Gender & Trans

AFAB

AFAB stands for "assigned female at birth," describing someone who was labeled female at birth, usually based on anatomy.

Agender

Agender is a gender identity in which a person feels they have no gender or exists outside the concept of gender entirely.

Altersex

Altersex is an umbrella term for people whose relationship to their sex characteristics falls outside typical binary male or female categories.

AMAB

AMAB stands for "assigned male at birth," describing someone recorded as male at birth based on their observed anatomy.

Ambiguous Genitalia

Ambiguous genitalia, now often called atypical genitalia, is a rare condition where a newborn's external genitals do not appear clearly male or female.

Androgyne

Androgyne is a nonbinary gender identity in which a person's gender blends or sits between masculine and feminine, or moves beyond both.

Androgynous

Androgynous describes a presentation, appearance, or identity that blends masculine and feminine qualities or resists being read as clearly one or the other.

Assigned Sex

Assigned sex is the male, female, or intersex classification a health provider records for a baby at birth, usually based on visible anatomy.

Bigender

Bigender is a gender identity in which a person experiences two distinct genders, either at the same time or shifting between them.

Binding

Binding is the practice of compressing chest tissue, usually with a specially made garment called a binder, to create a flatter chest.

Biological Sex

Biological sex is a multidimensional classification of a body based on anatomy, hormones, chromosomes, and reproductive traits, usually grouped as male, female, or intersex.

Bottom Surgery

Bottom surgery is a general term for gender-affirming surgical procedures that reshape a person's genitals to align with their gender identity.

Boymoder

Boymoder is transgender slang for a trans woman or transfeminine person who continues to present as masculine in public, often while early in transition.

Chosen Name

A chosen name is the name a person selects for themselves to reflect their gender identity or sense of self, rather than the name they were given at birth.

Cis

Cis, short for cisgender, describes a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

Cisbian

Cisbian is an informal term for a lesbian who is cisgender, meaning her gender identity matches the sex she was assigned at birth.

Cisgender

Cisgender describes a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

Cishet

Cishet is a shorthand term for a person who is both cisgender and heterosexual.

Cisnormativity

Cisnormativity is the assumption that everyone is, or should be, cisgender, treating that as the default and normal way to be.

Cissexism / Genderism

Cissexism, also called genderism, is the systemic bias that favors cisgender people and discriminates against transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people.

Clocked

Clocked describes being recognized as transgender or in drag when one was hoping to be read as cisgender or as a different gender.

Cross Dresser (CD)

A cross-dresser (CD) is a person, often cisgender, who wears clothing associated with a gender other than their own, usually for expression, comfort, or pleasure rather than to change their gender.

Cross-Dressing

Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothing typically associated with a gender other than one's own, done for expression, performance, comfort, or exploration.

Deadname / Deadnaming

A deadname is the birth name a transgender or nonbinary person no longer uses, and deadnaming is calling or referring to them by that name.

Demiboy

Demiboy is a nonbinary gender identity for someone who partially, but not fully, identifies as a boy or man.

Demigirl

Demigirl is a non-binary gender identity for someone who partially, but not fully, identifies as a girl or woman regardless of their assigned sex.

Drab

Drab is informal slang used by some drag performers and cross-dressers for presenting in everyday, non-drag clothing rather than in costume or an affirmed gender presentation.

Dysphoria

Gender dysphoria is the distress that can arise from a mismatch between a person's gender identity and their assigned sex or body.

Egg

In trans communities, "egg" is affectionate slang for someone who is transgender but has not yet realized or accepted it.

En Femme

En femme is a French-derived phrase meaning presenting in a feminine way through clothing, makeup, and style, often used by cross-dressers and some transgender or non-binary people.

En Homme

En homme is a French-derived phrase for presenting in a masculine way through clothing and style, used as the counterpart to en femme.

Enby

Enby is the spoken-out form of NB, short for non-binary, and a warm, widely used shorthand for a non-binary person.

Endosex

Endosex describes a person born with physical sex characteristics that fit typical medical definitions of female or male, meaning someone who is not intersex.

Euphoria

Gender euphoria is the joy, comfort, and sense of rightness a person feels when their gender is recognized, affirmed, or expressed as their true self.

Ey / Em / Eir

Ey/em/eir is a set of gender-neutral neopronouns used by some nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people as an alternative to she, he, or singular they.

F2M

F2M, or FTM, is an older shorthand for "female-to-male," describing someone assigned female at birth who identifies and lives as male.

Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS)

Facial feminization surgery (FFS) is a set of gender-affirming procedures that reshape facial features to give the face a more feminine appearance.

Feminine

Feminine refers to traits, behaviors, and styles culturally associated with women and womanhood, qualities any person can embody regardless of gender.

Feminine-of-center

Feminine-of-center describes a person who understands or presents themselves as generally more feminine, though they may not identify fully as a woman.

