Transgender issues are becoming more prominent in the media, but many of us still have a lot to learn. That’s okay! Learning is awesome. I’ve personally been learning about the transgender community for years, so I may use a lot of words and concepts that some readers are unfamiliar with. That’s why this page is here, so you can catch up with me as fast as possible.
If I use a term in a post that you don’t find on this page, please say something in the comments and I’ll be glad to add it here.
Please keep in mind that definitions of transgender terms often vary slightly from website to website. These are just the definitions I personally prefer. Some trans folks may not quite like the definitions that I have here, and that’s okay. I encourage you to poke around on other transgender blogs and Trans 101 pages so you can get a glimpse of how diverse our community is.
There are a lot of entries on this list, so if you want to look for a term quickly you can type Ctrl and F and type your term into the search box that appears.
TRANS 101 DEFINITIONS
- Transgender (trans for short): An adjective that refers to anyone who doesn’t identify with the gender they were declared to be at birth.
- Trans woman (AKA trans girl, trans female): When trans women are born, the doctor says, “It’s a boy!” When they get older, trans women will say, “Actually, I’m a girl.” They may or may not want to change their bodies with hormones or surgery. Trans women usually prefer to be referred to with she/her/hers pronouns.
- MTF or M2F (short for male-to-female): Another term that can be used to refer to a trans woman. I’m not a huge fan of it personally and won’t use it very much, but you’ll see it on other trans sites.
- Trans man (AKA trans boy, trans guy, trans male): When a trans man is born, the doctor says, “It’s a girl!” When he gets older, a trans man will say, “Actually, I’m a boy.” He may or may not want to change his body with hormones or surgery. Trans men usually prefer to be referred to with he/him/his pronouns.
- FTM or F2M (short for female-to-male): Another term that can be used to refer to a trans man. I’m also not a huge fan of this one personally, but you’ll see it on other trans sites.
- Genderqueer/non-binary person: When a genderqueer or non-binary person is born, the doctor can either say, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” When they get older, they say, “Actually, I don’t necessarily feel like a boy or a girl.” They might feel neither male nor female, a mixture of both, or like a different gender at different times. A genderqueer or non-binary person may or may not want to change their body with hormones or surgery. Genderqueer and non-binary people can have incredibly diverse pronoun preferences. The most common ones I’ve seen are they/them/theirs and ze/hir/hirs. However, there are a range of other pronouns as well.
- Please note that non-binary identities are incredibly diverse and if I tried to describe all of them, I’d be typing all day. Check out this page if you want to learn about some of them.
- Please note that trans men and trans women are not the only ones who can pursue physical changes to their bodies. Sometimes genderqueer/non-binary people are interested in hormones and surgery too. Micah at Neutrois Nonsense has written quite a few resources for those folks.
- Trans woman (AKA trans girl, trans female): When trans women are born, the doctor says, “It’s a boy!” When they get older, trans women will say, “Actually, I’m a girl.” They may or may not want to change their bodies with hormones or surgery. Trans women usually prefer to be referred to with she/her/hers pronouns.
- Cisgender (cis for short): An adjective referring to a non-transgender person.
- Cisgender woman (AKA cis woman, cis girl): When a cis woman is born, the doctor says, “It’s a girl!” When she gets older, a cis woman agrees with the doctor’s assessment and continues to identify as female. Like trans women, cis women usually prefer she/her/hers pronouns.
- Cisgender man (AKA cis man, cis boy, cis guy): When a cis man is born, the doctor says, “It’s a boy!” When he gets older, a cis man agrees with the doctor’s assessment and continues to identify as male. Like trans men, cis men usually prefer he/him/his pronouns.
- Binary trans person: A transgender person who identifies as exclusively female or exclusively male. Most trans women and trans men fall under this category. Genderqueer/non-binary people do not.
- Please note that the term “binary cis person” is redundant because cisgender people are by nature binary (identifying as exclusively male or exclusively female). I have never seen the term “binary cis person” used.
- Transfeminine person: An umbrella term for someone who was labeled a boy at birth but either identifies on the feminine side of things or wants to take estrogen or get surgeries typically offered to trans women. Trans women fall under this category, but so do some non-binary people who were labeled boys at birth.
- This is not a perfect term, because sometimes trans women and other people in this category can identify as androgynous or masculine. However, it’s the best umbrella term I have for the moment.
- Transmasculine person: An umbrella term for someone who was labeled a girl at birth but either identifies on the masculine side of things or wants to take testosterone or get surgeries typically offered to trans men. Trans men fall under this category, but so do some non-binary people who were labeled girls at birth.
- This is not a perfect term, because sometimes trans men and other people in this category can identify as androgynous or feminine. However, it’s the best umbrella term I have for the moment.
- I frequently use the term “transmasculine” to describe my own gender identity.
- Intersex: This term refers to someone whose body does not fit into either a “male” or “female” box. They are often born with ambiguous genitalia. However, intersex conditions can also involve a person’s internal reproductive organs (ovaries or testes) or chromosomes and aren’t necessarily genital-related. Intersex people may or may not also identify as transgender.
