Glossary
Affirmed female: Someone who identifies as female but was not labeled female at birth.
Affirmed male: Someone who identifies as male but was not labeled male at birth.
Anatomical sex: The physical structure of one’s body that usually makes a person male or female. It is often used to refer to the sex that someone was labeled at birth, since people are usually labeled male or female due to the appearance of their genitalia.
Androgynous: An androgynous person has a gender expression and/or identity that blends the stereotypically male and female traits.
Asexual: An asexual person does not have romantic attractions toward people of any sex or gender.
Berdache: A pejorative term that was once used to describe gender-variant people, often in North American aboriginal cultures. It is a French word that has origins in terms like “sex slave” and “submissive boy.”
Bigender: People who identify as both men and women, neither, or somewhere in between the classical two sexes.
Bisexual: A bisexual person is attracted to men and women.
Bottom surgery/lower surgery: Includes any number of genital surgeries that a transperson might undergo.
Breast augmentation (mammoplasty): Surgery in which breasts are constructed or breast tissue is added, usually by implants.
Chest surgery: This can refer to mammoplasty, but usually refers to female-to-male procedures (see top surgery).
Cisgender: People who are cisgender are not transgender; their gender identity matches up with the sex they were assigned at birth. The vast majority of people are cisgender.
Coming out: The short form of “coming out of the closet,” which originally referred to the act of revealing one’s sexual orientation. It is now more widely used to refer to revealing anything that someone has been hiding. Many transpeople use it to talk about revealing their trans identity.
Cross-dressers: People who enjoy wearing clothes typically associated with the opposite sex. Some people dress in private, some in public. This term usually refers to men who dress as women but can refer to women who dress as men, as well.
Disorders of sex development (DSD): Any of several conditions that make the body develop atypically with relation to the person’s sex. A DSD may or may not manifest itself externally (e.g., ambiguous genitalia). In some cases people do not know that they have a DSD until they seek medical care, sometimes for an unrelated condition. DSD is closely related to the term intersex.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell”: A policy first implemented in 1993 stating that gay, lesbian, and bisexual troops were unable to serve openly in the U.S. military. The name of the policy refers to the rule that no one could ask servicemembers if they were gay or bisexual and no gay or bisexual servicemembers should tell anyone if they had a sexual orientation other than heterosexual. This policy was repealed in September 2011.
Double-incision mastectomy with male chest reconstruction: A type of top surgery for transmen in which breast tissue is removed via two incisions below the breasts. Then a male-looking chest is constructed (nipples are resized and placed in a typically male position). There are also natal males who have this surgery for a medical condition in which they have more breast tissue than the average male, called gynecomastia.
Drag kings: Women who dress up as and impersonate men, usually for entertainment. The term drag is thought to have originated as an acronym for “DRessed As a Girl,” specifically because drag queens existed before drag kings.
Drag queens: Men who dress up as and impersonate women, usually for entertainment.
Dyke: A word that has historically been used to refer to lesbians derogatorily, but which is often used now within the lesbian community in a positive manner.
Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA): An act introduced in the U.S. Congress, which has not yet passed, that includes sexual orientation and gender identity in federal employment nondiscrimination policies.
Facial feminization surgery: Any number of surgeries that a male-to-female transperson might undergo to make her face have a more naturally feminine appearance. These procedures can include reshaping the nose, chin, brow, cheeks, and any other part of the face.
Faggot: A word that has historically been used to refer to gay men derogatorily.
Female-to-male: Transgender people who are assigned female at birth and transition to live as men.
FTM (F2M): The shortened form of female-to-male.
Gatekeeper: In the context of transgenderism, this term refers specifically to doctors and therapists who hold the power to prescribe hormones and/or surgery in the transition process.
Gay: The preferred word to refer to homosexual men and often homosexual women as well.
Gaydar: An invented word referring to a person’s sense of whether another person is gay. Typically gay people are said to have gaydar, though some nongay people profess to have it as well.
Gender: The “behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex.”1 However, gender may include the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits associated with the sex one is assigned at birth (for someone who is not transgender), the opposite sex (for someone who is transgender), or anywhere in between.
Gender-affirming surgery: Any one of many surgeries that may affirm a transperson’s gender identity. This can include genital, facial reconstruction, chest, or other surgeries. Gender-affirming surgery may be referred to as sex change, though this is an outdated and largely incorrect term.
