The language of gender is precise in some places, contested in others, and constantly evolving. This glossary defines the key terms as major professional bodies use them, groups them so the relationships are clear, and flags where a word is dated, clinical, or actively disputed. The goal is understanding, not endorsement: knowing what a term means is separate from any view on how it should be used.
Usage varies by community, generation, and region, and it changes over time. Where a term is considered outdated or is used differently by different speakers, this guide says so rather than pretending the language is settled.
Core concepts
Sex assigned at birth
The classification — usually “male” or “female” — recorded at birth, typically based on external anatomy. Biological sex is itself a composite of characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, gonads, and anatomy) that usually align but occasionally do not. The abbreviations AMAB and AFAB (“assigned male/female at birth”) are used when the relevant fact is the original assignment rather than a person’s current gender.
Gender
The social roles, behaviors, and expectations a culture attaches to sex, combined with a person’s internal sense of their own gender. Gender is distinct from sex assigned at birth and has both a social dimension and a personal one.
Gender identity
A person’s deeply held, internal sense of their own gender — as a man, a woman, both, neither, or something else. It is not directly observable by others and is distinct from sexual orientation.
Gender expression
The outward presentation of gender through clothing, grooming, mannerisms, voice, name, and pronouns. Expression is what others actually observe, and its norms vary widely across cultures and eras. It may or may not match a person’s gender identity.
Gender role
The set of behaviors and responsibilities a society considers appropriate for a given gender. Gender roles are cultural and historical, and they shift over time — which is why the same activity can be coded as masculine in one era or place and feminine in another.
Gender binary
The classification of gender into two distinct, opposite categories — man and woman — with everyone expected to fit one or the other. Much of the contemporary debate concerns whether the binary is a complete account of gender or a dominant cultural framework with recognized exceptions.
Identity terms
Cisgender
Describes a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. “Cis” is a Latin prefix meaning “on the same side,” paired as a counterpart to “trans.”
Transgender
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. It covers many specific identities and is properly used as an adjective (“a transgender person”), not a noun or a verb. “Trans” is a common short form.
Nonbinary
Describes a gender identity that is not exclusively male or female. A nonbinary person may identify as both, as neither, as somewhere in between, or as a gender outside the binary altogether. It is itself an umbrella term.
Genderqueer
Closely related to nonbinary, describing a gender identity or expression that falls outside conventional categories. Some people use “genderqueer” and “nonbinary” interchangeably; others draw a distinction, with “genderqueer” carrying a more explicitly countercultural sense.
Agender
Describes a person who has little or no internal sense of gender, or who does not identify with any gender.
Genderfluid
Describes a person whose gender identity or expression shifts over time rather than remaining fixed.
Gender-nonconforming
Describes a person whose gender expression does not match the conventional expectations for their sex or gender. It refers to presentation and behavior, not necessarily to identity: a person can be gender-nonconforming and cisgender, transgender, or nonbinary.
Transmasculine / transfeminine
Broad terms describing the direction of someone’s gender relative to their sex assigned at birth. Transfeminine people were assigned male at birth and identify toward the feminine; transmasculine people were assigned female at birth and identify toward the masculine. Both are umbrellas that include binary and nonbinary identities.
Questioning
Describes a person who is still exploring their gender identity (or sexual orientation) and has not settled on a term. It names a process rather than a fixed conclusion.
Two-Spirit
A contemporary umbrella term, adopted in 1990, for a range of gender and social roles recognized within various Indigenous North American cultures. It is specific to Native contexts and is not a synonym for “transgender” or “nonbinary.”
Intersex
An umbrella term for people born with reproductive or sexual anatomy — chromosomes, hormones, gonads, or genitals — that does not fit typical binary definitions of male or female. Intersex refers to physical biology and is distinct from gender identity; an intersex person may have any gender identity.
Transition and medical terms
Transition
The process of bringing one’s life into alignment with one’s gender identity. It can be social (name, pronouns, presentation), legal (identity documents), and/or medical. Not everyone pursues every kind, and transition is not defined by any single step.
Gender dysphoria
The clinically recognized distress that can arise from a mismatch between a person’s gender identity and their sex assigned at birth. Introduced in the DSM-5 (2013), the term deliberately locates the diagnosis in the distress, not in the identity itself. Not every transgender person experiences dysphoria.
Gender-affirming care
An umbrella term for the range of social, psychological, and medical support that helps align a person’s life and body with their gender identity. Depending on the person and their age, it may include counseling, hormone therapy, or surgery. The appropriate care for minors specifically is a subject of significant clinical and legal dispute.
Hormone therapy
Also called hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the use of hormones (such as estrogen or testosterone) to bring secondary sex characteristics into line with a person’s gender identity. It is one component of medical transition for some adults.
Puberty blockers
Medications that temporarily pause the physical changes of puberty. Their use in adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria is one of the most contested questions in the field, both medically and legally, and was the subject of the Supreme Court’s 2025 Skrmetti decision.
Gender-affirming surgery
Surgical procedures that some transgender people choose as part of medical transition. Older terms include “sex reassignment surgery” and “gender confirmation surgery.” Many transgender people do not have surgery, and having it is not what makes a person’s identity valid.
