Common terms used to discuss gender

Words matter.
In addition to the terms listed here, it is also important to use the proper
pronouns. Make sure you know what pronouns a transgender or
gender-nonconforming person wants to use. If you are not sure, just ask politely.

Vocabulary
Gender
Our representation of our sexual identity as female/feminine or male/masculine.
Assigned Gender
The gender assigned by a doctor at birth, usually based on genitalia. A person may be
assigned male, female or intersex – where there are sexual characteristics of both genders.

Gender Identity
An inner sense of being male or female, both or neither. This is how people see themselves.

Gender Expression
A person’s external presentation of their gender identity. This includes appearance, dress,
mannerisms, speech patterns, and social interactions.

Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is sexually and romantically
attracted. Sexual orientation may include attraction to members of one's own sex
(homosexuals, gay or lesbian), attraction to members of the other sex (heterosexuals), and
attraction to members of both sexes (bisexuals). Just like everyone else, transgender
people can fall anywhere along the heterosexual/bisexual/homosexual continuum.

Transgender
An umbrella term that describes an individual who has a gender identity that does not
match their sex or birth gender. Transgender is an adjective and should never be used as a
noun (as in, “She is a transgender”) or a verb (as in, “He is transgendered”). It can be
shortened to “trans.”
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Non-binary or gender-fluid
A term for people whose gender identities do not fit into the binary distinction between male
and female. A non-binary person may consider themselves to be neither male nor female,
both male and female, or sometimes male and sometimes female. Some non-binary people
choose not to use the traditional male and female pronouns and prefer “they” or “ze.”

Transgender Woman
A transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male gender at birth but who identifies
as a woman.

Transgender Man
A transgender man is a man who was assigned female gender at birth but who identifies
as a man.

Transitioning
The process a person goes through when changing their public gender presentation to
match their gender identity, or affirmed gender, in order to live in the gender they identify as.

Cisgender
A person whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were identified at birth; a
non-transgender, non-binary person.