Feminine-presenting

Feminine-presenting describes someone whose current appearance and style read as feminine to others, regardless of their gender identity.

FTM

FTM stands for female-to-male, an older abbreviation for a person assigned female at birth who is a man or is transitioning toward a male identity.

Gaff

A gaff is a specialized undergarment that compresses and smooths the groin, used by trans women, drag performers, and others to create a flat front by tucking.

Gender

Gender is the social, cultural, and personal system of identity and expression around being a man, a woman, both, neither, or something else, and is distinct from biological sex.

Gender Affirming

Gender-affirming describes any practice, language, healthcare, or social recognition that supports and validates a person's gender identity.

Gender Bender

A gender bender is a person who dresses, presents, or performs in ways that deliberately deviate from societal expectations of their gender.

Gender Binary

The gender binary is the classification system that recognizes only two genders, man and woman, and treats them as the sole options.

Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS)

Gender confirmation surgery is one or more surgical procedures that alter a person's physical characteristics to align with their gender identity.

Gender Dysphoria

Gender dysphoria is the psychological distress that can arise when a person's gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gender Euphoria

Gender euphoria is the joy, comfort, and satisfaction a person feels when their gender is recognized and their expression or body aligns with who they are.

Gender Expansive

Gender expansive is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or expression is broader than conventional binary expectations.

Gender Expression

Gender expression is how a person outwardly communicates their gender through clothing, hair, behavior, voice, and other presentation.

Gender Fluid / Genderfluid

Genderfluid describes a person whose gender identity shifts over time rather than staying fixed.

Gender Gifted

Gender gifted is an affirming, strengths-based way of describing gender-nonconforming or gender-expansive children, framing their relationship to gender as a source of possibility rather than a problem.

Gender Identity

Gender identity is a person's internal, deeply felt sense of their own gender, which may be man, woman, both, neither, or somewhere else on the spectrum.

Gender Marker

A gender marker is the sex or gender field on a legal document such as a passport, driver's license, or birth certificate, usually shown as M, F, or X.

Gender Neutral

Gender neutral describes language, spaces, clothing, or products that are not tied to or aimed at any particular gender.

Gender Neutrois

Neutrois is a non-binary gender identity centered on feeling neutral, null, or without gender.

Gender Non-Conforming (GNC)

Gender non-conforming (GNC) describes a person whose gender expression does not fit their culture's traditional expectations for their gender.

Gender Normative

Gender normative describes presenting, behaving, or identifying in line with a society's conventional expectations for one's gender.

Gender Outlaw

Gender outlaw is a term for a person who refuses to follow conventional gender rules and lives outside fixed gender categories.

Gender Unicorn

The Gender Unicorn is a one-page educational graphic that illustrates the differences between gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, and attraction.

Gender Variant

Gender variant, also called gender nonconforming, describes a person whose behavior, appearance, or expression does not match conventional masculine or feminine norms.

Gender X

Gender X is a third, non-binary or unspecified gender marker used on some identity documents in place of male or female.

Gender-Affirmation Surgery (GAS)

Gender-affirmation surgery refers to procedures that alter physical and sexual characteristics to better align a person's body with their gender identity.

Gender-Affirming Care

Gender-affirming care is the range of social, psychological, and medical support that helps transgender and gender-diverse people align their lives with their gender identity.

Genderism / Cissexism

Genderism, also called cissexism, is the belief system that treats cisgender identities as more natural or legitimate than transgender and non-binary ones.

Genderqueer / Gender Queer

Genderqueer is an umbrella term for people whose gender falls outside the categories of man and woman, or who reject those categories entirely.

GG

GG is an older abbreviation for "genetic girl," once used in cross-dressing and transgender circles to refer to a cisgender woman.

Girl-Mode

Girl-mode is trans community slang for presenting outwardly in a feminine way, most often used by trans women and transfeminine people.

Girldick

Girldick is affirming slang, used mainly by trans women and their partners, for the penis of a trans woman or transfeminine person.

Given Name

A given name is the name a person's parents assigned them at birth, which for many trans and nonbinary people differs from the name they now use.

Guy-Mode

Guy-mode is informal slang for presenting outwardly as male, most often used for a transmasculine person living in their gender or, in some communities, a trans woman who is not yet presenting as female.

Guydyke

Guydyke is a niche self-identity term for a masculine-identified person who feels a strong cultural or personal connection to dyke and lesbian community.

He / Him / His

He, him, and his are masculine personal pronouns used by many men, transgender men, and some non-binary people.

Hermaphrodite

Hermaphrodite is an outdated and often offensive medical term once applied to intersex people, who today are simply described as intersex.

Hermie

Hermie is a dated and often offensive slang term derived from hermaphrodite that was used for intersex people, who are accurately described as intersex.

