Terminology
An overview of the identities, labels, and communities referenced throughout this website, noting that cultures and individuals may have different definitions to what is described here. Consider this a starting point, not the final say.
Several of the terms on this page are used as slurs against trans, gender diverse, and non-conforming people. For some people however, such terms are their entire identity, and that should be respected.
Identities
Trans
A shorthand for transgender and/or transsexual.
Transgender
An umbrella term for people whose gender identities do not correspond with the gender identities they were assigned at birth.
Transsexual
Someone who has changed, or who seeks to change, their sex characteristics through medical interventions (hormones, surgeries). This term is also used by some people who do not pursue medical interventions, especially older trans people. Unlike orientation terms (homosexual, heterosexual), the "sex" in this term refers to sex characteristics.
Trans Man
A man who was assigned female at birth, but who has a male gender.
Non-Binary
An umbrella term for people whose gender identities fall outside of a traditional man/woman binary. For example, agender (a sense of having no gender) and genderfluid (fluctuating gender identity). Non-binary can also be used as an individual identity, if a person does not wish to label their identity further.
Transmasculine
Trans people who were assigned female at birth, and whose gender identities are centrally defined by masculinity. Some trans men use this label, others do not feel represented by it.
Butch
A term which is used in diverse ways by masculine lesbians, masculine-of-centre people, and (in the modern-day) people who also use terms like transmasculine or non-binary. Some butches may solely identify as butch, using no other label. I highly recommend the series Butch Is Not A Dirty Word to learn about butch identity and diversity. The founder of BINADW, Esther Godoy, explains, "People refer to the word butch as a noun, as an adjective, as a gender identity all in itself... Nobody can really say what is, or what isn't, butch. There's so few other terms that do that. It feels like a safe space, for me."
Culturally-Specific Identities
Identities and labels which are specific to certain cultures, spiritualities, ethnicities, etc.
مسترجل (Mustarjil)
Ahwaris, also referred to as Marsh Arabs, are a community that inhabit the Mesopotamian marshlands in modern-day south Iraq... Mustarjil is an Arabic term meaning “becoming a man.” Although it can be used derogatorily to refer to women who are perceived as having a masculine appearance and/or mannerisms, in Iraq’s marshes, it existed as a gender identity. Within the context of the Ahwari community, Mustarjil was a common gender identity, where people assigned female at birth decide to live as a man after puberty, and this decision was generally accepted in the community (source).
Brotherboy
An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person who was assigned female at birth, who has a male spirit. Brotherboys might also identify as trans men, transmasculine, or non-binary, or just as a Brotherboy. It is a gender identity and a cultural identity not appropriate for other populations to use.
お鍋 (Onabe)
An older term for Japanese people who were assigned female at birth, and who present masculinely or live as men. People who identify with this term may be trans men or masculine women, or may identify (in Western terms) as non-binary people or transmasculine people. Or, they may solely identify as Onabe. This term is not appropriate for non-Japanese people to use.
Two Spirit
A contemporary umbrella term used by some Indigenous people, in the land now called North America, to describe those who fulfil a transitional third-gender or gender-variant role in their communities. This includes Wakikanak (described as those born in a woman's body but who take on the roles of men), Înahpîkasoht (described as women who dress, live, or are accepted as men), and many more.
Indigiqueer
A contemporary umbrella term attributed to Indigenous trans man Theo Jean Cuthand, who coined the label in 2004 because, "some LGBTQ Indigenous people don’t feel as comfortable with the Two Spirit title because it implies some dual gender stuff, which some people just don’t feel describes their identity" (source).
Acronyms and Terms
FTM (Female-to-Male)
A shorthand acronym for people who were assigned female at birth, who transition to male.
TGD (Trans and Gender-Diverse)
An inclusive umbrella term/acronym for people whose gender identities do not correspond to their genders assigned at birth, and people whose gender experiences are non-normative and diverse, but who may not use the term trans to describe themselves.
AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth)
A shorthand acronym for people who were assigned female at birth, alternatively described as "born female" or "female-born" across media and by some community members. Sometimes written as PFAB (presumed female at birth).
Gender Dysphoria
A persistent sense of distress and discomfort caused by a person's birth sex conflicting with their innate gender identity. For example, a trans man may begin experiencing physical gender dysphoria during puberty, when he starts to develop breast tissue beyond what other boys are developing at his age. A trans man may experience social gender dysphoria when referred to as a woman, or with she/her/hers pronouns.
Cisgender
A person whose gender identity corresponds to the gender they were assigned at birth. Basically, the majority of the human population. For example, a cisgender man is a bloke who was born male, raised as a boy, and grew up as a man. The etymology of "cis" simply means "on the same side" and, when applied to gender, means that a person's gender status has not changed. For most cis people, this is not an identity necessarily, but is rather used in medical and advocacy settings to avoid stigmatising language like "trans men and normal men," implying that trans men are abnormal or unnatural. Alternative language used in historical media and in different global communities includes, "neo-natal males and natal males," and, "trans men and biological men," and more. The appropriateness of these terms depends on social context.
Other Terms
Intersex
An umbrella term for people born with innate variations of their sex characteristics, which do not fit medical/social norms for male and female bodies. Being intersex is not the same as being trans or gender-diverse. Many intersex people are cisgender.
As this is a trans-focused website, intersex media is only included where trans or gender-diverse people also happen to be intersex, or where intersex experiences also happen to be discussed in trans or gender diverse media.
The acronym IVSC (Innate Variations of Sex Characteristics) can be used to emphasise the meaning of intersex in contexts where LGBT+ communities misunderstand intersex as describing a gender identity.
An endosex person is someone who was born with innate sex characteristics which correspond with medical/social norms for male and female bodies. This is the majority of the human population, and the majority of trans or gender-diverse people. I self-label as being born endosex, because I am a trans man who was born in a female body which fit the medical and social norms of female anatomy. The changes to my sex later, when I transitioned, does not make me intersex. My sex variations are acquired, not innate.