transgender (adj.) - Not transgendered. Defined in Webster's New World College
Dictionary as "a person . . . whose sexuality is not readily characterized
as exclusively male or female."
When writing about a transgender person, use the name and personal pronouns
that are consistent with the way the individual lives publicly. We do not challenge
a person's preference to be known as male or female unless there is a compelling
news reason.
If a person's sexual identity has changed, and that point is relevant to the
story, use pronouns appropriate to the context: "Wendy Carlos, celebrated
in musical circles for her performances of Bach's keyboard works, found earlier
fame as Walter Carlos, a man who was among the first to use synthesizers in
classical music."
A conference involving senior editors can address the issue of a person's sexual
identity when the facts are not readily apparent or are in conflict. For example,
a 14-year-old may simply be experimenting with a different sexual identity and
may be known to family and friends by the person's initial sexual identity.
Similarly, not everyone who has a hairstyle or wears clothing characteristic
of the opposite sex is a transgender person. The terms transvestite and cross-dressing
refer to changes in appearance, not necessarily sexual identity; a man who dresses
as a woman may still be a heterosexual male.
Transsexual remains an applicable word for someone who has undergone physical
modification to effect a change of sex. Transgender, though, is broader, applying
both to transsexuals and to those who have not undergone surgery or, for example,
hormone treatment.