Connecticut Outreach Society

Transgenderism is a phenomenon that has been incident throughout recorded civilization. In many cultures, the transgendered (TG) individual has an accepted, even honored, place within the societal structure (such as the Native American "Two-Spirited" people).

In Western culture, Transgenderism can be expressed in many ways: ranging from mild fetishistic behavior, through complete Crossdressing, up to full Transsexualism. These expressions form a Transgendered spectrum. Each TG individual will find his or her own place on this spectrum.

There are as many "flavors" of transgenderism as there are TG individuals. However, there are some basic facts about Transgenderism:

1. TG people can be Heterosexual (straight), bisexual, or Homosexual (gay). A TG person's sexual orientation seems to mirror that of the general population.
2. Crossdressing does not lead to Transsexualism. Some crossdressers may determine that they are indeed Transsexual. Many others are content to express their transgenderism through occasional crossdressing.
3. TG persons work in all areas and jobs; many are highly successful and accomplished in their chosen careers.

COS has access to the most up to date literature and scientific findings on Transgenderism. If you would like information to help you understand TG behavior in yourself or someone close to you, please feel free to call or e-mail COS. We can provide copies of the latest information, and direct you to other Transgender resources within the area. Also see our Reading Room for a list of books that we have found informative.

Sometimes we just stumble across a web-site that is worth its weight in gold. Here is one of them. It's from the Children's National Medical Center and it is entitled "If You Are Concerned About Your Child's Gender Behaviors: A Parent guide". If you have any concerns about your child or a family's member gender identity then we strongly recommend read this guide.

Here are some brochures that we hand out that you can download if you want.

• Connecticut Outreach Society
• Transgender Definitions
• Local Resources - Support Groups

Here are some more web-sites that are a good sources of transgender information.

• These are the guiding documents for defining transgenderism (Gender Identity Disorder, GID ).
  • The Harry Benjamin Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders (Sixth Version)
  • American Psychiatric Association DSM - IV;
    
  • Defining Male And Female -- Research Casts Further Doubt On Newborn Sex-assignment Surgeries
• These organizations have some good papers written about transgenderism and are a good starting point in understanding.
  • Renaissance - 987 Old Eagle School Road, Suite 719, Wayne, PA 19087, Phone: (610) 975-9119, http://www.ren.org/bp.html
  • The Looking Glass Society - South-West of England, http://www.looking-glass.greenend.org.uk/pubs.htm, Including this link to a paper entitled "Transsexualism: A Primer", http://www.looking-glass.greenend.org.uk/primer.htm
  • The The Gender Identity Research & Education Society - Surrey England. Their paper on "Gender Identity Disorder & Transsexualism Synopsis of Etiology in Adults", http://www.gires.org.uk/Web_Page_Assets/Etiology_definition_signed.htm
• These are some on-line Transgender resources, some of whom also happens also to be transgendered.
  • Dr. Anne Lawrence - Main Page: http://www.annelawrence.com/twr/. About her transition: http://www.annelawrence.com/authorindex.html
  • Notes on Gender Transition By Anne Vitale PhD - Licensed Psychologist (California #PSY15764), http://www.avitale.com/
  • A series of articles by; Carl W. Bushong, Ph.D., LMFT of the "Transgender Care" clinic - http://www.transgendercare.com/guidance/library.htm
  • Gianna E. Israel Gender Library. - http://www.firelily.com/gender/index.html