Trans Terms

A Glossary of Transgender Terms

Welcome to the Gender Community! There are a plethora of words used in the community to describe ourselves, our people and our culture. Please note that these terms and their definitions are not universally accepted or agreed upon. Variations exist both within and outside trans communities in the usage and interpretation of these terms. Usage may vary due to race, class, and geographic location. Language is an on-going struggle in which we all can take part. I gratefully welcome your voice to the dialogue.

Ally: In its verb form, ally means to unite or form a connection between. In the gender community, allies are all those wonderful folks who have attempted to educate themselves about gender issues, who work to reduce transphobia in themselves, families, and communities, and who try their best to support transpeople in the political, social and cultural arenas.

Assigned Sex of Gender: The sex/gender one is considered to be at birth based on a cursory examination of external genitalia.

Bi-Gendered: An individual who feels that they have both a “male” and “female” side to their personalities.

Bio-Boy: “Short for “biological boy” bio-boy is a term used in the Gender Community to connote a “genetic” or non-transgendered male or man.

Crash Landing: Rejection or disqualification by a clinical sex change program due to gender “role inappropriateness” or being “somatically inappropriate.”

Cross-dresser: An individual who dresses in clothing that is culturally associated with members of the “other” sex. Most cross-dressers are heterosexual and conduct their cross-dressing on a part-time basis. Cross-dressers cross-dress for a variety of reasons, including pleasure, a relief from stress and a desire to express “opposite” sex feelings to the larger society. Cross-dressing might also be termed gender non-conforming behavior.

Day of Remembrance: A day held each year in November to honor transpeople have died in hate-motivated attacks. Approximately two transgendered people are killed each month in America in hate crimes: stabbed, beaten, burned or shot.

Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM): A catalogue of mental and psychological disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association which includes the pathologization of trans people through the diagnosis of “GID” (Gender Identity Disorder) and fetishistic transvestism.

Drab: Dressed As Boy (or Dress Resembling A Boy) usually used to refer to male-to-female cross-dressers when they are not “in drag” or when they are dressed as men.

Drag: Originally used in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to mean DRessed As Girl (or Dress Resembling A Girl) referring to male actors who played female roles.

Drag Daughter: “A showgirl who’s just starting out and needs some mothering.” The Lady Chablis

Drag King: A biological female who dresses in “masculine” or male-designated clothing; a female-to-male cross-dresser. Drag Kings often identify as lesbians and many cross-dress for pay and for entertainment purposes in GLBT or straight night-clubs. A Drag King’s cross-dressing is usually on a part-time basis.

Drag Queen: A biological male, usually gay-identified, who wears female-designated or “feminine” clothing. Many drag queens may perform in bars by singing, dancing or lip-synching, often for tips or for pay. A Drag Queen’s cross-dressing is usually on a part-time basis. Some may prefer term of “Female Impersonator.”

Drag Son: “A young gay guy, new to the gay lifestyle, who needs advice and protection.” –The Lady Chablis

FTM: FTM is an acronym which stands for Female To Male. This term reflects the direction of gender transition. Some prefer the term “MTM” (male-to-male) to underscore the fact that though they were biologically female, they never had a female gender identity.

Gaff: A clothing device worn by drag queens and others to “tuck” their male genitals between their legs in order to conceal the tell-tale “bulge” when they are wearing form-fitting clothing.

GG: “GG” stands for “Genetic Girl.” It is a term which is used to differentiate transgendered women from non-transgendered women. Due to its infantilizing connotations, many prefer “GW” or “Genetic Woman.”

GLBT: An acronym which stands for “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender.” Other versions may add “Q” for Queer or Questioning, “I” for Intersex, and “A” for Allied. Some may prefer to list the acronym as TBLG to place transpeople in a position of importance and to rectify the way trans has historically been omitted, devalued or excluded.

Gate Keepers: Used by the Gender Community to refer to psychiatrists, psychologists and other (usually) non-trans clinicians and providers who can effectively block trans people from obtaining hormones, surgery or related services needed for their gender transition.

