The following terms will help you navigate terminology used throughout this resource. Please note that these definitions are not exhaustive. The terms defined below are meant as a starting point in understanding.<\/p>\n
Ally:<\/strong> Supporter or advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender community. Being an ally is about using inclusive language, showing respect and support for your colleagues and in this case, members of the LGBT community through your actions and your words. Typically, allies to lesbian, gay and bisexual people are straight and allies to transgender people are cisgender.<\/p>\n Cisgender:<\/strong> A term for people whose gender identity, expression or behavior aligns with those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth. Cis- is the Latin prefix, meaning \u2018on the same side\u2019, to Trans- which means \u2018across from.\u2019 It is the accepted term for people who are \u201cnot transgender.\u201d<\/p>\n Gender:<\/strong> The term \u201cgender,\u201d while often used interchangeably with \u201csex,\u201d refers specifically to the behavioral, cultural, psychological or social traits typically associated with one sex, rather than biological characteristics.<\/p>\n Gender Expression:<\/strong> A person\u2019s external characteristics and behaviors \u2014 such as clothing, grooming, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions \u2014 that represent or express one\u2019s gender identity to others. Not all trans people have gender expressions that match cultural norms \u2013 e.g., not all trans women are conventionally feminine. A person\u2019s gender expression may also be referred to as their \u201cgender presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n Gender Identity:<\/strong> Distinct from the term \u201csexual orientation,\u201d refers to a person\u2019s internal sense of being male, female, or something else. Since gender identity is internal, one\u2019s gender identity is not necessarily visible to others.<\/p>\n Gender Non-conforming:<\/strong> An individual whose gender expression is different from societal expectations related to gender. Gender non-conforming, like transgender, is an umbrella term and includes people who may identify as \u201cgenderqueer,\u201d \u201cgender fluid,\u201d as neither male nor female, or as non-binary.<\/p>\n Gender Transition:<\/strong> The process through which a person modifies their physical characteristics and\/or gender expression to be consistent with their gender identity. It is important to note that gender transition is an individual and personal process, and there is no \u201cone correct way\u201d to transition. Gender transition may, but does not necessarily, include hormone therapy, sex reassignment surgeries and\/or other medical or surgical components. The transition process may also include non-medical components such as telling one\u2019s family, friends and\/or co-workers, and changing one\u2019s name and\/or gender on legal documents such as one\u2019s driver\u2019s license, birth certificate and social security card.<\/p>\n Intersex:<\/strong> Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Intersex is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations.<\/p>\n LGBTQ:<\/strong> Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer<\/p>\n Non-Binary:<\/strong> Non-binary is a spectrum of gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or exclusively feminine\u2014identities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary people may identify as having two or more genders; having no gender; moving between genders or having a fluctuating gender identity; or being third gender or other-gendered. Gender identity is separate from sexual or romantic orientation, and non-binary people have a variety of sexual orientations, just as transgender and cisgender people do.<\/p>\n Sex:<\/strong> The classification of people as male or female based on a combination of biological characteristics, including: chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs.<\/p>\n Sexual orientation:<\/strong> An individual’s enduring physical, romantic and\/or emotional attraction to another person. Gender identity and sexual orientation are not the same. Transgender people may be straight, lesbian, gay or bisexual. For example, a trans woman who is attracted to other women would be identified as a lesbian or a gay woman.<\/p>\n Transgender:<\/strong> People whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth. Transgender is a broad, umbrella term and is good for non-transgender people to use. \u201cTrans\u201d is shorthand for transgender.<\/p>\n Terms to Avoid<\/strong> The following terms will help you navigate terminology used throughout this resource.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"parent":24,"menu_order":50,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-134","page","type-page","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","search_bucket-page"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nTransgender is preferred over transvestite or transsexual, older terms which do not accurately describe all transgender people, and which also have a clinical or stigmatizing connotation. Terms such as she-male, he-she, \u201creal\u201d woman, \u201creal\u201d man, transgendered, \u201ca transgender,\u201d male-to-female, and female-to male may also be viewed as stigmatizing or offensive. Transgender is correctly used as an adjective, not a noun or verb, thus \u201ctransgender people\u201d is appropriate but not \u201ctransgenders\u201d and \u201ctransgendered.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"