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Ace short for “asexual”



AFAB “assigned female at birth” (see DFAB, FAAB, and CAFAB)

Agender

someone who does not have a gender

Alia/aliagender someone whose gender is something outside of “masculine, feminine, both or neither”. a more politically correct term for “third gender”.

Ally someone who is not transgender but who is still supportive and understanding of transgender people and issues

AMAB ”assigned male at birth” (see DMAB, MAAB, and CAMAB)

Androgynous possessing characteristics that are both masculine and feminine

Androgyne someone whose gender is a combination of masculine and feminine

Aromantic someone who does not experience romantic attraction, but may or may not still experience sexual attraction

Asexual someone who does not experience sexual attraction, but may or may not still experience romantic attraction

Assigned sex the sex identification assigned to someone at birth based on their physical characteristics

Bisexual someone who experiences sexual attraction to two or more genders

Bigender someone who experiences two separate genders, either simultaneously or in turn. these genders may be feminine, masculine, or any other gender or non-gender



Bicurious someone who is questioning or considering their possible attraction to more than one gender

Binarism the destruction and erasure of cultural gender identities as a result of European colonialism, forcing people of colour to assimilate to European binary gender roles. Binarism is a form of oppression specific to people of colour - even cisgender people of colour suffer from binarism. (For general non-binary discrimination, see: non-binary erasure, transphobia, cissexism.)

Binary gender the binary genders are “male” and “female”. if someone identifies completely as a man or completely as a woman, their gender is binary

Binary transgender a person who identifies as the binary gender opposite to the sex they were assigned at birth (i.e. trans men and trans women). binary transgender people are not non-binary or genderqueer.

Binder a form of compression undershirt often worn to achieve the appearance of a masculine-contoured chest.

Boi an identity most commonly used by AFAB genderqueer people or queer women to describe a form of feminine masculinity or masculine femininity. I believe this term is culturally exclusive to black and brown Americans.

Butch masculine in presentation, identity, or behaviour.

CAFAB coercively assigned female at birth.

Caln gender-neutral term for royalty (king/queen equivalent)

CAMAB coercively assigned male at birth.

Cis/cisgender someone whose gender matches their sex assignment. if someone was assigned female at birth and identifies as female, they are cis. 99% of people are cisgender.

Cisnormative/Cisnormativity behaviours and ways of dress and self-expression typically associated with what is normal for cisgender people.

Cissexism the idea and behaviours that reflect the idea that trans gender identities are inherently less valid than cis gender identities, and that cisgender is default. this can range everywhere from imperceptible micro-aggressions to blatant denial of a trans person’s identity.

Crossdresser someone who wears clothing of a gender other than their own for purposes of performance, sexual arousal, genderfucking, or personal preference. most cross-dressers are cisgender people who dress up as a different gender for entertainment, but who do not identify as that gender

Demiboy/Demiguy someone who identifies partially as a boy, without specifying the other part

Demigirl someone who identifies partially as a girl, without specifying the other part

Demisexual someone who experiences sexual attraction only under very limited circumstances once they have developed a strong mental/emotional connection with someone

DFAB designated female at birth

DMAB designated male at birth

Dysphoria feelings of severe discomfort and/or dissociation relating to one’s gender role, presentation, socialization, and/or physical sex characteristics

Dyadic someone who does not possess intersex characteristics

E short for estrogen

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.

Endocrinologist a doctor who studies hormones. it is necessary for many trans people to see an endocrinologist before they can begin hormone therapy

Estrogen a hormone often taken by AMAB trans people to facilitate hormonal transition

FAAB “female assigned at birth”

Femme feminine in presentation, identity, or behaviour. can be used as an adjective to describe the presentation or behaviour of a person who does not identify on the female spectrum (i.e. a femme gay man)

Feminine-Centred/Feminine of Centre someone whose gender is primarily feminine and their other gender characteristics are centred around this. (i.e. a lesbian trans woman might appear masculine, but she is feminine of centre) (see “transfeminine”)

FTM/F2M “female to male”, a transsexual person who was assigned female at birth and is transitioning towards a male physical form

FTN/F2N “female to neutral”, a transsexual person who was assigned female at birth and is transitioning towards a neutral physical form

Gender how someone feels mentally, emotionally, and/or spiritually in relation to their identity as a man, woman, or non-binary person, and their place on the gender spectrum.

Gender dysphoria see “dysphoria”

Gender identity someone’s personal identity in relation to their gender, including the words they use to define themselves.