Gender: A complicated set of socio-cultural practices whereby human bodies are transformed into “men” and “women.” Gender refers to that which a society deems “masculine” or “feminine.” Gender identity refers an individual’s self-identification as a man, woman, transgendered or other identity category. Many tomes have been written on gender, and there are countless definitions. But most contemporary definitions stress how gender is socially and culturally produced and constructed, as opposed to being a fixed, static, coherent essence.

Gender Bender: An individual who brazenly and flamboyantly flaunts society’s gender conventions by mixing elements of “masculinity” and “femininity.” The gender bender is often an enigma to the uninitiated viewer, who struggles to comprehend sartorial codes which challenge gender bipolarity. Boy George, a popular culture icon, was often referred to as a “gender bender” by the press.

Gender Dysphoria: A term of the psychiatric establishment which refers to a radical incongruence between an individual’s birth sex and their gender identity. A “gender dysphoric” feels an irrevocable disconnect between their physical bodies and their mental sense of gender. Many in the trans community find this term offensive or insulting as it often pathologizes the transgendered individuals due to its association with the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM).

Gender Euphoria: A term coined by trans community members to refer to the happiness and joy of openly and proudly living in your preferred gender role, an antidote to the pathologizing and bleak connotations of “gender dysphoria.”

Gender Gifted: A term which refers to trans people and which calls attention to transgenderism as a “gift” which promotes diversity, challenges the status quo, and enriches both the trans individual and the society as a whole.

Gender Identity: Refers to an individual’s innate sense of self as a man, woman, transgender or other gender category. Gender identity may change over time and may not accord to dichotomous gender categories.

Gender Illusionist: An individual who cross-dresses, often in a glamorous manner, in order to perform for pay in a nightclub or other entertainment venue.

Genderqueer: A term which refers to individuals or groups who “queer” or problematize the hegemonic notions of sex, gender and desire in a given society. Genderqueers possess identities which fall outside of the widely accepted sexual binary. Genderqueer may also refer to people who identify as both transgendered AND queer, i.e. individuals who challenge both gender and sexuality regimes and see gender identity and sexual orientation as overlapping and interconnected.

Gender Outlaw: A term popularized by trans activists such as Kate Bornstein and Leslie Feinberg, a gender outlaw refers to an individual who transgresses or violates the “law” of gender (i.e. one who challenges the rigidly enforced gender roles) in a transphobic, heterosexist and patriarchal society.

Gender Phobia: Hatred and fear of differing gender identities and expressions

Gender Role: The clothing, characteristics, traits and behaviors of an individual which are culturally associated with masculinity and/or femininity.

Gender Transition: The period of time in which a persons begins to live in a gender role which is in accordance with their internal gender identity. This could include, for instance, the period of time when a person assigned “female” at birth who has a male gender identity begins to live “in role” by dressing as a man, taking testosterone therapy, or getting surgery.

Gender Trash: A term which calls attention to the way that differently-gendered folks are often treated like “trash” in a transphobic culture.

Gender Variant: A term which refers to individuals who stray from socially-accepted gender roles in a given culture. May be used in tandem with other groups, such as gender-variant gay men and lesbians.

Girl-Mode: Used by male-to-female cross-dressers to mean the state of dressing and appearing as women, similar to “in drag.”

Guy-Mode: Used by male-to-female cross-dressers to mean the state of dressing and appearing as a man, similar to “in drab.”

In Face/Outta Face: In or out of drag, wearing or not wearing make-up.

Intersex: Formally termed “hermaphrodites,” Intersex people are born with the condition of having physical sex markers (genitals, hormones, gonads or chromosomes) that are neither clearly male nor female. Intersexed people are sometimes defined as having some combination of “ambiguous” genitalia. Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling estimates that 1.7% of births are to intersexed infants. The Intersex Movement seeks to halt medically unnecessary pediatric surgeries and hormone treatments which attempt to normalize infants into the dominant “male” and “female” system. Surgeons often assign the infant as a sex which does not match their gender identity. In addition, many surgeries affect the sexual functioning of intersexed adults, which may include causing the inability to receive pleasure or reach orgasm.