Gender binary: The notion that there are only two sexes and genders: male and female.
Gender dysphoria: The feeling that one’s gender does not match the sex that was assigned at birth, leaving the person unhappy with the assigned sex (and usually his or her body). Transsexual people often suffer from gender dysphoria unless or until they transition. The term gender dysphoria is expected to replace gender identity disorder in the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Its criteria are listed in chapter 6.
Gender expression: 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.2
Gender identity: One’s internal sense of who one is; being a woman or man, girl or boy, or between or beyond these genders.3
Gender identity disorder (GID): A diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR that is given to many transpeople. Its criteria are listed in chapter 6. See also gender dysphoria.
Genderqueer: A term that describes people who feel that they are in between male and female and/or are neither male nor female, or reject the gender binary altogether. It is a term that should be used only if a person self-identifies as such.
Gender role: A set of duties and/or lifestyle that is common to one gender or sex. Historically, a typical gender role for a man would be to work and be the breadwinner, while a woman’s role would be to take care of the home and children. Gender roles are constantly changing in American society.
Genital reassignment surgery (GRS): Specifically, the genital part of gender-affirming surgery. This may include metoidioplasty, phalloplasty, vaginoplasty, or a number of other procedures.
GLBT (or LGBT): Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (the order may be switched). There may be additional letters such as Q (queer or questioning), I (intersex), and A (allies).
Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association: The earlier name of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). It was named for Dr. Harry Benjamin, who was known as the “father of transsexualism.”
Hermaphrodite: A pejorative term no longer in use that referred to someone who had both typically male and female tissue. See intersex and disorders of sex development (DSD).
Heteronormative: A society in which heterosexuality is the norm; in some cases it is considered the only acceptable sexuality. The United States is considered a heteronormative society.
Heterosexual: A person who is primarily attracted to people of the opposite sex (see straight).
Hijra: A transwoman in India (although the term transwoman may not exactly match hijra). Hijras do not, on the whole, have many political rights. They often stick together in living and working situations.
Homosexual: A person who is primarily attracted to people of the same sex (see gay).
Hysterectomy: The removal of the uterus, sometimes along with the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and cervix (often called a complete hysterectomy). This is a common surgery for FTMs.
Intersex: A person born with some atypical biological characteristics that are both male and female. This can manifest itself in ambiguous genitalia, development of secondary sex characteristics that are inconsistent with genitalia, atypical chromosomes (XXY or XYY, for example), or in many other ways that are different from the classic development of a male or female. Intersex people used to be called hermaphrodites, which now considered a pejorative term. The term disorders of sex development is now favored by intersex people in many circles.
Kathoey: A term usually used in Thailand to describe transwomen, though historically it has described any natal male whose gender expression was feminine. In English, this term is sometimes translated as ladyboy.
Kinsey Scale: A scale of sexual orientation developed by Dr. Alfred Kinsey. It ranges from 0 to 6, 0 being completely heterosexual and 6 being completely homosexual. Kinsey argued that many people fall between 0 and 6, not only on 0 or 6.
Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women. Some women prefer the adjective gay to the noun lesbian, and vice versa.
Male-to-female: A transgender person who was assigned male at birth and transitioned to live as a woman.
Mammoplasty: See breast augmentation surgery.
Metoidioplasty: A bottom surgery procedure for an FTM whereby the clitoris, which has been enlarged by testosterone, is released so that it extends out farther, resembling a small penis. The urethra can be extended and rerouted through the new penis so that urinating in a standing position is possible.4
Metrosexual: A term that describes straight men whose gender expression is more feminine than that of the stereotypical straight man.
MTF (M2F): The shortened form of male-to-female.
Natal sex: The sex that someone was labeled with at birth, usually based on appearance of external genitalia.
Non-op: A term for transgender people who do not have any surgery as part of their transition.
Oophorectomy: The removal of the ovaries, often performed as part of a hysterectomy for an FTM.
Orchiectomy: The removal of the testicles, a procedure for an MTF that is done in conjunction with or independent of a vaginoplasty.
Pansexual: A person who is attracted to people of any and all genders.
Paraphilia: “A pattern of recurring sexually arousing mental imagery or behavior that involves unusual and especially socially unacceptable sexual practices.”5
Pass: A transperson who can pass is perceived to be the gender that he or she feels that he or she is. For example, a female-to-male transperson who passes is perceived by the public as being just like any other man.