Hormone Therapy / HRT

Hormone therapy is gender-affirming medical care in which a person takes estrogen or testosterone to bring their body's characteristics into line with their gender identity.

Internalized Transphobia

Internalized transphobia is the discomfort, shame, or self-directed prejudice a transgender or gender-nonconforming person feels after absorbing society's negative messages about being trans.

Intersex

Intersex is an umbrella term for people born with sex characteristics such as chromosomes, gonads, hormones, or genitals that do not fit typical binary definitions of male or female.

Lady Boy

Lady boy is an English term used in Thailand and parts of Southeast Asia for kathoey, people assigned male at birth who live in a feminine or third-gender role.

Legal Gender

Legal gender is the sex or gender marker that governments record on a person's official documents, such as birth certificates, passports, and driver's licenses.

Lived Name

The name a person uses in everyday life, which may differ from the legal name on their documents.

M2F

M2F (also MTF) is an older abbreviation for 'male-to-female,' describing a transgender woman assigned male at birth who identifies and lives as a woman.

Malefail

Malefail is a term some transmasculine people use for a moment when they are read as female despite intending to present as male.

Masculine of Center (MOC)

Masculine of Center is an umbrella term for queer people who lean toward the masculine side of the gender spectrum, coined by activist B. Cole.

Medical Transition

Medical transition is the use of gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapy or surgery, to bring a person's body into alignment with their gender identity.

Misgendering

Misgendering is referring to someone with pronouns, a name, or gendered language that does not match their gender identity.

MTF

MTF is an abbreviation for male-to-female, describing a transgender woman or a person assigned male at birth who transitions in a feminine direction.

Mx (Title)

Mx is a gender-neutral honorific, pronounced 'mix' or 'muhx,' used in place of Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms.

Neopronouns

Neopronouns are newer pronouns, such as xe/xem or fae/faer, used by some people in place of he, she, or they.

Neutrois

Neutrois is a non-binary gender identity centered on a neutral or absent sense of gender, feeling neither male nor female.

Non Binary / Nonbinary / Non-Binary

Non-binary is an umbrella term for gender identities that fall outside the strict categories of man or woman.

Packing

Packing is wearing a prosthetic (a packer) in the underwear to create the feel and appearance of a penis or bulge in the genital area.

Passing (Gender)

Being perceived by others as the gender one identifies with, without being read as transgender.

Per / Per

Per/per is a set of gender-neutral neopronouns, derived from the word "person," used by some non-binary and gender-expansive people.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are the words a person uses for themselves and asks others to use when referring to them, such as he/him, she/her, or they/them.

PGP

PGP stands for "preferred gender pronoun," an older term for the pronouns a person uses, now usually shortened to just "pronouns."

Polygender

Polygender is a non-binary gender identity for someone who experiences more than one gender.

Post-Op

"Post-op" is short for post-operative and describes a transgender person who has undergone gender-affirming surgery.

Pre-Op

Short for pre-operative, an older descriptor for a transgender person who has not yet had gender-affirming surgery they may be seeking.

Pronouns

Pronouns are the words, such as she/her, he/him, or they/them, used to refer to a person in place of their name.

Puberty Blockers

Puberty blockers are medications, most often GnRH agonists, that temporarily pause the hormonal changes of puberty and are used to give transgender and gender-diverse youth time before further decisions.

Real Life Test

The Real Life Test was a now largely outdated requirement that transgender people live full-time in their affirmed gender for a set period before qualifying for hormones or surgery.

Salmacian

Salmacian is an identity term for a person who wishes to have a mixed set of sex characteristics, most often both a penis and a vagina.

Sapatrans

Sapatrans is a term from Brazilian Portuguese-speaking LGBTQ+ communities for transgender lesbians, blending "sapatão" (lesbian) and "trans."

Sapatrava

Sapatrava is a Brazilian Portuguese term blending "sapatão" (lesbian) and "travesti" for people who hold both a travesti identity and attraction to women.

Sex (Gender)

Sex refers to the biological traits used to classify people as male, female, or intersex, while gender refers to identity and social role, which is why the two are treated as distinct.

Sex Assigned At Birth (SAAB)

Sex assigned at birth is the male, female, or intersex label recorded when a baby is born, based on observed anatomy, which may not match their gender.

Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS)

Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is an older term for surgical procedures that alter a person's physical sex characteristics to match their gender identity, now more often called gender-affirming surgery.

She / Her / Hers

She/her/hers are feminine pronouns used to refer to a person, most often women, including transgender women and some nonbinary people.

Shemale

Shemale is a derogatory slur historically used for transgender women, especially in pornography, and it should be avoided.

Sie / Hir

Sie and hir are a set of gender-neutral neopronouns used by some nonbinary and genderqueer people in place of he/him or she/her.

SOC (Standards of Care)

The Standards of Care (SOC) are WPATH's international clinical guidelines for the healthcare of transgender and gender-diverse people.