Intersex Genital Mutilation: “The homegrown version of Female Genital Mutilation. The Intersex Society of North America estimates that about five intersexed infants have their genitals cut into in U.S. hospitals every day for cosmetic reasons, a procedure performed by accredited surgeons and covered by all major insurance plans.” – Riki Wilchins

MTF: MTF is an acronym which stands for “male-to-female.” This term reflects the direction of gender transition.

One of Tomorrow’s Men: “A young male child with gayish or effeminate tendencies.” –The Lady Chablis

OTF: Stands for “Obligatory Transsexual File,” a collection of newspaper, magazine and other clippings about shocking gender nonconformity which trans people collect over a lifetime.

Packing: Wearing a dildo, strap-on, or penile prosthesis. Sometimes used by female-to-male cross-dressers or transmen.

Pass: Gendered passing refers to an individual’s ability to be regarded by others in accordance with one’s preferred gender role in a socio-cultural context. For instance, a biological male who has a female gender identity and lives in a female gender role is able to “pass” as a woman to the people who surround her. Passing generally refers to the effort made by members of subordinated groups to be accepted as members of dominant groups, e.g. light skinned black people being perceived as white, or traditionally-gendered gay men being perceived as heterosexual.

Punk: African-American slang for a gay or feminine male, usually negative connotations.

Queer: Queer is a term which has been reclaimed by members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities to refer to people who transgress culturally imposed norms of heterosexuality and gender traditionalism. Queer might be broadly defined as resistance to regimes of the “normal.” Although still often an abusive epithet when used by bigoted heterosexuals, many queer-identified people have taken back the word to use it as a symbol of pride and affirmation of difference and diversity.

Queer theorist: An individual, usually an academic, who utilizes feminism, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism and other theoretical schools to critically analyze the position of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered individuals in cultural texts and contexts. Queer theory has been justifiably criticized for not being attentive to the lived experiences of queer people of color, trans folks and other historically-marginalized GLBT people.

Read: 1) to be read is to the opposite of “passing.” When a person is “read” someone is able to detect that you are transgendered, i.e. your assigned birth sex does not match your preferred gender role/expression. Reading is synonymous with being “clocked,” having someone stare at you like a clock on a wall. In the words of The Lady Chablis, “they know what time it is in regards to your biological gender.” 2) the art of insults. Transpeople trading barbs and insults with each other in a joking way may be called “reading,” similar to “throwing shade.”

Real Life Test: An assessment term which refers to the period of time when a transperson begins living “full time” in their preferred gender role to when they are considered “good” candidates (by psychologists, psychiatrists and others) for sex reassignment surgery.

Realness: The degree to which a trans person is “convincing” or “authentic” in their gender role appearance or expression. Their ability to pass well is often called “real.”

Shady: A term used in the trans community to connote a person who is rude, unwelcoming, abrasive or cruel. “Throwing shade” refers to someone casting a negative vibe on an event or situation or to two or more community members passing insults.

Sex: Separate from gender, this term refers to the cluster of biological, chromosomal, and anatomical features associated with maleness and femaleness in the human body. Sexual dimorphism is often thought to be a concrete reality, whereas in reality the existence of the Intersex point to a multiplicity of sexes in the human population. Sex is often used synonymously with gender in this culture. Although the two terms are related, they should be defined separately to differentiate the biological (“sex”) from the socio-cultural (“gender”). Some transpeople not that while sex is between your legs, gender is between your ears.

Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS): The term given to an operation and procedure which physically transforms the genitals using plastic surgery, often called a “sex change operation” in popular culture. MTF SRS is called a vaginoplasty while FTM SRS is termed either a genitoplasty or a phalloplasty.

