Originally Posted by I LOVE Little Brown Asses

technically, a tranny is just a transvestite - a biological man who acts socially as a woman (clothes, mannerisms, etc.). transvestites always have a penis and usually are in the early stages of hormone therapy to grow breasts. many transvestites are straight.

a shemale is a pre-op transsexual - usually has hormonally grown or implanted breasts, and lives social life completely as a woman. the only thing that makes her a man is the penis. most shemales are "gay" in that they prefer to have sex with men.

a transsexual has had their genitals removed and lives life socialy and physically as a woman. there is little way to tell that she used to be a man (unless you get a blow job from one, and then it's easy to tell).

however, in the world of porn, the terms are interchangable.