Gender nonconforming an umbrella term for anyone whose gender does not conform to the concept of male/female binary gender. also sometimes includes binary transgender people.

Gender presentation how someone presents themselves physically in relation to gender as expressed by clothing, makeup, hairstyle, or any other physical expression of gender. a person’s gender expression does not necessarily have to align with their gender identity or gender role.

Gender role the roles someone takes in different aspects of their life in relation the social construct of typically gender-related patterns of behaviour. (i.e. “mother” is seen as a typically “female” gender role)

Genderfluid someone whose gender is fluid or changing, resulting in them experiencing different gender identities at different times, which may or may not be predictable. Someone can be fluid between any amount of binary or non-binary genders.

Genderflux changing of gender identities experienced by genderfluid people

Genderfuck/Genderfucking intentionally dressing or behaving in a way that makes people uncomfortable towards or questioning of the “genderfucker”s gender, sex, or orientation in order to make them question social constructs about gender. Literally, someone who “fucks” or “fucks with” gender.

Genderqueer 1) an adjective that any gender-nonconforming person can self-identify with, whether they have a binary or non-binary identity. originally commonly used by both binary and non-binary trans women. (“i.e. a genderqueer woman”, “a genderqueer boy”)

2) an umbrella term for people whose gender does not fit into the male/female binary. (i.e. “I’m genderqueer - specifically, I’m agender”) this term should only be used for people who self-identify with it, as “queer” is still considered a slur by many people. for general umbrella term for genders outside the male/female binary, see non-binary.

3) a non-binary gender identity that means many different things to many different people. a genderqueer person may feel they are both male and female, neither male nor female, slightly more male or female, another gender entirely, and/or moving between genders.

Gender-neutral used to describe a person whose gender is neutral; they may be agender or “in between” (i.e. a gender-neutral person), or to describe something that is “unisex” or not gender-specific (i.e. gender-neutral bathrooms)

Gender-variant see “gender nonconforming”

Hard femme someone who is feminine in a way that is “hard”, “fierce”, or “tough”

Hormone therapy the process of taking hormones in order to physically transitions

HRT ”hormone replacement therapy”

Identifiers any words that are used to describe someone, specifically in a gendered way (i.e. “son”, “daughter”, “wife”, “Mr.”, “princess”)

Intergender is a gender identity specific to intersex peoplesomeone who feel there gender is somewhere on a spectrum between male and female

Intersex refers to a person with natal sex traits that differ from the dyadic norm. Intersex conditions can be related to ones genitals, internal reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones and/or secondary sex traits. Intersex is a physical state of being, not a gender identity.

LGBTQA “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Asexual”

MAAB “Male assigned at birth”

Masc short for “masculine”

Masculine-centred/Masculine of centre someone whose gender is primarily masculine and their other gender characteristics are centred around this. (i.e. a gay trans man might appear effeminate but he is masculine of centre) (see transmasculine)

Misandry/Misandrist the fictitious victimization of men, intended to be the opposite equivalent of “misogyny”, fabricated by mens rights activists to describe someone who does not tolerate patriarchal oppression or male supremacy. this word was quickly reclaimed by feminists to describe themselves.

Misogyny social, institutional, and systematic decriminalization and violence against and/or hatred of women or femininity

MTF/M2F “male to female”a transsexual person who was assigned male at birth and is transitioning towards a female physical form.

MTN/M2N “male to neutral” a transsexual person who was assigned male at birth and is transitioning to a neutral physical form.

NB “non-binary”

Neutrois is a gender identity sometimes synonymous with agender, and sometimes considered to be an independent neutral gender. sometimes associated with physically transitioning towards a neutral sex presentation.

Non-binary an umbrella term for any gender that is not exclusively male or female

Oppression systematic injustice and violence against a marginalized group of people

Orientation usually refers to sexual orientation (see “sexual orientation”)

Packer something put in the front of ones underwear or pants to achieve the appearance of a slight bulge. this may be a prosthetic, a fake crotch, or even something improvised like socks .

Panromantic someone who experiences or has the potential to experience romantic attraction towards any gender, not necessarily including sexual attraction (i.e. an asexual person can be panromantic)

Pansexual someone who experiences or has the potential to experience sexual attraction towards any gender, not necessarily including romantic attraction (i.e. an aromantic person can be pansexual)

Physical transition the act of transitioning physically via taking hormones and/or getting surgeries in order to make ones physical body more closely resemble their experienced gender. physical transition 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, there is no “right way” to physically transition.

