Definitions

Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words anér, meaning man, and gyné, meaning woman, that can refer to either of two related concepts about gender. The mixing of masculine and feminine characteristics, as in fashion statements defined by Annie Lennox, David Bowie and Marylyn Manson, the other refers to the balance of "anima”, the unconscious feminine component of men, and “animus”, the unconscious masculine component in women, in psychoanalytic theory. Androgyny may also be the absence of any discernable gender identifier or having the characteristics of both male and female combined.

Androgyne, in terms of the transgender umbrella, is a person who does not fit cleanly into the typical masculine and feminine gender roles of their society but prefer to maintain an ambiguous sexual identity by combining major aspects of both the male and female. Many androgynes identify as being mentally "between" male and female, or as entirely genderless. Other self-described terms for androgynes include agender, ambigender, between genders, bigender, gender-neutral, gender fluid, intergender or non-gender. Androgyne was once used as a synonym for hermaphrodite, a term since replaced by the more correct term - intersex. (See Intersex)

Assigned Gender is the gender designation given an individual at birth based upon obvious genitalia.

Assimilationists are transsexuals interested in acceptance within mainstream society as his/her preferred gender with no reference to transsexualism.

Berdache is a generic term used to refer to Indigenous American transgenders and is frequently rejected as inappropriate and offensive largely due to its pejorative etymology as it is a loan from French bardache via Spanish bardaxa or bardaje/ bardaja via Italian bardasso or berdasia via Arabic bardaj meaning "kept boy; male prostitute, catamite" from Persian bardaj. See: (preferred term) Two-Spirits

Cross-dresser is someone who dons attire typically associated with someone of the opposite sex. Some cross-dress as a matter of comfort or style, preferring apparel associated with and marketed to their opposite gender. Others cross-dress as a form of power exchange, taking a “mini mental vacation” from perceived pressures and expectations associated with and attributed to their everyday identity; a masculine man in a high-pressure profession may go out dolled up in a mini skirt, the cares and pressures melting away with every click of “her” heels. Many crossdressers are heterosexual and have no desire to “perform” sexually as a member of the opposite sex. Some crossdress as a fetish and become hypersexual while “in face”. Though still ‘straight’ in their mindset, since they are presenting contrary to their birth sex, they may overindulge in behaviors that they would not partake in while not cross-dressed. Both men and women cross-dress. Women may cross-dress as an expression of a “butch” lifestyle or to challenge established social norms. A cross-dresser’s clothing may or may not be visible to others as in men wearing lingerie under a business suite. Halloween is the most popular day for men to cross-dress.

COGIATI (Combined Gender Identity And Transsexuality Inventory) is a gender dysphoria test designed specifically for the uncertain pre-transitional MtF gender dysphoric. It should only be used to gain a rudimentary understanding of what your gender issues mean and determine a reasonable self definition from which further action can intelligently be taken. COGIATI in no way should replace professional psychotherapy.

Drag is a form of cross-dressing as performance art though usually a term reserved for but not exclusive to gay men. There are many levels of Drag, which may vary according to culture, life experience or socioeconomics. Historically, Drag has been an incredibly effective means of fundraising for various charities and organizations and used as a means to inspire or implement social activism.

Camp Drag has a comical or satirical style and uses exaggerated and an often over-the-top approach to performance art and social activism as personified by The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence or Dame Edna Everage. Camp Drag is often theatrical and may depict performers with fully visible facial and leg hair. Think of the old black and white WWII GI movies with characters wearing coconut breasts and grass skirts performing female roles, this is a style of Camp Drag.

High Drag takes a high-end couture approach to Drag as with The International Court System; every detail and mannerism demands perfection in its presentation with gowns, crowns and jewels that appear fit for royalty. High Drag is not for the beginner and requires significant time and money dedicated to the art.

Kabuki in 17th century Japan saw women and boys banned from the stage because of the high prevalence of prostitution as a side business. Kabuki then became a theater of mature male performers but only after the Tokugawa shogunate required that the actors avoid all sensual displays. The sophistication of Japan’s Onnagata (female impersonator) roles was so profound that many women studied the performer’s detail of movement learning to become women that are more feminine.

Pantomime or Panto is a uniquely English comedic theater style staged around the winter solstice illustrating the battle between good and evil. A popular form of family entertainment where the audience is always involved, booing the villains, cheering the heroes or in some type of argument with the characters; the girl dressed as a boy who is the son of a man dressed as a woman, who will win the other girl (dressed as a girl), with the assistance of a person(s) dressed as some type of animal. There is always a Pantomime Dame played by a tall well-built man who wears over-the-top drag costumes and various padding to look like an extremely well endowed woman. The Dame’s appearance is one of grand beauty only in “her” mind’s eye but is an overly made up exaggerated older woman to the audience.

