Glossary of Terms Related to Gender, Sex & Sexuality

Learn this and you know more than 99% of the people around you

This glossary of terms is intended to describe how these words are used with respect to human beings. The markers of, say, femaleness would be very different in a bird or a gingko tree than a human being. They are also intended to be only completely accurate when describing my own use of such words, though I try to provide enough detail that they cover most uses of such words even by others. With linguistic flux, it would be too difficult to cover every way that any English speaker uses or has used these terms.

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AFAB, adj.: assigned female/feminine at birth

AMAB, adj.: assigned male/masculine at birth

Female, adj.: either associated with the gender “woman” or a biological category associated with XX chromosomes, the presence of a vagina, capacity for pregnancy, and certain secondary sex traits. For clarity, I tend to use the word in its biological sense when speaking about concepts. I use it to describe specific people typically only when they use it to describe themselves, but when I do do that, the meaning of the word is the meaning used by the original speaker, and I may not know (and typically do not care) in what sense the original speaker meant it about themselves.

FtM, adj.: having a particular gender orientation (feminine to masculine) or sex orientation (female to male). Chest reconstruction that minimizes breast tissue and masculinizes the chest is an example of movement along a particular sex orientation that can be described as FtM, while changing one’s name from Mary to Morgan may be an example of movement along an FtM gender orientation. Note that the direction doesn’t imply a known destination, much less an extreme or “opposite” one. “Morgan” is a name that is highly gender flexible, as with Montana or Riley or Alex. A change from a highly gendered name to a gender flexible name is just as representative of a particular direction of travel as a highly gendered name to another highly gendered name of another gender (Mary to Mark and Rebecca to Riley can both be fairly described as FtM changes, even if Riley might be a more comfortably non-binary name than Mark).

Gender, n.: One of a number of categories, most commonly used as synonymous with gender role or gender identity, though it is also used as an overarching category that subsumes gender assignment, attribution, expression, identity, and role.

Gender Assignment, n.: an act with official force categorizing a person’s gender for a government and a society; typically this happens once at or near birth and is recorded on a birth certificate, but recognition of trans persons’ genders can come through a re-assignment with official force. AFAB and AMAB reference infant gender assignments.

Gender Attribution, n.: as assessment, often not fully conscious, that someone belongs to a particular gender. This process is automatic and extremely frequent. Most persons categorize everyone they see and most that they hear as belonging to a particular gender after mere seconds of superficial observation.

Gender Expression, n.: observable behaviour, demeanour, dress, or accessories used to imply or infer gender. Sometimes other things that border on behaviour is also considered gender expression (choice of profession or college major, for instance).

Gender Fluid, adj.: periodically or even frequently changing one’s gender expression or gender identity in significant ways, esp. post puberty.

Gender Identity, n.: The answer that a person gives about oneself to the question, “What gender are you?” This answer is typically metastable upon adulthood — in other words it is stable in its outline for most people, and even for those who change their answer in a substantive way after adulthood, it’s rare to change that answer significantly more than once or twice. Some will define gender identity as the gendered aspect of one’s sense of self. I take that definition to be synonymous with my own, though my own implicitly prioritizes what people articulate over what people sense without sharing. These are not actually contradictory as one’s answer to “What gender are you?” need not be spoken aloud to be one’s answer. Still, I accept the implication (and even welcome it) because I think it’s important to believe what people tell us about their genders. If someone isn’t willing or able to tell you something about their own gender that they consciously know, there’s a reason for that.

Gender Orientation, n.: a direction of travel (e.g. “from X to Y”) along gendered lines, especially in areas of gender expression or gender identity. MtF (masculine to feminine) and FtM (feminine to masculine) are the most common gender orientations, though others are possible.

Gender Role, n.: a socially recognized collection of appearance, behaviour, and expectations that together constitute a gendered category, typically boy, girl, man, or woman. This collection inevitably involves imperfect stereotypes (e.g. “men don’t cry”, “girls wear dresses”) that are both used in making gender attributions and also help to define the limits of acceptable appearance and behaviour for members of a gender (either self-identified or assigned). Violation of expectations and stereotypes frequently lead to large or small gender punishments. The younger a person may be, the more likely such punishments are intended to gently change behaviour (as a form of gendered socialization). As an adolescent and young adult, such punishments can take on more harmful forms. That said, the acceptable gender punishments can change from community to community and family to family, with some causing harm very early and others being relatively mild even as young adults.

Intersex, adj.: having a constellation of biological sex characteristics as a result of natural growth and development that defies easy categorization as male or female. Intersex people are not “halfway between male and female”. Intersex characteristics are sometimes unique to intersex individuals and not on a spectrum of maleness and/or femaleness. Intersex is largely a medical term and has been much less publicized and politicized than terms like transsexual, transgender, and trans. Though some intersex activism has been important, on the whole intersex activism is more limited than trans activism for various reasons, including the fact that many intersex people do not know that they are intersex. While some children are identified at birth as intersex by the appearance of genitals, many are not and could live an entire life not knowing how the medical community would categorize them if their biological sex characteristics were fully catalogued.