Standards of Care
Clinical guidelines published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) that inform transition-related medicine. First issued in 1979, they were most recently revised (version 8) in 2022.
MTF / FTM (dated)
Abbreviations for “male-to-female” and “female-to-male,” once common shorthand for the direction of transition. They have largely given way to “transfeminine” and “transmasculine,” which many find less rigidly binary, though some individuals still use MTF and FTM.
Detransition
Stopping or reversing a gender transition. People detransition for varied reasons — a change in identity, external pressure, or difficulty accessing support — and its frequency and interpretation are debated. The term is descriptive and does not, by itself, imply that an earlier transition was mistaken.
Language and respect
Pronouns
The words used to refer to someone in place of their name (he/him, she/her, they/them, and others). Using a person’s stated pronouns is a basic point of accurate reference; “they/them” is widely used as a singular pronoun for nonbinary people and has long-standing precedent in English.
Misgender
To refer to someone using a gender term — a pronoun or a word like “sir” or “ma’am” — that does not match their gender identity, whether accidentally or deliberately.
Deadname
The birth or former name of a person who has changed it as part of transition. Using it — “deadnaming” — is generally considered disrespectful when done knowingly.
Passing
Being perceived by others as the gender one identifies as, or as cisgender. The concept is complicated: for some it means safety and affirmation, while others critique the pressure to “pass” as a standard imposed from outside.
Cisnormativity
The assumption that everyone is, or should be, cisgender — and the way institutions, forms, and everyday language are often built around that assumption.
Stealth
Living as one’s gender without others knowing one is transgender. Some people choose it for privacy or safety; the term simply describes the choice and carries no judgment.
Gender euphoria
The sense of comfort, joy, or rightness that can come from having one’s gender recognized or expressed authentically. It is often discussed as the counterpart to gender dysphoria.
Related but distinct
Sexual orientation
Who a person is romantically or sexually attracted to. It is independent of gender identity: the two describe different things, and knowing one does not determine the other. Confusing the two is one of the most common errors in this subject.
Drag
A form of performance in which a person adopts exaggerated gendered presentation for entertainment or art. Drag is a performance practice and is not the same as being transgender, though the two are sometimes conflated in public discussion.
Cross-dresser
A person who wears clothing typically associated with another gender, without necessarily identifying as that gender. It replaces the older, now-disfavored term “transvestite,” and is distinct from being transgender.
“TERF” and “gender-critical” (contested / political)
Labels attached to a position that emphasizes sex assigned at birth and is skeptical of some transgender-rights claims, particularly around single-sex spaces and self-identification. “Gender-critical” is the term most adherents use for themselves; “TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) is generally used by critics and is often considered pejorative. Both are political labels rather than neutral descriptors, and this library notes them only to explain language readers will encounter.
Transsexual (dated / clinical)
An older, narrower term, rooted in mid-twentieth-century medicine, for a person who transitions medically from one sex to another. Some people still use it for themselves, but as a general label it has largely been replaced by “transgender.” Apply it to an individual only if they use it.
Transvestite (dated)
An outdated clinical term for cross-dressing. It is now widely considered dated or pejorative and has been largely abandoned in favor of more specific language.
A note on contested language
Some of the sharpest public arguments about gender are arguments about definitions — what “woman” means, whether “sex” and “gender” can be separated, which words are respectful and which are dated. This glossary reports how terms are defined and used by major professional bodies and communities, and notes where usage is disputed. It does not attempt to adjudicate those disputes. For argument and analysis, see the Commentary section; for the historical background, see the History of gender politics.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between transgender and transsexual?
“Transgender” is the current umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth, regardless of whether they pursue medical steps. “Transsexual” is an older, narrower medical term specifically implying medical transition; it has largely been replaced by “transgender,” though some individuals still use it for themselves.
Is “cisgender” a slur?
No. “Cisgender” is a neutral, descriptive term used in psychology and the social sciences to mean a person whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth. It exists as a counterpart to “transgender” so that neither has to be treated as the unmarked default. Some people dislike the term, but it is not an insult.
What does AFAB / AMAB mean?
They stand for “assigned female at birth” and “assigned male at birth.” The terms are used when the relevant point is a person’s original birth assignment rather than their current gender identity — for example, in some medical or historical contexts.
Why do people share their pronouns?
Sharing pronouns — in an introduction, email signature, or profile — lets others refer to a person accurately without guessing based on appearance. Singular “they” is widely used for people whose pronouns are not he or she, and it has long-standing precedent in English usage.
Is being transgender the same as being gay?
No. Being transgender concerns a person’s gender identity — their internal sense of their own gender. Being gay concerns sexual orientation — who a person is attracted to. They are independent: a transgender person can have any sexual orientation, and most gay people are not transgender.
Does someone have to have surgery to be transgender?
No. Transition can be social, legal, and/or medical, and many transgender people do not pursue surgery or hormones at all. A person’s gender identity does not depend on any medical procedure.
Sources and further reading: American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association terminology guidance; GLAAD and similar reference glossaries; World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Standards of Care v8 (2022); World Health Organization ICD-11 (2022). Definitions reflect common professional usage as of this writing.
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