Sexuality: An imprecise word which is often use in tandem with other social categories, as in: race, gender and sexuality. Sexuality is a broad term which refers to a cluster of behaviors, practices and identities in the social world.

Sexual Orientation: This term refers to the gender(s) which a person is emotionally, physically, romantically and erotically attracted to. Examples of sexual orientation include homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual and asexual. Trans and gender-variant people may identify with any sexual orientation, and their sexual orientation may or may not change before, during or after gender transition.

SO: This refers to “Significant Other,” the partner, spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend etc. of a trans-identified person.

Spooked: A street term for the moment when someone figures out that a person’s gender does not match their biological sex.

Standards of Care: “Something invented by professionals to protect us widdle transpeople from hurting our widdle selves with sharp objects. A series of guidelines propagated by doctors and health professionals for deciding who gets to have hormones and surgery. See God, Playing at.” – Riki Wilchins

Stealth: Also termed “woodworking,” this term refers to (usually) post-operative transsexuals who blend into the dominant society, erasing their transsexual past.

T-Bird, Tranfan, Transgender Admirer: “Someone who likes, admires, or is attracted to transsexuals. Can be dismissive or affectionate, depending upon the speaker.” – Riki Wilchins

Trans: An umbrella term which refers to cross-dressers, transgenderists, transsexuals and others who permanently or periodically dis-identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Trans is preferable to “transgender” to some in the community because it does not minimize the experiential specificities of transsexuals.

Trans-Friendly: Sometimes abbreviated as simply “T-Friendly,” trans-friendly means an organization or institution which is open, affirming and accepting of transpeople and their social, political and cultural needs.

Transgender: A range of behaviors, expressions and identifications which challenge traditional notions of sex, gender and sexuality in a given culture. Trans people dis-identify, in varying level of degree, with the sex/gender assigned to them at birth. Transgender refers to people who feel that their initial sex/gender designation is a false or incomplete description of who they are. Transgender (or just trans) is an umbrella term which includes a vast array of differing identity categories such as transsexual, drag queen, drag king, cross-dresser, transgenderist, bi-gendered and a myriad of other identities.

Transgender lesbian: An individual, regardless of biological sex, who identifies as both transgendered and lesbian. This could include male-to-female transgenders who are sexually attracted to women, or to biological females who identify as lesbians and who often “pass” as men or who identify to some degree with masculinity or with “butch.”

Transgenderist: Coined by Virginia Prince, this category refers to an individual who dis-identifies with their assigned birth sex and lives full time in congruence with their gender identity. This may include a regime of hormone therapy but usually transgenderists do not seek or want sex reassignment surgery.

Transphobia: The irrational fear and hatred of all those individuals who transgress, violate or blur the dominant gender categories in a given society. Transphobic attitudes lead to massive discrimination, violence and oppression against the trans, drag, and intersex communities.

Transsexual: An individual who strongly dis-identifies with their birth sex and wishes to utilize hormones and sex reassignment surgery (or gender confirmation surgery) as a way to align their physical body with their internal gender identity. Some persons prefer the alternate spelling of transexual (one “S” instead of two).

Transvestite: An older term, synonymous with the more politically correct term cross-dresser, which refers to individuals who have an internal drive to wear clothing associated with a gender other than the one which they were assigned at birth. Transvestite has fallen out of favor due to its psychiatric, clinical and fetishistic connotations.

Twenty-Four Seven/24-Hour Girl: A biological male who lives full time as a woman, whether on or off stage.

Weekend Warrior: A transgender person who only dresses up on the weekends.

“Womyn-born-womyn” : A transphobic and essentialist phrase used at the Michigan Womyn’s Musical festival and other lesbian or feminist events to exclude transwomen from women’s spaces based on the notion that they are “men” and cannot understand being a woman. Compare to “humyn-born-humyn” or “woman-identified-woman.”

Wringing the Turkey’s Neck: The final act of penile masturbation in a MTF transsexual before sex reassignment surgery.