There are so many different words people in our community use to describe their gender. Terms that were in common use just a few years ago might not be as common today. Here are some words, terms, definitions, and questions you may encounter when you’re learning about different gender terms or reading about gender transition online:
- AFAB
- Agender
- AMAB
- Androgynous
- Bigender
- Cisgender
- Fem/Femme/Feminine
- FTM
- Gender Diverse
- Gender Dysphoria
- Gender Euphoria
- Gender Expression
- Genderfluid
- Gender Identity
- Gender Non-Conforming
- Genderqueer
- Intersex
- Masc/Masculine
- MTF
- Nonbinary
- Passing
- Stealth
- Transgender
- Transition
- Two-Spirit
- Transfeminine
- Trans Man
- Transmasculine
- Transexual
- Trans Woman
AFAB
Agender
A term used to describe a person who doesn’t identify with any specific gender or identifies as genderless of gender-free. They might use they/them pronouns or an agender person might choose other pronouns, such as ze/zir, fae/faer or others.
AMAB
Assigned male at birth (AMAB) is a term used to indicate a person who was designated male at birth. Typically people are assigned their gender at birth by their parents or by medical providers, usually based on the appearance of their external genitalia or by chromosomal testing pre or post-birth.
This language is sometimes used as a shorthand by transgender and nonbinary people to describe their gender assigned at birth. A trans woman might call herself AMAB for example, or a nonbinary person might also, e.g. “I’m AMAB nonbinary.” AMAB people might also use the language MTF, for “male-to-female,” though this is not as commonly used now to self-identify as it once was.
Androgynous
Androgynous is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity and/or gender expression is neither feminine nor masculine. It’s a word that means “man-woman” or “male-female,” and the term has been used in English since at least the 15th century. Androgynous people might identify as nonbinary, gender queer, gender non-conforming, or another gender term as well.
Bigender
A term used to describe a person who identifies as having two genders. They may feel like both a man and a woman and may use he/him and she/her pronouns interchangeably, or they might feel like two other genders and use other pronouns.
Cisgender
A term used to describe a person who identifies as the gender assigned to them at birth (e.g., a cisgender man is someone who identifies as male and was assigned male at birth, a cisgender woman is someone who identifies as female and was assigned female at birth).
Fem/femme/feminine
A term used to describe a person who identifies with femininity and/or presents themself in a feminine way. Femme and feminine people may or may not identify as women (cisgender or transgender) and may also identify as nonbinary. Sometimes used by trans nonbinary people who do not identify as women or to encompass a spectrum of trans feminine identities, e.g. “transfemme” or “transfeminine.”
FTM
An abbreviation for “female to male,” the word FTM describes someone who was assigned female at birth and transitioned to male. Some other terms for FTM folks are trans men or transmasculine people or “assigned female at birth” (AFAB).
Gender diverse
Gender diverse is an umbrella term for anyone whose gender identity or gender expression doesn’t fit into a cisgender or binary understanding of gender (“man” and “woman”). Gender diversity is present in all of human history and across all cultures. Gender diverse people might identify as transgender, nonbinary, gender non-conforming, genderqueer and more. Intersex people might also consider themselves gender diverse.
Gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria is a feeling that a person’s body or gender doesn’t match up with their internal sense of self. The DSM-IV definition of gender dysphoria is “psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity.” A diagnosis of gender dysphoria is sometimes necessary to receive gender-affirming care, including hormones (sometimes called HRT or gender-affirming hormone therapy) and gender-affirming surgery, in certain medical settings. Many transgender and nonbinary people experience gender dysphoria, but not all do. A trans-competent provider can help you figure out what your feelings mean for you and what treatment paths might fit.
Gender euphoria
Gender euphoria is a feeling of alignment and joy that happens when one’s gender identity is felt or expressed. It is a psychological state of bliss and comfort that happens when a person’s gender expression is aligned with their identity. Though gender dysphoria has been a medical term used to diagnose and treat transgender people, many trans and nonbinary people feel that gender euphoria – the positive feeling that happens with true expression – is a more fitting way to describe their experience of their identity and their transness.
Gender expression
Gender expression is how a person expresses their gender – perhaps just to themselves, or in how they show the world their gender identity. Gender expression can include clothing, hairstyle, behavior, pronouns, names, or anything else that communicates to yourself or others what your gender is to you.
Genderfluid
A term used to describe a person who feels like their gender identity and/or expression changes over time. They may feel more masculine sometimes and more feminine other times, or they might experience gender outside the binary spectrum entirely.
Gender identity
Gender identity is a person’s internal sense of what gender they are. A person’s gender identity may or may not match their gender assigned at birth. If it does, they are cisgender. (E.g. a cisgender woman is someone who identifies as a woman and was assigned female at birth.) If a person’s gender identity does not match their gender assigned at birth, they may identity as transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, or use another name for their gender identity. (E.g. a transgender woman is someone who identifies as a woman and as transgender – they were not assigned female at birth and likely were assigned male at birth.)
A person’s gender identity is their sense of who they are and may not “match” their external gender expression.
Gender non-conforming
A term used to describe a person whose gender expression (how they dress and act, perhaps what pronouns or name they use) doesn’t conform to societal expectations for their assigned gender at birth or perhaps to binary gender at all.
Genderqueer
A term used to describe a person whose gender identity falls outside of the traditional binary categories of man/woman or masculine/feminine. Genderqueer people might identity as cisgender, or butch, or femme, or another gendered term, or they might identify as transgender and/or nonbinary as well.
