Dear trans people, what are some things you would like the cis to know?

[boreal cryptid]

i bet my post will confuse people, but still, i need to say ^_^"

Also, the terminology is changing; 'male-to-female' and 'female-to-male' are not really appropriate anymore. It focuses on a binary switch, which doesn’t reflect most trans people’s experiences. We're seeing more recognition for nonbinary identities, with terms like AMAB and AFAB evolving to 'my AGAB was Male or Female' to be more inclusive.

some trans people still prefer FtM and MtF terms, and some - refuse using AGAB language at all.
the approach i suggest is to just ask if someone's ok with using certain words! or maybe wait until they describe themselves using one of these.

i think fairyrune explaied it the best:

if you need to refer to parts or certain characteristics for medical or other reasons, i encourage you to use the names of those things. instead of saying "women" when discussing, say, various diseases of the uterus, you can just say "people with a uterus". it might sound a bit odd or crude at first, but it improves life for everyone as people who do need treatment or screening for something but aren't generally included due to their gender won't feel isolated and singled out. it also makes things more inclusive for cis people who might not have the part you're referring to for various reasons. (the exception to this is an individual preference in certain settings. if you're intimate or otherwise close with someone and they'd prefer you use certain terms for parts of them, do respect that!)

there's also terms for whether estrogen or testosterone is doing the bulk of the work in the body - "estrogen-dominant system" or "testosterone-dominant system". some women have more testosterone and some men have more estrogen, so it's not strictly a "male" or "female" thing! it's also a helpful way to refer to what happened in puberty instead of "male/female puberty".

(optional) additional info about AGAB language, and why some people find it useful, while others dislike it:

• AGAB language was first reclaimed by intersex people to describe their (often traumatic) experiences, because many countries still allow unnecessary and harmful surgeries on intersex babies. so saying AMAB/AFAB might help describing what they've been through referring to what doctors decided to do after.
• with time, trans perisex ('perisex' means not intersex) community started to use it to describe their experiences as well, but it eventually changed the meaning of the word from the previous, recleaimed one
• some intersex &/or trans people refuse to use AGAB language with this new modified meaning, because it just reinvents binary again

[fairyrune]

and some - refuse using AGAB language at all.

adding my two cents, re: AGAB language in particular -

as far as i'm aware it was originally conceived by intersex people to refer to specific experiences arising from their assigned sex at birth. this is another part of why people tend to eschew it now, on top of the fact that the way a lot of people use this language makes a bunch of generalisations that probably don't fit even the majority.

it's rare that i ever find myself in a situation where what's on my birth certificate, which is several decades old and only describes one particular aspect of sex, is relevant. this is why personally, i consider it to be misgendering when used for me inappropriately! what's more important to me is everything that came after and how i exist in the world now. i'd rather people call me what i am rather than call me what i used to be, you know?

and this brings me back to my point about how we all have very different views.

oops - we posted at the same time !

[arcus]

The problem with AGAB language is that some use it to describe physical traits, when it's supposed to refer to social experiences. There is no such thing as an [AGAB] body.