Male, adj.: either associated with the gender “man” or a biological category associated with XY chromosomes, the presence of a penis, capacity for insemination, and certain secondary sex traits. For clarity, I tend to use the word in its biological sense when speaking about concepts. I use it to describe specific people typically only when they use it to describe themselves, but when I do do that, the meaning of the word is the meaning used by the original speaker, and I may not know (and typically do not care) in what sense the original speaker meant it about themselves.

MtF, adj.: having a particular gender orientation (masculine to feminine) or sex orientation (male to female). Hormone therapy that maximizes breast growth and minimizes body hair growth is an example of movement along a particular sex orientation that can be described as MtF, while changing one’s name from Mark to Morgan may be an example of movement along an MtF gender orientation. Note that the direction doesn’t imply a known destination, much less an extreme or “opposite” one. “Morgan” is a name that is highly gender flexible, as with Montana or Riley or Alex. A change from a highly gendered name to a gender flexible name is just as representative of a particular direction of travel as a highly gendered name to another highly gendered name of another gender (Mark to Mary and Richard to Riley can both be fairly described as MtF changes, even if Riley might be a more comfortably non-binary name than Mary).

Non-binary, adj.: Neither male nor female, neither masculine nor feminine. Typically used to describe gender identity or expression. When used alone (e.g. “Max is non-binary”) it is typically describing a person’s gender identity. When used to assert neither maleness nor femaleness, it typically describes a person’s body as a result of something other than mere growth and development. Atypical sex growth and development is typically described using the term “intersex”.

Non-binary, n.: An emerging gender role, not yet fully socially established but sufficiently established for recognition by some governments and to be in common use in certain communities and subcultures.

Passing, adj.: To be perceived as something one is not. Commonly used to describe trans people who are mistaken for cis, whether or not that is intended by the trans person so mistaken. A trans woman cannot pass as a woman, for she is one. However a trans woman can pass as a cis woman. In this case the “passing” relates to cis-ness, not womanhood. Passing as a concept may have originated in a racial context rather than a gendered context and certainly has a long history of being used in racial contexts, however it originated.

Sex Orientation, n.: a direction of travel (e.g. “from X to Y”) along biological sex lines, especially in areas affected by trans medical treatments. MtF (male to female) and FtM (female to male) are the most common sex orientations, though others are possible.

Sexual Orientation, n.: A categorization of persons by the nature, strength and extent of their romantic and sexual attractions to other persons. Heterosexual is the most common sexual orientation. Gay most commonly implies manhood, maleness, and/or masculinity on the part of both subjects and objects of attraction, though it does not have to, while lesbian always implies womanhood and/or femaleness on the part of both subjects and objects. Sexual orientation may be used in a manner inclusive of asexuality and aromanticism, but typically inclusion of these is not understood unless the immediately surrounding context makes this clear.

Trans, adj.: Transgender or transsexual (or both). Depending on context and community, may or may not include non-binary.

Transgender, adj.: Violating norms of or crossing boundaries of gender to such a significant degree that if affects how one sees oneself and one’s relationships or how others see the transgender person, or both. Can also be used in a sense synonymous to transsexual where one’s gender is only surprising given one’s assigned sex at birth, while medical sex might have changed significantly through gender-affirming or trans-related medical care. Depending on context and community, may or may not include non-binary. Interestingly, when the term first came into use in the 1990s it was frequently used to distinguish non-binary people from transsexual people who were then typically assumed to be always binary in sex and gender.

Transexual, adj.: Variation of transsexual, with the alternate spelling used to indicate resistance to the gender clinics of the 1960s to 80s where the transsexual spelling was common and trans self-determination was strongly limited by a gate-keeping approach to care and a cis-supremacist conception of what it means to be trans. Very rarely encountered today, though it had some cachet from 1990 to 2000.

Transsexual, adj.: Violating expectations of or crossing boundaries of sex to such a significant degree that it affects how one sees oneself and one’s relationships or how others see the transsexual person, or both. Commonly implies one’s gender expression and identity is only surprising given one’s assigned sex at birth, while medical sex might have changed significantly through gender-affirming or trans-related medical care. Generally excludes non-binary. This term has been on a downward trend since perhaps 1996 or 1997, though it is still used by some. Transsexual is more likely to be used as a noun than transgender (e.g. “a transsexual” rather than “a transsexual poet”), but this is considered reductionist and insulting.

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USAGE NOTE: for any of these terms, when attempting to apply these to an individual, please use them only as people use them for themselves. Mirror back the language you hear. None of these definitions are intended to justify labeling someone consistent with the definition but inconsistently with how that person uses (or doesn’t use) the term with respect to themself.

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I will edit, add to, or otherwise update this glossary as necessary and link it frequently. If you have read this glossary once, that doesn’t necessarily mean that my definition of a particular term hasn’t changed the next time you see that term linked back to this glossary. That said, I’ve been doing thinking and analysis on these topics for 30 years now, so with the exception of errors made that will likely be clear in the first few days this post is public, the definitions should be fairly stable.