- Please note that the term “hermaphrodite” is considered a slur by many intersex folks and shouldn’t be used.
- FAAB/AFAB/DFAB: short for female assigned at birth, assigned female at birth, or designated female at birth. All of these abbreviations are used as an adjective to refer to someone who was labeled a girl or female at birth. (Ex. DFAB person, FAAB people)
- This term is useful when you want to refer to people’s bodies in a more gender neutral way. For example, reproductive rights campaigns often talk about “women’s bodies,” not realizing that cisgender women are not the only ones whose bodies are being regulated by legislators. Many trans men and non-binary people have uteruses too and want or need affordable access to birth control and reproductive healthcare.
- If you’ve ever seen the term “people with uteruses” used and wondered, “Why not just say women?” the above bullet point is why. You could also try saying DFAB people, for example.
- This term is useful when you want to refer to people’s bodies in a more gender neutral way. For example, reproductive rights campaigns often talk about “women’s bodies,” not realizing that cisgender women are not the only ones whose bodies are being regulated by legislators. Many trans men and non-binary people have uteruses too and want or need affordable access to birth control and reproductive healthcare.
- MAAB/AMAB/DMAB: Short for male assigned at birth, assigned male at birth, or designated male at birth. All of these abbreviations are used as an adjective to refer to someone who was labeled a boy or male at birth. (Ex. DMAB person, MAAB people)
- This term is also useful when you want to refer to people’s bodies in a more gender neutral way. For example, many healthcare ads and doctor’s offices will advise “men” to get their prostates checked, not realizing that cisgender men are not the only ones who need to be concerned about their prostate health. Many trans women and non-binary people also need to get prostate checks.
- Binder, or chest binder: A garment that many DFAB people use in order to minimize the appearance of their breasts. The process of wearing a binder is called “binding.” Popular companies that sell these include GC2B and Underworks.
- Gender identity: The way a person understands their own gender. It can change over time and vary greatly from person to person. There are all kinds of ways to be a woman, all kinds of ways to be a man, and all kinds of ways to be non-binary. Have you ever known two women who were the exact same kind of woman, or two men who were the exact same kind of man? I’ve heard it said that there are as many genders as there are people.
- Gender expression: The way a person expresses their internal gender identity. Gender expression and gender identity are often related, but they are not the same thing. A person who dresses in a “feminine” way doesn’t necessarily identify as female, and a person who dresses in a “masculine” way doesn’t necessarily identify as male.
- Gender dysphoria: The feeling that one’s body or the way that one is perceived in the world doesn’t match one’s internal gender identity.
- Micah of Neutrois Nonsense once wrote about the difference between physical/body dysphoria and social dysphoria. This was an instrumental realization for me.
- Physical/body dysphoria: The feeling that your body doesn’t match your identity or not identifying with certain gendered body parts. This is where the “born in the wrong body” cliche comes from. For example, a DFAB person might feel uncomfortable having breasts, and a DMAB person might feel uncomfortable having a flat chest. Not all transgender people experience physical dysphoria the same way or even at all.
- Social dysphoria: The feeling that the way that the way other people perceive you doesn’t match your internal gender identity. For example, a DFAB person might feel uncomfortable being called ma’am, and a DMAB person might feel uncomfortable being called sir. Not all transgender people experience social dysphoria the same way or even at all.
- Micah of Neutrois Nonsense once wrote about the difference between physical/body dysphoria and social dysphoria. This was an instrumental realization for me.
- Physical or medical transition: The options that a transgender person has to physically change their body in order to make it match their internal gender identity better. There is a persistent belief in our culture that a transgender person has to be interested in physical transition and if they aren’t, they aren’t really trans. That’s not true. A person’s gender identity isn’t always related to their body. Likewise, there’s a persistent belief that only trans women or trans men are interested in physical transition and non-binary people are not. That’s also untrue. Sometimes non-binary people want to change their bodies too. Whether or not someone changes their body should be up to the individual trans person and no one else. Sometimes trans people will be interested in only one physical transition option; for example, just one surgery and nothing else, or just taking hormones and getting no surgeries. Other trans people are interested in multiple physical transition options.
- For DFAB people, physical transition options can include taking hormones (testosterone), getting top surgery (a double mastectomy, or removal of both breasts), or genital surgery (metoidoplasty or phalloplasty). Some rarer options include liposuction of the hips or pec implants.
- For DMAB people, physical transition options can include taking hormones (estrogen and testosterone blockers), getting a breast augmentation, or genital surgery (orchiectomy or vaginoplasty). Some rarer options include facial feminization surgery (FFS).
- Butch: A masculine queer identity. It’s most commonly used in the lesbian community, but gay men, bisexual people, and genderqueer people use it too. Can be used as a noun or an adjective.
- Femme (also spelled fem): A feminine queer identity. It’s most commonly used in the lesbian community, but gay men, bisexual people, and genderqueer people use it too. Can be used as a noun or an adjective.
- Transmisogyny: The hatred of transgender women. The adjective form is transmisogynistic.
- Cissexism: The practice of seeing cisgender perspectives as the default in society and not taking transgender experiences or needs into account. The adjective form is cissexist.
Tragic Gender Story 