NON-TROONS:
These types need to be defined, because troons will often disingenuously use examples of them to argue that modern troonery has some historical precedents. Therefore they need to be identified in order to distinguish them from actual troons.
Type 0.1 -
The Classic Drag Performer
A heterosexual individual (male or female) who is not cross-sex identified but engages in crossdressing for purposes of entertainment, ritual, or ceremony. The classic or comedic drag performer, as well as the traditional drag queen (see below) is very explicitly NOT a tranny as while they engage in cross-dressing, they are not actually or purportedly cross-sex identified, and the cross-dressing is a temporary act for purposes of a performance. The classic drag performer is distinguished from the drag queen by the fact that the classic drag performer's cross-dressing is not intended to appeal to a sexual interest either on the part of the performer or the audience, but rather is done for comedic effect, or as part of some kind of ritual or ceremony. This type has existed for basically as long as any sort of theatrical performance has, but has become dramatically less prevalent in the past 20 years either because it is seen as offensive by shitlibs, or because the rise of modern trannies has made normal people uncomfortable around anything that smacks of troonism. Prominent examples include most of Tyler Perry's career, or Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire. The appeal of the classic drag performer is the comedy inherent in the absurdity and silliness of cross-dressing as an act - the joke generally either
- Haha look at the man in a dress, isn't that silly;
- Haha look at how stupid this other character is for not recognizing that this is a man in a dress;
- Haha this other character is gay for being attracted to a man in a dress; or
- Haha look at this man doing women things, aren't women stupid, lmao.
Variations on this type include participants in religious ceremonies who cross-dress for symbolic or ritualistic purposes, and basically all actors during the Shakespearean era where it was not seen as appropriate for women to be actors because acting was seen as an immoral profession one step away from prostitution (where's the lie?) and so female characters would be portrayed either by men, or boys.
Type 0.2 -
The Drag Queen
A homosexual male who dresses as a woman as part of an explicitly sexual performance intended to appeal to the sexual interests of other homosexual males, but is not cross-sex identified. Like others in this category, the drag queen is NOT a tranny as he is not cross-sex identified: the drag queen is a gay man who identifies as a gay man, but dresses as a parody of a woman as part of a very specific sort of homosexual burlesque show. The drag queen only occasionally crossdresses, and only specifically for purposes of a performance, and typically adopts a stage name and persona that goes with their costume, but is not a sincere expression of an alternative identity. The costume is also very explicitly a costume, and is generally a highly exaggerated parody of a whorish woman. This is basically the gay male equivelant of a blackface minstrel show, but for women instead of blacks, and with an explicitly sexual connotation.
Type 0.3 -
The Expedient Crossdresser
A person, male or female, heterosexual or homosexual, who is not cross-sex identified and engages in crossdressing not as a sexual act, but out of neccessity in order to acomplish a purpose or obtain a benefit. The most quintessential example of this is women who disguised themselves as men in order to join the military or other male-exclusive professions, a well-documented historical phenomenon across most civilizations. Other examples include women temporarily dressing as men when traveling in dangerous areas as a rape deterrant, or one partner in a homosexual relationship crossdressing in order to prevent society as a whole from identifying the pair as homosexuals (this is historically most common in lesbians) - in this example, unlike the drag queen, the purpose of the charade is not to cause sexual arousal, but rather as an expedient disguise to avoid punishment or ridicule in societies not tolerant of the gays.
ACTUAL TROONS:
Now that we've clearly distinguished types of crossdressers who are NOT trannies, it's time to get into the real ones. The defining element which distinguishes a tranny from a non-tranny is that a tranny is either cross-sex identified, or pseudogender* identified, either sincerely or insincerely.
Type I -
The Legitimate Gender Dysphoria Patient
A person who is genuinely suffering from a mental illness which causes them to believe that they are the wrong sex. This is, perhaps, the rarest type of tranny in the modern era. This person deserves empathy and pity in the same way that a paranoid schizophrenic or other mentally ill person does, but just as it is inappropriate to endulge the paranoid schizophrenic in his (sincerely held) belief that reptoid nazis from the hollow moon have replaced all of his family with baby-eating robots, it is inappropriate to endulge the Type I tranny in his (sincerely held) belief that he is a woman trapped in a man's body. Unlike most of the other types, the Type I generally does not loudly announce him or herself (although female Type Is are vanishingly rare) as a tranny: they do not wear tranny flag pins, put pronouns in their bios, or otherwise flaunt their status as trannies - rather, the Type I will do everything they can to avoid being clocked and legitimately attempt to blend in as a member of the opposite sex (obviously with limited success). Generally, the best way for a layperson to identify a Type I is that there is no sexual or attention-seeking component to their trannyism. If someone is overtly perverted (constantly posting/posting about pornography, talking about euphoria boners, clearly gets some kind of sexual thrill from the tranny schtick, skinwalking a real person or fictional character that they find attractive, etc.) or very loudly and visibly flying a tranny flag, you can bet dollars to doughnuts they are NOT a Type I, but one of the other types.
