Glossary

Terms of Identity

Many people confuse sex and gender, or use the two interchangeably. Many also wrongly assume that sex defines gender. It can be tough for transgender and nonbinary youth to constantly educate or be subjected to the other’s curiosity. One of the best ways to be an ally is to educate yourself on the basics of gender identity and expression so you can better support others.

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  • A term used to describe someone who is actively supportive of LGBTQ+ people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as those within the LGBTQ+ community who support each other

  • The sex (male or female) assigned to a child at birth, most often based on the child’s external anatomy. Also referred to as birth sex, natal sex, biological sex or sex.

  • A term for people whose gender identity generally matches the gender assigned for their physical sex. In other words, someone who does not identify as transgender. The word is derived from the Latin root “cis” meaning “on this side.”

  • Female-to-male transgender person. Sometimes identifies as a transgender man. Someone assigned the female gender at birth who identifies on the male spectrum.

  • People whose gender identity and/or gender expression falls outside the binary categories of man and woman. They may define their gender as falling somewhere in between man and woman, or they may define it as wholly different from these terms.

  • Adjective used to refer to behaviors or interventions that affirm a transgender person’s gender identity (e.g., a physician using cross-sex hormones for a transgender patient may be called gender affirming, as can the use of a correctly gendered pronoun.)

  • Clinically significant distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify.

  • A person with a wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or expression than typically associated with the binary gender system. Often used as an umbrella term when referring to young people still exploring the possibilities of their gender expression and/or gender identity.

  • External appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, body characteristics or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine.

  • A person who does not identify with a single fixed gender or has a fluid or unfixed gender identity.

  • Genderqueer people typically reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People who identify as "genderqueer" may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.

L-O

  • Changing your name and/or sex marker on documents like a driver’s license, passport, Social Security record, bank accounts, etc.

  • Male-to-female transgender person. Sometimes known as a transgender woman. Someone assigned the male gender at birth who identifies on the female spectrum.

  • Hormone replacement therapy and/or one or more surgical procedures.

  • Intersex people are born with a variety of differences in their sex traits and reproductive anatomy. There is a wide variety of difference among intersex variations, including differences in genitalia, chromosomes, gonads, internal sex organs, hormone production, hormone response, and/or secondary sex traits.

  • An acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer” with a "+" sign to recognize the limitless sexual orientations and gender identities used by members of our community.

  • An adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. While many also identify as transgender, not all non-binary people do. Non-binary can also be used as an umbrella term encompassing identities such as agender, bigender, genderqueer or gender-fluid.

  • Exposing someone’s lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender or gender non-binary identity to others without their permission. Outing someone can have serious repercussions on employment, economic stability, personal safety or religious or family situations.

  • A term people often use to express a spectrum of identities and orientations that are counter to the mainstream. Queer is often used as a catch-all to include many people, including those who do not identify as exclusively straight and/or folks who have non-binary or gender-expansive identities. This term was previously used as a slur, but has been reclaimed by many parts of the LGBTQ+ movement.

  • A term used to describe people who are in the process of exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.

  • The sex, male, female or intersex, that a doctor or midwife uses to describe a child at birth based on their external anatomy.

  • An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to other people. Note: an individual’s sexual orientation is independent of their gender identity.

  • Social transition – Telling family, friends, and classmates, using a different name, using different pronouns, dressing differently, starting or stopping wearing make-up and jewelry, etc

  • Used as shorthand for transgender, and on second reference after first using the word transgender. If you use trans without defining it, or without the first reference of transgender, mainstream audiences may not understand its meaning or what you are referencing.

  • An adjective to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. People who are transgender may also use other terms, in addition to transgender, to describe their gender more specifically.

    It is important to note that being transgender is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures.

  • A series of processes that some transgender people may undergo in order to live more fully as their true gender. This typically includes social transition, such as changing name and pronouns, medical transition, which may include hormone therapy or gender affirming surgeries, and legal transition, which may include changing legal name and sex on government identity documents. Transgender people may choose to undergo some, all or none of these processes.

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