Phalloplasty: An FTM bottom surgery procedure in which a penis is constructed using skin from another site on the body (abdomen or forearm, for example). If the skin donor site is the forearm, a penis is created with a “tube-in-tube technique” while the skin is still attached to the arm.6 It is then moved to the pubic area. Often a phalloplasty is accompanied by the closing of the vagina, extension of the urethra through the new penis so that the person may urinate while standing, and creation of a scrotum with testicular implants inside.7 The completion of a phalloplasty usually includes multiple surgeries.
Phuying praphet song: A Thai term that roughly translates to mean a transwoman. It literally means “second kind of woman.”8
Pre-op: A term for transgender people who have not yet had surgery as part of their transition but who plan to in the future.
Queer: A catchall word for those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning their sexuality, or who do not fit into the heterosexual or male-female binary world. Many people are still sensitive about the word, and it is most often used by younger generations because it has such a negative history.
Reparative therapy: A type of psychotherapy designed to keep a transperson in the sex and gender that was assigned at birth. This is highly controversial and often damaging to the person. The term is also applied to a type of psychotherapy designed to make a gay or bisexual person heterosexual.
Sex: “Either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures.”9 But sex can also mean intersex, or someone with a disorder of sex development who is not categorized as specifically male or female. Sex is not fully explained by its dictionary definition. According to some people, organs and structures do not dictate sex just as they do not dictate gender. For example, if someone asked a female-to-male transgender person what sex he was, he would likely respond male, regardless of the fact that he might still have typically female organs. So, if someone feels that he is a man (gender), he would likely also consider himself male (sex).
Sex change: A commonly used but usually incorrect term for gender-affirming surgery.
Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People is a document maintained by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). These standards, sometimes known as the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care, were written mainly for medical and mental health professionals. They are currently in their seventh version since the first printing in 1979.10 The Standards of Care are not binding by law but they are the closest thing to a universal standard that exists for trans health care. See appendix B to learn how to obtain a full copy of the Standards of Care.
Stealth: A term for a transperson who lives as the gender that he or she transitioned to and does not reveal his or her transgender status.
Stonewall: On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a “gay bar” in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood. These types of raids on GLBT bars were commonplace, but this time the patrons of Stonewall fought back, and chaos ensued. Stonewall became the name of a movement that jumpstarted organized GLBT rights in America.
T: A term for testosterone used in the FTM community. It may also refer to the term transgender in GLBT.
Top surgery: Surgery that an FTM may undergo to have a male-looking chest. See double-incision mastectomy and periareolar.
Trachea shave: A procedure in which an MTF has her Adam’s apple reduced to look more feminine. This is a component of facial feminization surgery.
Tranny: A usually derogatory term for a transgender person. Although some transpeople use this word positively, many do not find it acceptable.
Trans: Literally, “across”; a short form of transgender or transsexual.
Transgender: Today, an umbrella term for many different identities. People who are transgender have a gender identity, sex, and/or gender expression that does not line up with the sex they were labeled with at birth.
Transition: In this book, the process that some transgender people undergo to live as the gender and/or sex that they feel they are, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.
Transsexual: A person who identifies as the opposite sex of that which he or she was assigned at birth. Most transsexual people, but not all, take hormones and/or have surgery to change their appearance.
Transvestic fetishism: A condition listed as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR in which a man dresses in women’s clothing, usually for the sake of sexual arousal. This diagnosis will likely be changed in the fifth version of the manual.
Transvestite: A term that should no longer be used. The correct term is cross-dresser.
Two spirit: Some people use this term for GLBT identities of North American native or aboriginal people on a broad spectrum, while some use it to refer only to those on the transgender or gender-nonconforming spectrum. This is in large part because contemporary Western culture is so different from most aboriginal cultures that it is not always effective, or even possible, to make a direct comparison between the two.
Vaginoplasty: An MTF bottom surgery procedure in which a vagina is created out of penile skin. In most cases the penile skin is essentially turned inside out to form the lining of the new vagina.11
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH): The governing body of the WPATH Standards of Care. It was originally named the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. WPATH is made up of medical doctors, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and other helping professionals who work with transpeople. It also publishes the International Journal of Transgenderism on a quarterly basis.