Identity Terms Related to Gender Identity

Identity Terms Related to Gender Identity

Agender: A person who identifies as either having no gender or a neutral gender identity.

Cisgender: A person whose gender identity corresponds with what is socially expected based on their sex assigned at birth (e.g., a person who was assigned male at birth and identifies as a man).

Gender Diverse/Gender Non-Conforming/Gender Variant: An umbrella term for gender identities and/or gender expressions that differ from dominant cultural or societal expectations based on assigned sex. Other common terms associated with gender diverse are gender non-conforming and gender variant. Someone who is gender diverse may or may not also identify as trans.

Genderqueer: A person whose gender identity exists outside of the gender binary. A person who identifies a genderqueer may identify as man, women, neither, both, or may reject gender entirely.

Genderfluid: A person whose gender identity is experienced as not being fixed and that shifts and varies over time and in relation to the context.

Nonbinary: An umbrella term to reflect a variety of gender identities that are not exclusively man or woman. Identity terms which may fall within this category include: genderqueer, agender, bigender, or pangender.

Transgender: A person who does not identify, either fully or in part with the gender associated with the sex assigned to them at birth. It is often used as an umbrella term to represent a wide range of gender identities and may be called simply ‘trans’ for short.

Transfeminine: An umbrella term for trans people who identify with or express femininity and may or may not also identify as a woman.

Transmasculine: An umbrella term for trans people who identify with or express masculinity and may or may notalso identify as a man.

Perceived Gender: How other people perceive the gender of a person they meet for the first time.

Actual Gender: The gender you feel you are internally.

For further information visit EGALE at www.egale.ca