  In this entry, trans will be used as a place-holder for the possibly productive political tensions discussed above (transsexual vs. transgender, trans* vs. transgender). Since many forms of transphobia involve categorizing individuals contrary to their own sense of self, caution is required in applying terms to individuals who may not self-identify with them. In light of this, the use of trans should not be understood to impute an identity or a shared political vision. Rather, it is a functional term restricted to this entry alone, and is not intended to invoke a shared category among diverse individuals The expressions trans women and trans men will be used to refer to MTFs and FTMs who self-identify as women and men respectively (where trans functions as a context-restricted placeholder for the aforementioned political tensions.