TG Alphabet Soup

Many acronyms, some of contemporary usage, others of historical significance, are used within the TG Community and LGBT Community as abbreviations, slang, terms of endearment, etc.

Terms and acronyms

CD: Crossdresser
PG: Pangender. Comprising more than a singular gender. Origin is recent.
TG: Transgender. The abbreviation, like the term, is quite overloaded.
TS: Transsexual
TV: Transvestite. The term and acronym are falling out of favor and often considered anachronistic.
T*: Trans-everything, from computer lingo where the asterisk matches all.
XD: Crossdresser. Anachronistic.
XV: Transvestite. Anachronistic.

Status and Pecking Order

Within the TG Community, those who are identified with some terms are often seen as having a higher social standing than others. There is no universal order, but often those at the higher levels of this pecking order tend to be those who have completed SRS, those who have completed social Transition, and those who ""Pass well" or present effectively, visually and audibly, in public.

Those on the lower pecking-order levels are often, but not always Drag Queens, gender-variant sex workers, "street transgenders", and those whose orientation tends to be fetishistic or whose presentation tends to be flamboyant, etc. Drag queens who become successful stage performers often times have an elevated status within the Community.

Within TG support groups and social organizations, bona fide transition track individuals are frequently considered to be of higher standing than those who identify as Crossdressers or drag queens.

Physical attractiveness, the ability to pass visually and audibly, and other related attributes frequently result in an elevated status within TG organizations.