Search results
Two pieces of legislation are pending in Congress that would strengthen legal protections against discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity: the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the Equality Act.
- Courses and Curriculum
Other Courses Taught. Professor Franke has taught a number...
- Courses and Curriculum
Jul 8, 2024 · Transgender is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (sense of themselves as male or female) or gender expression differs from socially constructed norms associated with their birth sex.
Oct 8, 2021 · The ERA is a constitutional amendment that would protect against discrimination on the basis of sex— including on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
- Overview
- Gender vs. sex
- What gender identity is
- Terms A to D
- Terms E to H
- Terms I to P
- Terms Q to Z
- The bottom line
Gender is a spectrum, and there are dozens of ways to describe your individual gender identity. Man, woman, cisgender, and transgender are just a few options.
However, these terms can also be confusing. Read on to learn 68 terms about gender identity and expression and what they mean.
Many people use the terms “gender” and “sex” interchangeably. However, gender and sex actually refer to two separate things.
Gender is an identity — your personal sense of who you are. The term can also refer to socially constructed categories that relate to what it means to be a man or a woman.
Sex refers to biological and physiological characteristics. Your genitals, hormones, and chromosomes all relate to your sex.
Although many are taught that there are only two sexes — male and female — that isn’t true. Some people are intersex or have a difference of sexual development (DSD).
Many people grew up with a simplistic idea of gender and sex: that there are two sexes, male and female, that “match” with two genders, man and woman.
In reality, neither gender nor sex is binary.
Your gender identity is your personal sense of self. It’s how you, as an individual, conceptualize your own gender.
Gender expression, on the other hand, is how you express your gender identity. Many do this through clothing, behavior, gesticulations — anything people might associate with gender. Your gender expression might match what society expects of your gender, or it might subvert it.
Gender presentation is often used interchangeably with “gender expression” in the sense that it’s how you present your gender (whether you intend to or not) externally.
Somebody might “present” as one gender when they actually identify with another. For example, a transgender woman might present as masculine, or a nonbinary person might present as feminine. The outside world might assume that they’re one gender, even when they’re not.
AFAB
Acronym meaning “assigned female at birth.”
Agender
Someone who doesn’t identify with the idea or experience of having a gender.
Aliagender
A nonbinary gender identity that doesn’t fit into existing gender schemas or constructs.
Feminine-of-center
This describes people who experience their gender as feminine or femme. Some feminine-of-center people also identify with the word “woman,” but others don’t. The term feminine-of-center tells you about someone’s gender identity but doesn’t convey any information about the sex or gender assigned to them at birth.
Feminine-presenting
This describes people who have a gender expression or presentation that they or others categorize as feminine. Feminine-presenting is a term that captures the part of someone’s gender that’s shown externally, either through aspects of their style, appearance, physical traits, mannerisms, or body language. This term doesn’t necessarily indicate anything about the way someone identifies their gender or the gender or sex assigned to them at birth.
Femme
This is a label for a gender identity or expression that describes someone with a gender that is or leans toward feminine. Some femmes also identify with the term “woman,” while many others don’t. Femme indicates the way someone experiences or expresses their gender and doesn’t provide any information about the gender or sex assigned to them at birth.
Intergender
A nonbinary gender identity that describes the experience of having a gender that falls somewhere in between woman and man or is a mix of both man and woman.
Intersex
An umbrella term that describes people who have sex characteristics — such as chromosomes, internal organs, hormones, or anatomy — that can’t be easily categorized into the binary sex framework of male or female. Intersex conveys information about a person’s sex characteristics but doesn’t indicate anything about their gender identity.
Masculine-of-center
This term describes people who experience their gender as masculine or masc. Some masculine-of-center people also identify with the word “man,” but many others don’t. The term masculine-of-center tells you about someone’s gender identity but doesn’t convey any information about the sex or gender assigned to them at birth.
Sex
The classification of a person as male, female, or intersex based on the existing system of organizing human bodies and biologies. This system is based on chromosomes, hormones, internal and external reproductive organs, and secondary sex characteristics.
Sex assigned at birth
This refers to the act of assigning or designating a particular sex to a person based on their chromosomes, hormones, internal and external reproductive organs, and secondary sex characteristics. This is often done by medical professionals during pregnancy or immediately after childbirth. The sex a person is assigned at birth doesn’t determine or indicate anything about their authentic gender experience or identity.
Social dysphoria
A specific type of gender dysphoria that manifests as distress and discomfort that results from the way society or other people perceive, label, refer to, or interact with someone’s gender or body.
It’s amazing that gender — something many people thought was a simple concept — is actually so personal, nuanced, and complex. For that reason, it’s totally OK if this list is a lot to digest!
Just remember: Gender is an essential part of health and well-being for everyone.
Becoming familiar with language that helps you to talk about this part of identity and society is a great way to care for yourself and be an ally to others.
Mere Abrams is a researcher, writer, educator, consultant, and licensed clinical social worker who reaches a worldwide audience through public speaking, publications, social media (@meretheir), and gender therapy and support services practice onlinegendercare.com. Mere uses their personal experience and diverse professional background to support individuals exploring gender and help institutions, organizations, and businesses to increase gender literacy and identify opportunities to demonstrate gender inclusion in products, services, programs, projects, and content.
Gender identity and gender expression are aspects of personal identity that impact an individual across multiple social dimensions. As such, it is critical that social workers understand the role of gender identity and gender expression in an individual’s life.
Feb 27, 2021 · Gender identity refers to how one understands and experiences one’s own gender. It involves a person’s psychological sense of being male, female, or neither (APA, 2012).
Mar 9, 2022 · Sex, gender, and sexual orientation are core aspects of identity that shape people’s opportunities, their experiences with material forms of discrimination, and the outcomes through their life courses (NASEM, 2020).
