Gender Identity
Cisnormativity
the assumption, in individuals or in institutions, that everyone is cisgender, and that cisgender identities are superior to trans* identities or people. Leads to invisibility of non-cisgender identities.
Queer
An umbrella term people often use to express fluid identities and orientations.
gender dysphoria
Clinically defined as significant and durational distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify.
gender pronoun
Often used during introductions, becoming more common in educational institutions to allow students/people to share how they would like to be addresed in the third person based on their gender identity.
Misgender
Referring to or addressing someone using words and pronouns that do not correctly reflect the gender with which they identify.
TGNC
abbreviation for trans and gender non-conforming
Agender
someone who does not have a gender
social transition
"the act of transitioning to another gender socially. this can include asking people to use a different name and pronouns, wearing different clothes or otherwise changing gender presentation, and/or using different gendered washrooms.
Binary Transgender
A person who identifies as the binary gender opposite to the sex they were assigned at birth. Binary trans people are not non-binary or genderqueer. (Note: don't "out" someone as binary trans unless person identifies that way)
gender questioning
A person who may be processing, questioning, or exploring how they want to express their gender identity.
genderqueer
A term for people who reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.
Cis/Cisgender
An adjective denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity conforms with the gender that corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. (i.e., assigned female at birth and identify as a woman)
trans/transgender
An adjective used to describe someone whose gender identity or expression is different from they were sex assigned at birth. It can be used to describe people with a broad range of identity or expression. Someone who identifies their gender as androgynous, gender queer, non-binary, gender non-conforming, MTF (male to female), or FTM (female to male) may also consider themselves to be transgender.
Dead name
How some transgender people refer to their given name at birth. It is important to respect and use people's chosen names and not their given name.
Androgynous
Identifying and/or presenting as neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine.
gender identity
Someone's personal identity in relation to their gender, including the words they use to define themselves. When describing someone's gender identity, avoid using qualifiers like, "they identify as..." unless it's in relation to a conversation around privilege/oppression, otherwise just say "they are"
gender expression
The representation of gender as expressed through, for example, one's name, choice of pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics. Gender expression may not be distinctively male or female and may not conform to traditional gender based stereotypes assigned to specific gender identities.
transitioning
The social, legal, and/or medical process a person may go through to live outwardly as the gender with which they identify, rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. Transitioning can include some or all of the following: telling loved ones and co-workers, using a different name and pronouns, dressing differently, changing one's name and/or sex on legal documents, hormone therapy, and possibly one or more types of surgery.
social construct
a belief or custom that is constructed and perpetuated by society without reason and regardless of its validity in accordance to scientific and sociological reality, often based solely on prejudices (i.e. the binary gender system is a social construct).
enby
a word for a non-binary person, practically used as an equivalent to words like "boy" and "girl". not all non-binary people are comfortable being referred to with this word.
LGBQ
abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or questing
transmasculine
an AFAB (assigned female at birth) person who identifies somewhere on the masculine spectrum, but may or may not necessarily identify as a man.
transfeminine
an AMAB (assigned male at birth) person who identifies somewhere on the feminine spectrum, but may or may not necessarily identify as a "woman".
non-binary
an umbrella term for any gender that is not exclusively male or female.
gender non conforming
an umbrella term for anyone whose gender does not conform to the concept of male/female binary gender presentation/identity/role. also sometimes includes binary transgender people (gnc transman).
two/three spirit
an umbrella term for indigenous and first-nations queer and transgender people who do not feel their experiences are accurately articulated by modern eurocentric queer labels. These terms are culturally specific and should not be used by anyone outside of the cultures for whom it was intended.
identifiers
any words that are used to describe someone, specifically in a gendered way (i.e. "son", "daughter", "wife", "Mr.", "princess")
AFAB
assigned female at birth
AMAB
assigned male at birth
Gender Fluid
describes an identity that may change or shift over time between or within the mix of gender identities experienced.
social conditioning
how someone is trained to think and behave based on how they were raised. This can be affected by factors like assigned gender, experienced gender, race, location, and economic standing.
QPOC/QTPOC
initialisms that stand for queer people of color and queer and/or trans people of color.
outing
involuntary or unwanted disclosure of another person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status.
transmisogyny discrimination
oppression, and violence towards trans women and trans femininity.
Gender
the internal perception of one's gender, and how they label themselves, based on how much they align or don't align with what they understand their options for gender to be. Common identity labels include man, woman, genderqueer, trans, and more. Often confused with biological sex, or sex assigned at birth.
intersex
refers to a person with natal sex traits that differ from the dyadic norm. Intersex conditions can be related to one's genitalia, internal reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones and/or secondary sex traits. Intersex is a physical state of being, not a gender identity- we often assign sex (and in a cisexist society, thereby gender) to intersex folx as babies, sometimes without knowledge of their experience.
Biological Sex
refers to the physical sexual characteristics of a person (i.e. genitalia, hormones, and secondary sex characteristics).
Feminine-Centred/Feminine of Centre
someone whose gender is primarily feminine and their other gender characteristics are centred around this.
Masculine-centred/Masculine of centre
someone whose gender is primarily masculine and their other gender characteristics are centred around this.
same gender loving
sometimes used by some members of the African-American or Black community to express an non-straight sexual orientation without relying on terms and symbols of European descent.
Cis-sexism
system of oppression that produces social and physical barriers based on one's gender identity, specifically individuals who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth and/or within the gender binary of (cis) man and (cis) woman. Cissexism also depends on a binary of cisgender and transgender, erasing and invalidating the vast spectrum of gender expression and gender identity.
heteronormativity
the assumption, in individuals or in institutions, that everyone is heterosexual (e.g. asking a woman if she has a boyfriend) and that heterosexuality is superior to all other sexualities. Leads to invisibility and stigmatizing of other sexualities. Heteronormativity also leads us to assume that only masculine men and feminine women are straight.
Gender Binary
the binary genders are "man" and "woman". if someone identifies completely as a man or completely as a woman, their gender is binary
gender role
the roles someone takes in different aspects of their life in relation the social construct of typically gender-related patterns of behavior. (i.e. "mother" is seen as a typically "female" gender role)
Sexual Orientation
the type of sexual, romantic, emotional/spiritual attraction one has the capacity to feel for some others, generally labeled based on the gender relationship between the person and the people they are attracted to. Often confused with sexual preference.
passing
trans* people being accepted as, or able to "pass for," a member of their self-identified gender identity (regardless of sex assigned at birth) without being identified as trans. An LGBQ individual who is believed to be or perceived as straight.
physical transition
transitioning physically via taking hormones and/or getting surgeries in order to make one's physical body more closely resemble their gender. This means something different for everyone, some take hormones but don't get surgery, some get surgery but don't take hormones, some only take hormones for a short period of time.
ally
typically straight and/or cisgender person who supports and respects members of the LGBTQ community. We consider people to be active allies who take action, support, and respect the LGBQ/ TGNC community.
