Sexual Orientation Labels
Historically, clinicians labeled transsexual people as heterosexual or homosexual relative to their sex assigned at birth. Most transsexual people find this offensive, and prefer to define their sexual orientation relative to their gender identity. Thus, a trans man attracted to women is likely to identify as a heterosexual man.
To avoid confusion and offense, the terms "gynephilia" and "androphilia" are sometimes used to describe attraction to women and men, respectively.
The terms "homosexual" and "heterosexual" are problematic for transgender people who do not identify as male or female. More broadly, terms defining attraction in terms of men and women are often rejected by people attracted to those outside the gender binary.
Read more about this topic: Transgender Sexuality
Famous quotes containing the words orientation and/or labels:
“Institutions of higher education in the United States are products of Western society in which masculine values like an orientation toward achievement and objectivity are valued over cooperation, connectedness and subjectivity.”
—Yolanda Moses (b. 1946)
“The Prime Minister has an absolute genius for putting flamboyant labels on empty luggage.”
—Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960)