Drag King is a term usually defining a female, often lesbian, presenting and performing as male; the counterpart of Drag Queen. Drag Kings Often perform hyper masculine roles. (See Drag)

Drag Queen is often but not exclusively a gay male that does Drag; the counterpart of Drag King. (See Drag)

DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is considered by many as the “bible” for any professional who makes psychiatric diagnoses in the United States and many other countries. Published by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM covers all mental health disorders for both children and adults, lists known causes of these disorders as well as some research concerning the best approach for treatment. Clinicians, pharmaceutical companies, policy makers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, and researchers refer to the DSM as well as health insurance companies for billing.

Electrology is the practice of electrical depilation, which permanently removes human hair.

Electrolysis is the process of removing human hair through Electrology

Faux Queen is a woman who dresses in a manner as to appear to be a Drag Queen; a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman as in Blake Edward’s 1995 hit, Victor Victoria.

Faux Kings is a man who dresses to impersonate drag kings; a man pretending to be a woman pretending to be a man.

Female-bodied individuals identify as transgender but do not physically change their bodies through surgery or hormonal treatments. Many freely identify as transgender males and dress accordingly while maintaining all inborn female characteristics.

Female Impersonator is a term for a male, regardless of his sexual orientation, who dresses and performs as a woman, usually a celebrity of internationally notability, as a profession. Female Impersonation is a high art and demands true artistic talent and dedication. The ubiquitous lip-sync performance seen in drag shows does not apply here. See Frank Marino

FtM (Female-to-Male) is an abbreviation used to identify a person who was assigned a female gender at birth or is female-bodied, and who identifies as male, lives as a man, or identifies as masculine. FtM is a transsexual male.

Gender is the societal definition and constraint applied to those borne with specific reproductive organs or obvious genitalia, usually male (XY) or female (XX). Though often perceived as one, sex and gender are not synonymous.

Gender Dysphoria is the core symptom of gender identity disorders (GID), literally being uncomfortable with one's assigned gender.

Gender Expression denotes one’s ability and desire to live in a societal structure as the gender of their heart and spirit, regardless of societal expectations or constraints. Gender Expression as a lifestyle, which is contrary to societal expectations, or social and cultural norms has resulted in ostracism, violence and death.

Genderfuck is a form of self-expression used as a form of social activism or as a challenge to established social norms. A male wearing fishnet stocking, a thong and hi-heel pumps while shirtless with visible chest and facial hair certainly defines Genderfuck.

Gender Identity is an individual’s internal sense of being whether it be male, female, a fusion of both male and female, the antithesis of their birth sex or the absence of perceived gender entirely, Gender Identity is intrinsically inborn and not dependent upon birth sex. An individual’s social structure can often impede the gender expression in line with their Gender Identity and vis-a-vis their natural and healthy development making their true Gender Identity invisible to others; this can lead to violent or self destructive behaviors.

Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a psychological diagnosis, recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. A GID diagnosis requires that there must be evidence of a strong and persistent cross-gender identification, which is the desire to be, or the insistence that one is of the other sex. This cross-gender identification must not merely be a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex. There must also be evidence of persistent discomfort about one’s assigned sex or a sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex. The diagnosis is not made if the individual has a concurrent physical intersex condition (e.g., androgen insensitivity syndrome or congenital adrenal hyperplasia). To make the diagnosis, there must be evidence of clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Genderqueer is a self-identified term used by people who see their gender as outside of the traditional binary gender system or accepted transgender identifiers. They may consider themselves as one of many possible genders and see gender as fluid.

Genital Reassignment Surgery (GRS) See: Sex Reassignment Surgery

HBIGDA (Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc.) See WPATH

Harry Benjamin Standards of Care (SOC) is a set of flexible clinical guidelines originally published in 1979 articulating HBIGDA's professional consensus about the psychiatric, psychologic, medical, and surgical management, treatment and care of patients with gender identity disorders.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is the administration of hormones to affect the development of secondary sex characteristics of a person’s desired gender. Anti-androgens, Estrogens, GnRH agonists and Progestogens are therapy’s used for MtF transsexuals while androgens and GnRH agonists are used for FtM transsexuals. All HRT’s cause both irreversible and reversible changes in the body and are available in gel, implanted, injectable, nasal, oral, spray, sublingual and transdermal patch formulations. Significant health issues such as blood clots, breast cancer, permanent damage to the kidneys and liver and stroke can occur and HRT should never be “self prescribed” but instead prescribed through an endocrinologist. Herbal HRT is rarely an effective means of producing desired secondary sex characteristics and the amounts that needs to be taken can be toxic to the kidneys and liver.

