Choosing a new name that better suits one’s gender identity is common, too. Some transgender people, though not all, elect to undergo medical treatments that change their bodies to make them more compatible with their gender identity. Treatments can include hormone therapy, surgery, and other interventions. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, there are about 1.4 million transgender people in the United States, who fall into several categories. A transgender woman was labeled as male at birth but has the gender identity of a female. A transgender man was assigned female sex at birth but identifies as male. Some transgender people don’t identify with one gender exclusively.
The National Center for Transgender Equality defines transgender people as those who have a different gender identity to their assigned gender at birth. Some people may also use “trans” as a shortened version for transgender. Gender identity is the innate knowledge of who a person is. Every person has a gender identity, which may match their assigned at birth, or it may be different. A healthcare professional usually assigns newborns either a male or female at birth. If people identify with a different gender to the one they were assigned, they may describe themselves as transgender.