Intersex
Intersex refers to someone whose physical sex characteristics or chromosomes don’t match societal expectations for what’s typically seen as male or female. Some intersex people are born with ambiguous external genitalia or presented as one sex when they’re born, but then discover at puberty that their body has developed differently from how they were raised. Others develop in a more typical way for their sex assigned at birth, but discover that their chromosomes don’t fit into either category. Intersex doesn’t just refer to one kind of experience—it covers a wide range of actual bodies and identities. An estimated 1.7% of people are born with intersex traits.
Intersex individuals can identify as male, female, neither or both. Intersex is different from transgender, because being transgender has to do with gender identity – someone’s internal sense of their gender – while being intersex has to do with physical characteristics and chromosomes.
Masc/masculine
A term used to describe a person who identifies with masculinity and/or presents themself in a masculine way. Masc and masculine people may or may not identify as men (cisgender or transgender) and may also identify as nonbinary. Sometimes used by trans nonbinary people who do not identify as men or to encompass a spectrum of trans masculine identities, e.g. “transmasc” or “transmasculine.”
MTF
An abbreviation for “male to female,” the word MTF describes someone who was assigned male at birth and transitioned to female. Some other terms for MTF folks are trans women or transfeminine people or “assigned male at birth” (AMAB).
Nonbinary
Nonbinary, also sometimes spelled non-binary, is an umbrella term for people who identify outside the gender binary, as neither a man nor a woman. Nonbinary people might identify as transgender – i.e. not the gender they were assigned at birth – or they might not. They might identify or express themselves as genderqueer or gender non-conforming, or you might not be able to tell they are nonbinary from their external appearance at all. Many nonbinary people use they/them pronouns, but some choose other pronouns.
Passing
Passing is a term used to indicate being perceived as cisgender. E.g. a trans man who is “passing” is seen as a cisgender man and not recognized as being trans; this might be by choice or just because of how someone looks and presents themself. Some folks can “pass” as cisgender by taking hormones (gender-affirming hormone therapy, sometimes called HRT), changing their voice, body language, or other gender expression. Passing is sometimes a transition goal for people, while others are not interested in looking or being perceived as cis.
Stealth
“Stealth” commonly refers to a transgender person who does not share that they are transgender and may present as cisgender. Being stealth can be a choice that someone makes for their own privacy, for safety reasons, to avoid scrutiny or discrimination, or because they don’t feel it is necessary to talk about their medical history with some or all people in their life.
Transgender
A term used to describe a person who has a gender identity that differs from the one they were assigned at birth. For example, a transgender man is someone who identifies as a man and was not assigned male at birth, a transgender woman is someone who identifies as a woman and was not assigned female at birth. Nonbinary people might identity as transgender (i.e. not the gender they were assigned at birth) or they might not.
Transition
Gender transition is the process of changing one’s gender identity and/or expression, and it can take place in many different ways. For example, a person might change their name, hairstyle, clothing style, body language, or pronoun usage. They might also change their legal name or gender marker on government documents. While not everyone needs or wants medical support for their transition, many folks use hormones such as estrogen and testosterone to support their transition. Some people also pursue gender-affirming surgery and other procedures for their gender transition, including top surgery, bottom surgery, breast augmentation, electrolysis, liposuction and body sculpting, facial feminization surgery (FFS), feminization laryngoplasty, and more.
Two-spirit
Some Indigenous people use the term two-spirit to describe their identity. This term acknowledges the traditional belief that some people have both male and female spirits within them. Certain tribes and nations have their own names for these types of people, such as the Lakota winkte and the Navajo nadleeh.
Transfeminine
Transfeminine or transfemme or transfem identity are terms sometimes used by AMAB (assigned male at birth) nonbinary people to describe their feminine but not female or woman identities. They are also sometimes used as umbrella terms for people who hold feminine transgender identities (inclusive of trans women) or gender transitions, such as dressing more feminine or taking estrogen. Though transfeminine might be used as an umbrella term, not all trans women or people taking estrogen identify with femininity and even those who do express femininity in many different ways.
Trans man
A man who is transgender. Transgender is a term used to describe a person who has a gender identity that differs from the one they were assigned at birth. A transgender man is someone who identifies as a man and was not assigned male at birth. Some other terms for trans men are FTM, transmasculine people, or “assigned female at birth” (AFAB). Not all terms resonate with all people, and language is always evolving.
Transmasculine
Transmasculine or transmasc identity are terms sometimes used by AFAB (assigned female at birth) nonbinary people to describe their masculine but not male or man identities. They are also sometimes used as umbrella terms for people who hold masculine transgender identities (inclusive of trans men) or gender transitions, such as dressing more masculine, getting chest-flattening top surgery, or taking testosterone. Though transmasculine might be used as an umbrella term, not all trans men or people taking testosterone identify with masculinity and even those who do express masculinity in many different ways.
Transexual
A term used to describe a person who is transgender, historically often referring to someone who has used or desires to use gender-affirming hormones and/or gender-affirming surgeries as part of their transition. Transgender is a more commonly used umbrella term now, but some people do still choose to identify as transexual. They might also identify as FTM (female-to-male) and MTF (male-to-female).
Trans woman
A woman who is transgender. Transgender is a term used to describe a person who has a gender identity that differs from the one they were assigned at birth. A transgender woman is someone who identifies as a woman and was not assigned female at birth. Some other terms for trans women are MTF, transfeminine people, or “assigned male at birth” (AMAB). Not all terms resonate with all people, and language is always evolving.