Type II -
The Pervert
A person who cross-sex identifies for the specifc purpose of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the person's lusts, passions, or sexual desires. Most commonly, this is the autogynophilliac or AGP (a heterosexual or bisexual male who is sexually aroused by pretending to be a female), but also includes some pooners who skinwalk actors or fictional characters that they find attactive, i.e. the most extreme sort of brain-rotted fujoshi, or homosexual males with a sissy or humiliation fetish. The critical identifying feature of this type is that the act of cross-sex identification itself is part of a sexual fetish. The Type IV discussed below may cross-sex or pseudogender identify for sexual purposes but the act itself is not the fetish, it's just a means to an end. The Type II is most easily identified by the fact that they will discuss their "identity" in explicitly sexual terms: the troon who bemoans the fact that they'll never get to be a slutty highschool girl taking miles of cock, anyone who unironically uses the term "euphoria boner", troons who talk about how they get a thrill from "trapping" heterosexual males, troons who use explicitly pornographic terms like femboy, sissy, futa, etc. to describe themselves or their goals, troons who constantly objectify themselves (going on endlessly about their mantits, for example), troons who constantly and openly post and discuss porn, troons who talk about how they get a sexual thrill from forcing actual women to treat them as equals and/or allow them into their spaces, and so on. Another key identifier is that the Type II will typically dress in the most cartoonishly whorish way possible, often to the minstrel show-level of the Drag Queen. Comorbitity with other extreme fetishes (pedophilia, age regression, ABDL, BDSM, scat, transformation, etc.) is another diagnostic criteria to consider. The AGP Smirk, while not diagnostic in and of itself, can be a strong clue. Type II troons are almost always cross-sex identified, not pseudogender identified. T4T troons are most commonly Type IIs, as nobody who doesn't also have a fetish would willingly fuck a troon. Skinwalking of any type is usually a sign you are dealing with a Type II.
Type III -
The Transtrender
A (frequently but not always hetrosexual) person who cross-sex identifies, or pseudogender identifies, for purposes of attracting attention, or simply because it is fashionable within their community (social contagion). This type is most commonly seen in young females, either pooners or pseudogender identifiers, but is occasionally also seen in males. When present in males, there is significant apparent overlap with the Type IV, to the point where it may be difficult to distinguish the two, although the difference is that the Type III engages in troonery for a generalized attention-seeking purpose as a result of social contagion and is sincere but misled, while the Type IV has a more specific objective in mind, and is acting cynically rather than sincerely. When in doubt, a male is typically going to be a Type IV, while a female will typically be a Type III. The Type III may take cross-sex hormones, but will virtually never seek or obtain surgeries, and commonly will not actually engage in any type of pseudomedical treatment at all, and will generally dress androgynously, rather than outright crossdress. If the individual is the type of person who would have been an emo kid in the early 2000s, used or would have used Tumblr, is pseudogender identified, and wears their troonery like a fashion statement, you've probably got a Type III on your hands.
Type IV -
The Expedient Tranny
A person who cross-sex or pseudogender identifies for the purpose of obtaining a specific benefit or avoiding a specific detriment. Males who pseudogender identify are almost always of this type. The key diagnostic criterion for a Type IV is that they are insincere in their identifiction, and are using it as a means to an end. The Type II is, at least, sincere in his identification, even if it is for disgusting fetish reasons, while the Type IV is just a slippery grifter. The Type IV manifests in numerous ways: male atheletes who troon out in an attempt to compete in women's sports because they were uncompetitive in men's sports, creepy "performative males" who pseudogender identify in order to get in straight women's pants because either they think it makes them appear less threatening or more sympathetic, or they think they can guilt impressionable left-wing girls into having sex with them because it would be phobic not to, heterosexual white people in progressive stack environments who pseudogender identify in order to score some oppression points and avoid scorn from their "less privileged" fellow lefties, people who troon out in order to deflect from a controversy and dismiss criticism of them as phobia, victims of the incel-to-troon pipeline who believe that the only way they can get laid is by trooning out, homosexuals who live in a cultural environment where being a troon is more socially acceptable than being gay, etc. Like the Type III, the Type IV will almost never pursue pseudomedical intervention, because their identification is insincere and the obvious drawbacks of troon pseudomedicine aren't worth it when you can accomplish the same goal by just claiming you're an "enbie" or wearing a shitty wig and a cheap dress and accusing anyone who calls you out of being phobic. The key distinguishing factor between the Expedient Tranny and the Expedient Crossdresser (which, as discussed above, is not a tranny at all) is that the Type IV Troon is seeking a benefit specifically from being a troon, and cross-sex or pseudogender identifies (even if insincerely) while the Expedient Crossdresser is seeking a benefit from being temporarily perceived as a member of the opposite sex. As a result, the Type IV will be almost as conspicuous as, if not more conspicuous than, the Type II or Type III, while the Expedient Crossdresser will go out of his or her way to avoid attracting attention. When confronted, the Type IV Troon will shriek and throw a fit and call you a transphobe, while the Expedient Crossdresser will admit that they have been had, or attempt to flee the situation.
Type V -
The Grooming Victim
A person who has been tricked, pressured, misled or coerced into cross-sex or pseudogender identifying as a result of external forces. This is, without a doubt, the most tragic type of troon, and the most likely to detransition once they escape an abusive environment. Type Vs come in many flavors: the victim of a Munchausen's-by-proxy style "supportive parent", impressionable kids who are groomed by discord perverts, tomboys, autistic girls, and confused homosexual adolescents who are convinced by slimy doctors, school officials, and predatory troons that they aren't just nonstereotypical or insecure or gay or autistic, but in fact are trans, and so on. Type V Troons are the product of a society which tolerates Type II Troons.
* Pseudogender is the term I have settled on for all the various special snowflake fake "genders" other than male and female.
