Born a female, Ethan Lewis, a sophomore human development major, did not see himself as a woman. As a transgendered person, the co-director of the Rainbow Pride Union has been identifying himself as male for the past two years.

Lewis said that learning some terms may help in understanding transgendered people.

“There is a difference between gender identity and gender expression,” Lewis said. “Gender identity is how you label yourself while gender expression is how you express your gender.”

Many people do not know the difference between a transsexual and a transgendered person, Lewis said. A transsexual person is an individual that has had or is currently having their gender medically altered. The term transgender is much more broad. A person that is transgendered has a gender expression that is different than what they were born with.

Lewis points out that there are several different ways that a transgendered person can identify themselves. Male to female, or MTF, is a person that is biologically male but identifies themselves as female. Female to male, or FTM, is the opposite of MTF. Genderqueer is another way a transgender person can identify themselves. A genderqueer is a person that does not identify themselves as male or female, but instead refuses to have an identity.

Lewis said there are some steps that you can take to show respect for a transgendered person.

“If a person identifies themselves as a male or female, use the pronoun of the gender they identify themselves with,” he said. “If you see someone in a bathroom and you are not sure of their gender, just leave them alone. Use the name they prefer to go by.”

Lewis also stressed the difference between sexual orientation and being transgender.

“It is very important for people to differentiate transgender from sexual orientation,” Lewis said. “Many people think that they are the same thing but they are not.”