While transgender stories have become more visible in
the media, there are many identities and terms outside of the two most
culturally accepted genders — man and woman — that fall under the trans
umbrella. And in many social circles, the vocabulary related to gender identity
is unfamiliar or inaccessible.
Gender identity is an extremely personal part of who we are, and
how we perceive and express ourselves in the world. It is a separate issue
entirely from sex, our biological makeup; or sexual orientation, who we are
attracted to. There are dozens of dynamic and evolving terms related to how
people identify.
The
following definitions represent some of the more current gender identities and
the struggles to live them:
Agender: A term for people
whose gender identity and expression does not align with man, woman, or any
other gender. A similar term used by some is gender-neutral.
Androgynous: Identifying and/or presenting as neither distinguishably
masculine nor feminine.
Bigender: Someone
whose gender identity encompasses both man and woman. Some may feel that one
side or the other is stronger, but both sides are present.
Binary: The
gender binary is a system of viewing gender as consisting solely of two
identities and sexes, man and woman or male and female.
Cisgender: A
term used to describe someone whose gender identity aligns with the sex
assigned to them at birth.
Dead name: How
some transgender people refer to their given name at birth.
Gender fluid: A
person who does not identify with a single fixed gender, and expresses a fluid
or unfixed gender identity. One’s expression of identity is likely to shift and
change depending on context.
Gender identity is evolving as it becomes more
visible. The following are some definitions of experiences that are important
in our understanding the complexity.
Gender identity: A
person’s innermost concept of self as man, woman, a blend of both, or neither –
how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. Gender
identity can be the same or different from one’s sex assigned at birth.
Gender non-conforming: A
broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that conforms to the
traditional expectations of their gender, or whose gender expression does not
fit neatly into a category.
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 who
identify as genderqueer may see themselves as being both male and female,
neither male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.
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 expression: The
external appearance of a person’s gender identity, usually expressed through
behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to
socially defined masculine or feminine behaviors and characteristics.
