34^th European Diabetes Congress

Transgender: Medicine and Research

As we know throughout human history, there have been people who were transgender, individuals whose gender identity and expression differ from the sex they appear to be at birth. Some cultures accepted these differences, whereas others violently opposed them. The current world culture is in the middle of a sea change with regard to gender. And although there is still open hostility in some sectors, in many places, there is an increased openness toward people who are transgender.

Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their assigned sex during birth. Transgender people are sometimes called transsexual if they desire medical assistance to change from one sex to another. Transgender is also an umbrella term: in addition to including those people whose gender identity is the opposite of their assigned sex after birth, it may include people who are not exclusively masculine or feminine.

Being transgender is independent of any sexual orientation: transgender people may be called as of different name such as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, or may not be able to decline to the label of their sexual orientation. The term transgender is also different from intersex, a term that describes people born with physical sex characteristics "that do not fit typical what we generally see male or female bodies”. The counterpart of transgender is cisgender, which describes persons whose gender identity or expression matches with their assigned sex.