that also encompasses crossdressers and non binary and genderfluid people (although usage is shifting those meanings because a lot of us don´t like the word "transsexual").

In Spanish there is no generally accepted umbrella term. Most of the Spanish speaking world seems to be completely unaware of the existance of non binary gender identities (and that includes LGBT organizations).

The distinction between "transsexual" and "transgénero" is, unlike in English, based on if you´re post-op (transsexual) or pre-op/non-op (transgénero). I have a lot of problems with that distinction, which shouldn´t be made. Some of us prefer "transgénero" regardless of the operations we have or haven´t gone through, trying to bring it closer to the English meaning.

"Travesti" is literally translated as "crossdresser" or "tranvestite", but it has different connotations, so it would be closer in meaning to "tranny". Some trans women do use it to refer to themselves, but you should avoid it.

I think you´re safest bet, that anyone from any origin will understand and not be offended by is simply "trans". It´s the closest in meaning and usage to the English word "transsexual".


Portuguese is pretty much the same, except that "travesti" doesn´t have the same negativity attached to it.
posted by Promethea at 2:23 PM on November 13, 2015 [3 favorites]


fwiw this site seems to confirm promothea's distinction here (chile).
posted by andrewcooke at 3:17 PM on November 13, 2015


It might be worth looking at the Wikipedia entry for two-spirit people (and the term that it supplanted berdache) if your organization works with North American Indigenous people.
posted by jessamyn at 3:27 PM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]


Scroll.in has a good list of trans terms in India. As everywhere, the slang/terms vary in nuance by region and subculture.
posted by Ragini at 5:31 PM on November 13, 2015


You could also reach out to the Naz Foundation, which does a lot of work on LGBT rights, health, and advocacy. Wikipedia has an "LGBT in India" section that you might look through for more info/contacts as well.
posted by Ragini at 5:35 PM on November 13, 2015


Just want to point out because I don't think anyone has said it here explicitly that you're (possibly unintentionally) asking at least two different questions here:

- what are some translations of the term "transgender" as it is commonly conceptualized in, say, academic and popular discourse in the U.S./Canada/UK? (often these words are similar to the English word)

- what are terms for minority gender identities around the world in various cultures that might be considered to fall under the transgender umbrella?

This is to say that terms like two-spirit and kathoey have a different history from the concept of transgenderism and transsexualism, usually a considerably older one, and can't be used as synonyms, though there is certainly overlap among populations, and many people prefer traditional terminology to Western medicalized terms. And as Promethea talks about, the definitions of transgender and transsexual are not universal even within a given culture.

(You may already know what I'm saying here, but I thought this note may be useful to people using this question as a starting point who still need help with the 101 stuff.)
posted by thetortoise at 6:53 PM on November 13, 2015 [6 favorites]


I've heard of "newhalf" (one word) for Japanese transgender people, but only after getting (top and bottom) surgery. Look up Ai Haruna.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 4:04 AM on November 14, 2015


Best answer: Malaysian trans women call themselves mak nyah.
posted by divabat at 6:58 AM on November 15, 2015


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