Social Transition

Social transition is the process of living publicly in line with one's gender identity through changes like name, pronouns, appearance, and coming out, without any medical steps required.

SOGIE

SOGIE stands for sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, a framework used in human rights and policy to protect people across the full range of these traits.

Standards of Care

The Standards of Care are internationally used clinical guidelines from WPATH that describe recommended, evidence-informed health care for transgender and gender-diverse people.

Stealth

Stealth describes a transgender person living fully as their gender without disclosing their transgender history to most people.

T-Boy / T-Guy

T-boy and T-guy are informal, affectionate terms used within trans communities for transgender boys and men, especially transmasculine people.

T-Girl

T-girl is an informal term for a transgender girl or woman, embraced by some in the community and considered offensive by others depending on context.

T-Slur

The T-slur is the word "tr*nny," a derogatory term used to express contempt for transgender people, especially trans women.

TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist)

TERF stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, a label for feminists who reject transgender women as women and seek to exclude them from women's spaces.

They / Them / Theirs

They/them/theirs are gender-neutral pronouns used by many nonbinary and gender-diverse people, as well as anyone whose gender is unknown.

Third Gender

Third gender describes an identity recognized by a person or their society as neither man nor woman, found in cultures worldwide.

Tomgirl

Tomgirl describes a boy or male-assigned person who leans toward traits, interests, or presentation traditionally coded as feminine, roughly the mirror image of tomboy.

Top Surgery

Top surgery is gender-affirming chest surgery that reshapes the chest to better match a person's gender identity.

Tranarchist

A tranarchist is a transgender person who holds anarchist political views, blending trans identity with a politics that opposes state, capitalist, and gender hierarchies.

Tranny

Tranny is a derogatory slur for transgender people, especially transgender women, and is widely considered offensive when used outside affirming, self-referential community contexts.

Trans

Trans is a widely used umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth, including trans men, trans women, and many nonbinary people.

Trans Man

A trans man is someone who was assigned female at birth but identifies and lives as a man.

Trans Woman

A trans woman is someone who was assigned male at birth but identifies and lives as a woman.

Transbian

Transbian is an informal term, blending 'transgender' and 'lesbian,' for a transgender woman or transfeminine person who is a lesbian.

Transfeminine / Transfem

Transfeminine (or transfem) is an umbrella term for transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming people, usually assigned male at birth, whose gender leans feminine.

Transgender

Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transgenderism

Transgenderism is a term most trans people and advocates reject because its "-ism" framing wrongly casts being transgender as an ideology rather than an identity.

Transition

Transition is the process through which a transgender or nonbinary person brings their life and presentation into line with their gender identity.

Transmasculine / Transmasc

Transmasculine, or transmasc, is an umbrella term for people assigned female at birth who identify with masculinity, including trans men and masculine-leaning nonbinary people.

Transphobia

Transphobia is negative attitudes, fear, hatred, or discrimination directed at transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

Transsexual

Transsexual is an older, more medical term for a person who transitions, usually with hormones or surgery, to live as a gender different from the one assigned at birth.

Transvestite

Transvestite is an older, now largely outdated term for a person who wears clothing associated with another gender; cross-dresser is the preferred word today.

Tuck / Tucking

Tucking is the practice of positioning and concealing the penis and testes to create a smooth, flat appearance in the groin.

Twenty-Four Seven / 24-Hour Girl

Twenty-Four Seven or 24-Hour Girl is an older term for a transgender woman who lives full-time in her gender rather than expressing it only part-time.

Ve / Ver / Vis

Ve/ver/vis is a set of gender-neutral neopronouns some nonbinary people use in place of he, she, or they.

Voice Training

Voice training is non-surgical vocal work that helps a person change their pitch, resonance, and speech patterns so their voice better matches their gender identity.

WBW (Woman Born Woman)

WBW (woman-born-woman, or womyn-born-womyn) is a phrase used to define womanhood by birth assignment in order to exclude trans women, a framing LGBTQ+ advocates reject as transphobic.

Womxn / Womyn

Womxn and womyn are alternative feminist spellings of "women" meant to avoid the "-men" ending, with womxn more recently used to signal trans and intersectional inclusion.

Xe / Xem

Xe/xem is a set of gender-neutral neopronouns used by some people, often non-binary, as an alternative to she/her or he/him.

Xenogender

Xenogender is a nonbinary gender identity that a person describes through concepts outside the male-female framework, such as animals, plants, colors, or other symbols.

Ze / Zir / Zirs

Ze/zir/zirs is a set of gender-neutral neopronouns some non-binary and gender-nonconforming people use in place of he/him or she/her.

Zie / Zim

Zie/zim is a set of gender-neutral neopronouns some non-binary people use as an alternative to he/him or she/her.