As a courtesy, I’m offering a list of definitions of words and prefixes I use/am likely to use. This list is based on how I’m likely to use the words, some of which may have various meanings. Want to know the definition of a word I haven’t defined? Look here.
Glossary of Terms:
Cis-: A prefix meaning “on the same side as.”
Cisgender: Having a gender identity which matches the sex label assigned at birth.
Gender: The culturally or socially defined aspects of masculinity and femininity.
Gender Dysphoria: A state of discomfort or dissatisfaction with one’s sex or gender.
Gender Identity: An individual’s perception of themselves and their gender, as a male, female, both, or neither. In the majority of people, this is congruent with their sex.
Gender Role: The set of behaviours, emotions, and thoughts which are considered appropriate for one gender.
Intersex Condition: A condition in which a person’s anatomical sex and/or sex chromosomes are neither exclusively male nor female, or in which the sex chromosomes do not match one’s anatomical sex at birth.
Non-binary: Outside of the man/woman, male/female dichotomy. Refers to those who identify as something other than exclusively male or female, such as bigendered, nongendered, or thirdgendered individuals.
Privilege: A special advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual, class, or caste; Such an advantage, immunity, or right held as a prerogative of status or rank, and exercised to the exclusion or detriment of others.
Queer: A catch-all phrase referring to the entirety of the LGBTQIA etc. alphabet. Also, my own identification.
Sex: A person’s anatomical or genetic state of being male or female. Usually assigned on the basis of anatomy. “Natal sex” is the term I use to specify the sex label assigned at birth; other uses of the word “sex” refer to current anatomical state, unless otherwise specified. Also, sex acts- those references are pretty clear from context, I think.
Sexual identity: Self identification as gay/straight/bi/pan/asexual/etc. Involves identification within a group, and has both individual and interpersonal components. Self-identification may not perfectly match sexual attraction; this doesn’t mean that other people have the right to deny a person’s self identification.
Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS): Also known as gender reassignment surgery (GRS), SRS is the label given to the series of surgical procedures an adult transsexual may undergo to change from their birth sex to their target sex.
Sexual Orientation: The sex(es) a person is attracted to.
Trans-: A prefix meaning “Across; on the other side; beyond.” Used to specify transgendered or transsexual men and women, as in “Sean is a trans man.” Note the space between “trans” and “man” in that sentence.
Transgender: An umbrella term referring to individuals with extreme persistent GID, transvestites, cross-dressers, and those who do not identify as either male or female.
Transitioning: The process of changing one’s sex through hormones, surgery, and other procedures necessary to pass as the target sex (eg. electrolysis).
Transsexual: A person with persistent, extreme GID who actively seeks to live as another sex. Transsexuals usually, but not always, undergo medical transition form their birth sex to their target sex to some degree, which may range from hormone therapy to SRS. Transsexuals are commonly divided into two categories: Male-to-female (MtF), or female-to-male (FtM), though such labels exclude non-binary transsexuals.
Resource links:
On privilege:
Derailing for Dummies (Not trans specific)
A list of common methods used by privileged individuals to derail conversations about non-privileged individuals. Use of these tactics will lead to me either a) ignoring you, or b) calling you an idiot, then ignoring you.
The Cisgender Privilege Checklist
Transgender resources:
To be added when my computer stops being stupid.
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