PoC ”Person of Colour” or “People of Colour” - a person or people of any race or ethnicity other than white.

Poly/Polyamorous/Polyamory someone who engages in romantic and/or sexual relationships with multiple partners at the same time .

Pronouns pronouns are words used to fill in for a proper noun in a sentence (such as a name or title). Words like he, she, they, xe, nd hir, are pronouns.

QPOC “Queer People of Colour”.

Queer an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities that has implied ambiguity.

Questioning someone who is unsure of r questioning either their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Radfem short for “radical feminist” - Often used to refer to a transphobic sect of feminism.



Romantic orientation which gender(s) someone experiences romantic attraction towards. This does not necessarily have to align with their sexual orientation.

Sex refers to the physical sexual characteristics of a person (i.e. genitalia, hormones, and secondary sex characteristics).

Sexual behaviour practically, how someone leads their sexual life including who they have sex with and how many sexual partners they have. sexual behaviour does not necessarily align with sexual orientation.

Sexuality the sexual aspects of a person’s life, consisting of their sexual orientation and sexual behaviour, and may also include romantic orientation and romantic behaviour.

Sexual orientation which gender(s) someone experiences sexual attraction towards, often in relation to their own gender.

SJ/SJW “social justice”/”social justice warrior”. A derogatory term for people who engage in anti-oppressive politics.

Social conditioning how someone is trained to think and behave based on how they were raised. This can be effected by factors like assigned gender, experienced gender, race, location, and economic standing.

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).

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.

T short for testosterone.

TERF/TWERF Trans (Women) Exclusionary Radical Feminist - a harmful sect of feminism that uses medical gender essentialism to discredit transfeminine womanhood and exclude trans women from women’s spaces. TERFs have historically been associated with hate violence against trans women as well as disrupting and dismantling womens spaces because of their outrage at the inclusion of transgender women.

T-girl trans girl.

Testosterone a hormone often taken by AFAB trans people to facilitate hormonal transition.

Three-spirit someone who experiences three different genders, either simultaneously or in turn.

Trans* means the same as “trans”, but with an asterisk to attempt to be more inclusive of non-binary people or people who do not feel “trans enough”. Most agree that the asterisk is unnecessary and that it shouldn’t be used as it may further marginalize non-binary trans people.



Trans short for transgender.

Trans boy transgender boy (a boy who was assigned female at birth).

Trans girl transgender girl (a girl who was assigned male at birth).

Trans man transgender man (a man who was assigned female at birth).

Trans woman transgender woman (a woman who was assigned male at birth).

Transdyke a term that a lesbian trans woman (a woman who was assigned male at birth and is attracted to other women) may choose to self-identify with.

Transfag a term that a gay trans man (a man who was assigned female at birth and is attracted to other men) may choose to self-identify with.

Transfeminine an AMAB person who identifies somewhere on the feminine spectrum, but may or may not necessarily identify as a “woman”.

Transphobia discrimination, oppression, and violence against transgender people.

Transition the act of physically and/or socially transitioning to ones experienced gender.

Transmasculine an AFAB person who identifies somewhere on the masculine spectrum, but may or may not necessarily identify as a man.

Transmisogyny discrimination, oppression, and violence towards trans women and trans femininity.

Transvestite someone who wears the clothing of a gender other than the one they identify with, for the purposes of sexual arousal or performance. Often used to refer to cis male drag performers.

Tri-gender someone who experiences three different genders, either simultaneously or in turn. similar to three-spirit.

Truscum a derogatory term stemming from the phrase “true transsexual”, which was later re-appropriated by that group to describe themselves. Truscum are a group of trans people, largely binary trans men, who believe that in order to be transgender, one must experience medically diagnosable Gender Identity Disorder (GID) or Gender Dysphoria. They believe that gender is not a spectrum or a multi-faceted experience, but merely a medical condition treatable by surgery and hormone intervention. They have strict ideas on which genders exist, how they should be expressed, and how people should transition. Though there are some non-binary truscum, most associate the word with the attempted exclusion of non-binary and gender-nonconforming people from the transgender community.

Two-spirit (adjective) an umbrella term for aboriginal, indigenous and first-nations queer and transgender people who do not feel their experiences are accurately articulated by modern eurocentric queer labels. this term is culturally specific and should not be used by anyone outside of the cultures for whom it was intended.