What does it mean to be transgender? Are all transgender people gay?
We use the term transgender to mean a broad range of people who experience and/or express their gender differently from what most people expect — either in terms of expressing a gender that does not match the sex listed on their original birth certificate, or in terms of physically changing their sex. It is an umbrella term that includes people who are transsexual, cross-dressers or otherwise gender non-conforming.
The term “gender identity”, distinct from the term “sexual orientation”, refers to a person’s innate, deeply felt psychological sense of gender, which may or may not correspond to the person’s body or designated sex at birth (the sex originally listed on a person’s birth certificate).
The term “sexual orientation” describes a person’s enduring physical, romantic, emotional and/or spiritual attraction to another person. Gender identity and sexual orientation are not the same.
For more information visit HRC's Transgender Issues Page.