Being a transgendered person (which is currently a term that refers to types of gender enactment that go beyond the norms of one's assigned birth gender) can take many forms (e.g., persons who feel that they are the other gender and want to have genital reconstruction, those who feel that they are the other gender but do not want such surgery, and those who cross-dress for sexual arousal and who have no desire to live as the other gender). In addition, of those who live full or part time as the other gender, many use hormones to enhance their change in appearance, while others do not (Devor, 1997; Docter, 1988; Ekins, 1997; Gagne & Tewksbury, 2002; King, 1993). In our previous studies (Weinberg, Williams, & Pryor, 1994; Weinberg, Shaver, & Williams, 1999), we came across a particular type of transgendered person that spurred our sociological interest--genetic males who had feminized themselves by developing breasts and a curvaceous body through female hormones while retaining a penis. Such transgendered persons are often referred to as transwomen--an informal descriptor used relative to one's affirmed gender (see Murphy, 2007, p. 48). In their relations with others, because of their sex-gender nonconformity, they are often discriminated against--finding it difficult to get housing or employment, being hassled by the police, and preyed on by street people (Valera, Sawyer, & Schiraldi, 2001). If this occurs, or they cannot pursue some kind of self-employment that minimizes face-to-face contact (which some have done, e.g., working on the development of computer software), it is not unusual for transwomen to engage in sex work (Boles & Elifson, 1994; Greenberg, 1993). This means spending time in fringe areas of cities which are locations for other forms of disreputability (e.g., drug use), as well as a large proportion of persons who are poor, unemployed, or otherwise socially marginal (see also Bockting, Robinson, & Rosser, 1998; Nemoto, Operario, Keatley, Han, & Soma, 2004).
