Gender & identity
Language about gender identity, expression and transition. Labels are personal: the best guide is always how someone describes themselves.
51 entries
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- AFAB and AMABAFAB means assigned female at birth and AMAB means assigned male at birth. They describe the sex recorded at birth without implying anything about a person's gender identity.
- AgenderDescribes a person who does not have a gender identity, or who experiences their gender as neutral or absent.
- AndrogynyA mix of masculine and feminine characteristics, or a presentation that is not clearly either, especially in appearance and style.
- BigenderDescribes a person who has two gender identities, either at the same time or moving between them.
- ButchA term, used mostly in lesbian and queer communities, for a person whose style and manner are masculine, often a masculine-presenting woman.
- Chest bindingFlattening the chest with a compression garment, called a binder, to create a flatter appearance. It is common among trans men and some non-binary people.
- CisgenderDescribes a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
- CisnormativityThe assumption that everyone is cisgender, and the ways systems and habits are built around that assumption.
- CrossdressingWearing clothing typically associated with a different gender from the one a person usually lives as.
- DeadnamingCalling a trans or non-binary person by the name they used before transition, instead of the name they use now.
- DemigenderAn umbrella for people who feel a partial connection to a particular gender, such as demigirls and demiboys.
- DragA performance art in which people exaggerate or play with gender through costume, makeup, character and stagecraft.
- EggCommunity slang for a person who seems to be trans but has not yet realised or accepted it. When they do, their egg is said to crack.
- FemmeA term, especially in queer communities, for a person whose style and manner are feminine, often as a conscious, celebrated identity.
- GenderGender refers to the roles, behaviours, expressions and identities that societies and individuals associate with being a woman, a man, or something else.
- Gender-affirming careHealth care that supports a person's gender identity, ranging from respectful everyday treatment and mental health support to hormones and surgery.
- Gender-affirming hormone therapyThe use of hormones such as estrogen or testosterone to develop physical characteristics that better match a person's gender identity.
- Gender-affirming surgerySurgical procedures that change physical characteristics to better align a person's body with their gender identity.
- Gender binaryThe idea that there are only two genders, woman and man, which are distinct, opposite, and fixed from birth.
- Gender dysphoriaDistress or discomfort that some people feel because of a mismatch between their gender identity and the sex they were assigned at birth or their sex characteristics.
- Gender euphoriaThe joy, comfort or rightness a person feels when their gender is recognised or expressed in a way that fits who they are.
- Gender expressionThe way a person outwardly shows gender through things like clothing, hairstyle, voice, body language and name.
- Gender identityA person's deeply felt internal sense of their own gender, for example as a woman, a man, both, neither, or something else.
- Gender non-conformingDescribes a person whose appearance, behaviour or interests do not match what their society expects for their gender.
- Gender rolesSocial expectations about how women and men are supposed to behave, dress, work, and relate to others.
- GenderfluidDescribes a person whose gender identity changes over time, whether over hours, days or years.
- GenderqueerAn identity for people whose gender falls outside, between or beyond the categories of woman and man, often with an emphasis on challenging gender norms.
- HijraA long-established community in South Asia of people, mostly assigned male at birth, who live in a feminine role and are often recognised as a third gender.
- IntersexAn umbrella term for people born with physical sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, hormones, internal organs or genitals, that do not fit typical definitions of female or male.
- Legal gender recognitionThe legal process by which a person's gender is officially recognised and updated on documents such as birth certificates, passports and ID cards.
- Medical transitionThe medical steps some people take as part of transition, such as hormone therapy, surgery, voice training or hair removal, typically under specialist care.
- MisgenderingReferring to someone with words, such as pronouns or gendered terms, that do not match their gender.
- MxA gender-neutral title, used like Mr or Ms, often by non-binary people and anyone who prefers a title that does not indicate gender. It is usually pronounced "mix" or "mux".
- NeopronounsNewer pronouns created as alternatives to she, he and they, such as xe/xem or ze/zir.
- Non-binaryDescribes a person whose gender identity is not exclusively woman or man. It can mean being both, neither, somewhere in between, or moving between genders.
- PangenderA gender identity that includes many or all genders, experienced at once or across time.
- PassingBeing perceived by others as the gender one identifies with, or as cisgender, without one's trans history being noticed.
- PronounsThe words used to refer to someone in the third person, such as she, he or they. Many people share theirs on profiles and email signatures.
- Puberty blockersMedicines that pause the physical changes of puberty by suppressing the hormones that drive it. They are used for early puberty and, in some countries, for young people with gender dysphoria.
- Sex assigned at birthThe sex, usually female or male, recorded for a baby at birth, typically based on the appearance of the external genitals.
- Singular theyThe use of they, them and their to refer to one person, either when their gender is unknown or because it is the pronoun they use.
- Social transitionThe non-medical steps of transition, such as using a new name and pronouns, changing clothing or hairstyle, and telling others about one's gender.
- Trans manA man who was assigned female at birth.
- Trans womanA woman who was assigned male at birth.
- TransfeminineDescribes people assigned male at birth whose gender identity or expression leans towards femininity, including trans women and some non-binary people.
- TransgenderAn umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
- TransitionThe personal process by which someone begins to live in line with their gender identity. It can be social, medical, legal, or a combination.
- TransmasculineDescribes people assigned female at birth whose gender identity or expression leans towards masculinity, including trans men and some non-binary people.
- TransphobiaPrejudice, fear, hostility or discrimination directed at transgender and non-binary people.
- TuckingArranging the genitals so they are less visible under clothing, often with snug underwear or a garment called a gaff. It is used by some trans women, non-binary people and drag performers.
- Two-SpiritA pan-Indigenous term used by some Native American and First Nations people to describe traditional gender and spiritual roles beyond the categories of woman and man.