Homosexuality, transgender and transsexualism are often confused, but basically, these are two separate phenomena. Homosexuality is a matter of partner preference, while transgender is a matter of gender identity.

However, there are several reasons for this error:

• Magnus Hirschfeld was the most influential (but by no means the only one) who categorised all people who violated heteronormative rules as a Third sex/gender, that is gays, lesbians, transgender people and (to some extent) intersex people. While this notion disappeared from scientific discourses during World War 2, the notion of a "third gender" survived at least until the 1970s; and today's Queer once more includes exactly this groups of people.
• Socially, the LGB subculture was the only place where transgendered people were socially accepted in the gender they felt they belong to; especially in the time where transitioning was almost impossible.
• Since a large percentage of transgender people prefer partners of another gender as their own gender identity, that very often leads to relationships between people of different genders, but the same sex. So while these relationships are heterosexual, as far as the partners are concerned, they appear homosexual on the outside.
  • These apparent homosexual relations exist in several variations, with distinct differences existing between transwomen and transmen, as well as regional differences.
  • On the other hand, people who prefer people of their own gender identity will, pre-transitioning, probably have relationships with persons of the other sex, thereby being in technically heterosexual relationships which are, at least to one partner, gay or lesbian.

Especially the last point is the reason why the word "homosexual" is very problematic when refering to transgender people. What is, according to outer or anatomical criteria homosexual (=same sex) might actually be, as far as the gender identities are concerned, be straight, while something that, according to outer or anatomical criteria, is heterosexual might actually be gay or lesbian.

Note that in scientific literature, especially older, homosexual and heterosexual are very often used respective to the clients' birth sex, instead of their gender identity. Transgender people not only usually feel misunderstood by caregivers because of this practice, it can also lead to very confusing descriptions, when for example a relationship between two people is characterised as heterosexual merely because one partner is a transman; although both have a male gender identity and live in a male gender role.

See also

• List of transgender-related topics