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Transsexual
Also written: Transsexual
self-id-requireddated-termevolving-usage
At a glance
Source-by-source
“"Transsexual" is generally considered dated, and may be considered a slur, and should never be used by the Sierra Club unless specifically requested as a self-description by someone we are writing about.”
Sierra Club treats transsexual as a dated term that can read as a slur, and reserves its use to one case: when the subject specifically requests it as a self-description. The guide pairs this with its broader rule to check with the person before defaulting to either "trans" or "transgender."
“Avoid this outdated term in favor of transgender and transgender people unless a person or community prefers the term; it can carry misleading medical connotations.”
DSG points writers to transgender as the current convention and flags that transsexual can carry misleading medical connotations, while preserving the self-identification exception: use it when a person or community prefers it. The entry sits alongside DSG's transgender entry, which it presents as the standard form.
“Avoid this obsolete term for transgender unless the subject prefers it. Consider paraphrasing quotes containing the term, which may inaccurately imply a person has undergone gender-affirming surgery.”
NLGJA's 2025 stylebook directs writers to transgender as the current term and notes that transsexual can wrongly imply a person has had gender-affirming surgery — recommending paraphrase of quotes that use it. The self-identification exception holds: use it when the subject prefers it.
“Once the dominant word to describe someone who wants or seeks transgender medical care, this is now a more niche and intracommunity term. Some consider it outdated or offensive. It may be appropriate to include the word if quoting historical materials, or if someone self-describes in this manner.”
TJA is the source that treats transsexual as a living word rather than only a dated one: where Sierra Club calls it a possible slur, TJA frames it as a niche, intracommunity term still in active self-description. Its neutral chronology — once dominant for someone seeking medical care, now narrowed — is what lets it name two specific licenses (historical quotation, self-description) instead of a blanket retire-it rule.
Synthesis
“Transsexual” is an older, clinically-rooted term that the current consensus has moved past in favor of “transgender” — use it only when a person uses it for themselves. All four sources agree. The Trans Journalists Association gives the neutral chronology: it was “once the dominant word to describe someone who wants or seeks transgender medical care” and “is now a more niche and intracommunity term.” NLGJA and the Diversity Style Guide both default to “transgender” unless the subject prefers “transsexual,” noting it can carry “misleading medical connotations,” the implication that transition is defined by surgery. Sierra Club takes the strongest position: it “may be considered a slur” and should never be used “unless specifically requested as a self-description.”
Two things drive the consensus. The term predates the current convention in which “transgender” is the umbrella and medical transition is neither required nor the defining feature, and it carries enough charge that self-identification is the only safe license. Where a quote uses it about someone who doesn’t claim it, the guides suggest paraphrasing. It overlaps with transgender but is not interchangeable with it.
Audience notes
- Journalists and editors. Default to “transgender.” Use “transsexual” only in direct quotation or when the person self-identifies that way; consider paraphrasing quotes that apply it to someone who doesn’t.
- Advocates and internal comms. The term can read as reducing trans identity to medical procedures — “transgender” avoids that implication.
Related terms