HELPFUL TERMS [to discuss gender + identity]

From the University of Minneosta Transgender Commission's website "Terminology" page"

* We define gender as a system of meanings and symbols and the rules, privileges and punishments for their use. All the ways in which people express their bodies and communicate with the world can be gendered and encoded with meaning—for example: vocal inflection, body hair, clothing, laughter, sexuality, and the very space one takes up in a room.

* Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression differs from the gender they were assigned at birth or from what is culturally validated. Trans people choose many words to describe themselves and/or their communities, including but not limited to: transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, Two Spirit, FTM (female-to-male), MTF (male-to-female), drag queen or king, cross dresser, gender non-conforming, gender variant, woman, and man.

* Intersex is a general term describing a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a genetic makeup and/or reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male. Intersex people may or may not identify as members of the transgender community.

* Gender identity is one’s internal sense of who they are; being a woman or man, girl or boy, or between or beyond these genders.

* Gender expression is the external representation of one’s gender identity, usually expressed through feminine or masculine behaviors and signals such as clothing, hair, movement, voice or body characteristics. Transgender people often seek to match their gender expression with their self-affirmed gender identity, rather than their birth-assigned gender.

* Transition refers to the complex process of altering one’s gender, which may include some, all or none of the following: changing name and/or sex on legal documents; hormone therapy; and chest, facial and/or genital alteration. Transgender people may or may not choose to alter their bodies.

* Gender-neutral pronouns which do not signal femaleness or maleness are preferred by some transgender people. For example, ze and hir, pronounced zee and here, would replace she/he and her/him or hers/his, respectively.

* Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a controversial DSM-IV diagnosis given to transgender and other gender-variant people. Because it labels people as "disordered", Gender Identity Disorder is often considered offensive. The diagnosis is frequently given to children who don't obey expected norms in terms of dress, play or behavior. Such children are often subjected to intense psychotherapy, behavior modification and/or institutionalization. This replaces the outdated term "gender dysphoria".

* Sex is the classification of people as male or female. At birth, infants are assigned a sex based on a combination of bodily characteristics including chromosomes, hormones, internal reproductive organs, and genitals.

Terms Under The Transgender Umbrella

o Androgyne - A person appearing and/or identifying as neither man nor woman, presenting a gender either mixed or neutral.

o Bigendered - A person whose gender identity is a combination of male/man and female/woman.

o Cross-Dresser - A person who wears clothes traditionally associated with people of another sex. Cross-dressers are usually comfortable with the sex they were assigned at birth and do not wish to change it. ("Cross-dresser" should not be used to describe someone who has transitioned to live full-time as the other sex, or who intends to do so in the future.) While cross-dressing is a form of gender expression, it is not necessarily tied to sexual orientation or erotic activity. Most cross-dressers are heterosexual.

o Drag King / Drag Queen - Drag is the performance of one or multiple genders theatrically. Drag queens perform femininity theatrically, and drag kings perform masculinity theatrically. (Usually one understands drag performers to be theatrical crossdressers. This is not necessarily the case.)

o FTM (Female-to-Male) - Literally “female-to-male”, a person assigned female sex and feminine gender at birth who is either transitioning into a male identity and/or body, or who identifies as an FTM transperson, transman, or transsexual.

o Gender Normative - A person who conforms to gender-based expectations of society.

o Gender Variant - A person who does not conform to gender-based expectations of society (including transgender, transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, cross-dresser, etc.)

o Genderqueer - A gender variant person whose gender identity is neither male nor female, is between or beyond genders, or is some combination of genders, in terms of expression and/or identity.

o Intersex - A person born either with indeterminable genitalia and/or reproductive organs, and/or a variant chromosomal make up. Intersex people used to be called “hermaphrodites” (a word from a combination of Hermes and Aphrodite - man and woman), but this term is historically associated with physical abnormality and is no longer accepted in the intersex community. Intersex people may or may not identify as members of the transgender community.

o MTF (Male-to-Female) - Literally “male-to-female”, a person assigned male sex and masculine gender at birth who is either transitioning into a female identity and/or body, or who identifies as an MTF transperson, transwoman, or transsexual.

o Transexual / Transsexual - A person whose intent is to live as a gender other than that assigned at birth. Most transsexuals engage in some process of altering either primary or secondary sexual characteristics, through hormone treatment or surgery or both. Some transsexuals live full time in their chosen gender without any alteration to physiology.

o Two Spirit - American Indian persons who have attributes of both genders, have distinct gender and social roles in their tribes, and are often involved with mystical rituals (shamans). The term “Two-Spirit” is usually considered to be specific to the Zuni tribe.

* Transphobia is the fear and hatred of or the discomfort with people who identify or may be perceived to be transgender, respectively. Transphobic reactions often lead to intolerance, bigotry, and violence against anyone not perceived to match gender norms. Transphobia is not homophobia, yet they do have a connection. Stereotypes of the lesbian and gay communities are often based on gender expressions and/or roles within a binary gender system in a monosexual (hetero, gay, lesbian) paradigm (i.e. gay men as effeminate, lesbians as masculine, etc). Since trans identified folks transgress a binary gender system, they may be more susceptible to homophobic actions.