Nope. They're just part of the system, but they do make the assignment. That's just a statement of fact. And you can't tell if someone is XXY or XX/XY with "opposite" functioning parts, etc, etc, just from looking if there is no outward ambiguity. And some people have other issues (I don't process testosterone…

You can read more about how some of the terminology plays out here: http://www.glaad.org/transgender/tr…

Neither, it means a male assigned at birth person who identifies as a woman (yes, that is different from what you wrote, because "man" and "woman" are social constructs, and while "female" and "male" are often presented as objective facts, many individuals object to that, so the assignment by a doctor at birth and…

FUCK THIS.

It's too bad Melissa Joan Hart felt the need a) to diet b) and shill for NutriSystem in order to wear a swimsuit. Every body is beach-ready folks.

Also please enjoy Dolly and Kenny Rogers singing "Islands in the Stream."

My PhD viva (formal examination of my thesis) is on Wednesday afternoon. I'm super nervous - I've now began a funny physiological thing where tears fall when I think of the viva (I'm not crying, but suddenly my eyes are watering.
I would like to request lots of well-wishing and support. A personal cheerleading section…

Gonna try and sneak into a pool party. Don't think I'm chic enough, but I got swagger. Wish me (and my friend) luck!

My mom's middle name is Cleofas, after a female relative. She could have commiserated with you.

Husband's initials are PMS. Apparently an intentional joke from his late-father, who got to name him while mom was sleeping.

Almost-Berthas unite! I was almost a Bertha too!

everybody go home, because I win:

My father desperately wanted to give my youngest brother the middle name "Tiberius," after James T. Kirk. My mother absolutely vetoed Tiberius, but agreed to names with the initials NCC. Which, as all good Trekkies will know, is the call sign of the starship Enterprise.

My little sister was born in 1984. If she was a boy, and the ultrasound said she was, she was to be named Elliot. Yes.. just a few years after E.T. my parents wanted to name their son, Elliot. And they liked to pronounce it all drawn out, like in E.T.

If I had been a boy I would have been named Dirk Pit. Thank goodness I was born a girl.

"Bertha" wannabe here. Thank god common sense prevailed in the end.

My middle name was going to be Orpha, after my grandmother. Bad enough. Worse: That would have made my initials C.O.W. Thank you Mom, for thinking twice. Especially since I was the chubby kid.

I know a man whose father came up with a girl's name he thought was the most beautiful name in the world, and would have bestowed this name on my acquaintance had he been a she. The name: Rejessica. (Why yes he came up with this name in the late 70s... why do you ask?) This acquaintance now uses Rejessica as a synonym…