Glossary & Expressions Not To Use

Androgynous – People who have both typically male and female characteristics in a way which makes it hard to identify their gender. There is usually no need to know this information, but where there is it is polite to ask.

Cisgender – People whose gender identity matches the sex that society assigned to them when they were born. Non-trans is also used.

Cross Dresser – A person who dresses in clothes normally associated with another gender. People cross-dress either privately or publically for a variety of reasons and many crossdressers do not identify as trans. This replaces the term transvestite which many people find offensive

Gender Dysphoria – Gender dysphoria is where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. For example, some people may have the anatomy associated with men, but identify themselves as a woman, while others may not feel they are definitively either male or female. This mismatch between sex and gender identity can lead to distressing and uncomfortable feelings that are called gender dysphoria.

Gender Expression – This refers to the ways in which people manifest their gender. For example through what they wear, how they speak and how they act.

Gender Identity – A person has an internal, deeply held sense of their own gender. For trans people, their own sense of who they are does not match the sex that society assigns to them when they are born.

Gender Reassignment or Gender Confirmation – Gender reassignment/confirmation is a collective expression describing a range of hormonal, surgical and therapeutic treatments and interventions which can support an individual’s transition to a social role and physical presentation that is congruent with their gender identity.

Gender Recognition Certificate – In the UK people can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), which enables them to get a new accurate birth certificate. The process for applying for a GRC can be quite burdensome and not every trans person will choose to do so. People do not need a GRC to transition at work or for most official purposes. In order to receive a Gender Recognition Certificate you must:

•  have lived as your acquired gender for at least two years
•  intend to live in your acquired gender for the rest of your life
• apply to the Gender Recognition Panel
•  be 18 or over
•  be diagnosed with gender dysphoria (unhappiness with your birth gender)

Gender Variance – Sex differentiation of the brain may be inconsistent with other sex characteristics, resulting in individuals dressing and/or behaving in a way which is perceived by others as being outside cultural gender norms. These unusual gender expressions may be described as gender variance.

Intersex – Intersex people are individuals whose anatomy or physiology differ from contemporary cultural assumptions about what constitutes male or female. Such variation may involve genital ambiguity, and combinations of chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype other than XY-male and XX-female.

Non-binary – is a term for people whose gender identities do not fit into the gender binary of male or female. A non-binary person might consider themselves to be neither male nor female, or to be in some sense both male and female, or to be sometimes male and sometimes female. People who identify as non-binary will sometimes prefer to refer to themselves using pronouns which are not gendered, for example ‘they’ or ‘ze’.

Trans – An umbrella term for people whose identity differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the trans umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms – including transgender

Transgender Man – People who were assigned female at birth but identify and live as a man may use this term to describe themselves. They may shorten it to trans man. Some may also use FTM, an abbreviation for female-to-male. Some may prefer to simply be called men, without any modifier. It is best to ask which term an individual prefers.

Transgender Woman – People who were assigned male at birth but identify and live as a woman may use this term to describe themselves. They may shorten to trans woman. Some may also use MTF, an abbreviation for male-to-female. Some may prefer to simply be called women, without any modifier. It is best to ask which term an individual prefers.

Transition -Where someone takes steps to live as the gender which they identify as. What this involves varies from person to person. For some people this might involve medical surgeries. Not everybody wants to have these procedures or is able to have them. A transition also might involve things like telling friends and family, dressing differently and changing official documents.

Transphobia – Transphobia refers to various kinds of aversions towards transsexuality and transsexual or transgendered people.

Transsexual – An older term still preferred by some people who have transitioned to live as a different gender than the one society assigns them at birth. Many trans people do not identify as transsexual and prefer the word transgender. It is best to ask which term an individual prefers. If preferred, use as an adjective: transsexual woman or transsexual man.

Expressions Not to Use

A transsexual/ transsexuals – Terms like ‘transsexual’ should not be used as a noun; they are best used only as adjectives to qualify other descriptive characteristics. This is similar to not referring to someone as ‘a black’ or to ‘the disabled’. The example set by this guide should be followed, i.e. ‘transsexual people’; ‘trans people’; ‘transsexual woman’; ‘trans woman’, etc.

Chosen gender – Trans people are very sensitive about the suggestion that they have ‘chosen’ their gender, given the overwhelming nature of the feelings that lead someone to face the social disapproval that accompanies transition. Professionals are recommended to talk about ‘acquired gender’ or ‘true gender’ (for the role they have transitioned to). The latter term respectfully acknowledges how the individual feels about themselves.

Sex change, tranny, gender bender – These terms that sometimes still appear in the media are regarded as offensive