ICD (International Classification of Diseases) Adopted by the International Statistical Institute in 1893 the ICD has been under the purview of The World Health Organization since 1948 and used to classify diseases and other health problems. It is the international standard diagnostic classification for all general epidemiological, many health management purposes, clinical use, reimbursement, resource allocation, quality and guidelines,

ICTLEP Standards of Care (International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy, Inc.) is the Health Law Standards of Care for Transsexualism first adopted at the second International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy, August 1993 in Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Intersex is an inborn condition in which individuals are born with ambiguous reproductive or sexual organs like that of a person born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types like a girl born with a noticeably large clitoris and lacking a vaginal opening, or a boy born with a notably small penis and have a scrotum that is divided so that it has formed resembling a labia. Intersex anatomy doesn’t always show up at birth in fact an Intersex person may live and die with without ever knowing. Many doctors discover a person is Intersex only after they die of old age to reveal various reproductive ambiguities during autopsy.

Lady-Boy is a term usually describing a transsexual female from Thailand.

Male-Bodied individuals identify as transgender but do not physically change their bodies through surgery or hormonal treatments. Many freely identify as transgender female and dress accordingly while maintaining all inborn male characteristics.

MtF (Male-to-Female) is an abbreviation used to identify a person who was assigned a male gender at birth or is male-bodied, and who identifies as female, lives as a woman, or identifies as feminine. MtF is a transsexual female.

Passing is the ability of a gender variant individual to present undetected in mainstream society as the gender contrary to that of his/her birth gender.

Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) is the surgical procedure reforming a person’s genitalia to conform with his/her perceived gender; reshaping a penis into a vagina and clitoris or reshaping a vagina into a penis.

Sexual Orientation refers to the gender to which a person is sexually and emotionally attracted. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity have nothing to do with each other.

She-male is a term for a transsexual female usually indicative of the sex/porn industry.

Stealth is the term defining a person living undetected in mainstream society as a gender contrary to his/her assigned gender. Living Stealth requires that a person be able to “pass” and usually only after transitioning. A person living Stealth does not acknowledge being transsexual.

TGirl is an abbreviation for a transsexual female.

Transgender is the umbrella term for anyone that “Transes” his or her birth gender and/or does not fall within a traditional binary gender system. Under this all-encompassing term resides: Androgene, Cross-dressers, Drag Queens, Drag Kings, Intersex (formerly Hermaphrodite), Female Impersonators, Genderqueer, Genderfuck, Two-Spirit, Transsexual Females (MtF), Transsexual Males (FtM) and others who cross or transgress traditional gender categories.

Tranny is an abbreviation for a transsexual female.

Transgender Man is a person who presents as male though was born female.

Transgender Woman a person who presents as female though was born male.

Transitioning is the process a transsexual individual undergoes through surgeries, hormone replacement therapy, Electrology, etc., making the body more congruent with his/her gender identity.

Transman/Transmen are transsexual men who were assigned female at birth based on obvious genitalia but who feel that this is not an accurate description of themselves. They have a male gender identity, present themselves as men and desire to live in a male gender role.

Transsexualism is a desire to live and be accepted as a member of the opposite sex, usually accompanied by a sense of discomfort with, or inappropriateness of, one's anatomic sex, and a wish to have surgery and hormonal treatment to make one's body as congruent as possible with one's preferred sex. Transsexualism is an ancient and persistent part of the human experience and is not in itself a medical illness or mental disorder. Transsexualism is a desire to change the expression of one's gender identity.

Transsexual is a term that identifies an individual whose brain, and physical characteristics are in incongruous with one another.

Transphobia is an irrational fear of transgender individuals. It may manifest itself in silent and invisible discrimination, public ridicule and humiliation or in violence ending in bodily injury and in extreme cases the death of the transgender individual. Transphobia is in direct relation to an individual’s own comfort zones - how comfortable am I in my own skin, how comfortable am I letting others be themselves.

Transvestite is an archaic misnomer, which lumps several non-similar facets of the transgender community together; a pejorative for anyone that dresses in women’s clothing. A cross-dresser is not a drag queen is not a transsexual is not genderqueer is not an Androgyne.

Two-Spirit are people are who encompass both masculine and feminine qualities and characteristics. Two-Spirit is specifically an Indigenous American term where communities historically saw gender more in terms of a continuum than categories. Two-Spirit people had/have specific spiritual roles and responsibilities within their community and in the traditional tribal sense, these roles have often been ones associated with great respect and spiritual power. Rather than being viewed as an aberration, they are seen as people that bridge the gap between the material and spirit worlds and between male and female. Two-Spirit originated in Winnipeg, Canada in 1990 during the third annual intertribal Native American/First Nations gay and lesbian conference. It is a calque of the Ojibwa phrase niizh manidoowag.

WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) is an international multidisciplinary professional association promoting advocacy, education, evidence based care, training, research, and best practice standards for service providers and policy makers regarding gender variant individuals; formerly known as the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (HBIGDA).