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Note: This study guide is still in DRAFT/TEST form. We are still hard at work improving, expanding, formatting and distilling these materials. Daily updates, edits and changes will occur. Feedback, comments and questions can be sent to education@roseneath.ca. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Agender is a non-binary gender identity. An agender person may be genderless or
without a gender
Cisgender A person is cisgender if their gender matches what is expected based on the sex they were assigned at birth. This word exists for similar reasons that the word “straight” exists - so that we are not referring to people who are not trans as “normal”
Gender a person’s sense of being a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, neither, both, or
another gender.
Gender Binary the way that society puts people in two boxes - men and women, male and female, boys and girls - which limits everyone.
Gender Expression how a person expresses their gender through things like hairstyle, clothing, makeup, etc.
Genderfluid a person whose gender is somewhere between male and female and may shift between these.
Gender Independent Children children whose gender identity or gender expression is different from what others expect based on the child’s assigned sex.
Gender Variance gender expressions or behaviors that do not match gender norms.
Genderqueer a person who transgresses gender, or “queers” gender.
Gender Pronoun Words such as “he, she, they” that we use when we are talking about a person.
Gender-Affirming Surgeries surgical procedures that some people might get to feel better in their bodies.Not all trans people have or want surgery, and that doesn’t mean their genders are any more or less valid.
Gender Transition a process in which a person changes their appearance, behavior, or identity to better reflect their gender. This can involve changing gender expression, names, ID, and bodies, but it doesn’t have to involve all of those things. Everyone’s process is different.
Hormone Replacement Therapy some people may choose to change the hormones
in their bodies as part of their gender transition. This can mean taking medically-prescribed hormones like testosterone or estrogen, which can change some sex characteristics. It can also mean taking hormone blockers, which can stop some effects of puberty.
Intersex Intersex people have sex characteristics (hormones, genitals, chromosomes) that don’t fit into a male/female binary. There are many different intersex variations.
LGBTQ an acronym that means “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer,” and
is sometimes used broadly to refer to gender and sexually diverse communities and people.
Non-Binary A person whose gender is something other than man, woman, boy or girl.
Sex Assigned at Birth whether a doctor assigns a baby male, female, or intersex, which is recorded on a birth certificate. This is based on biology, such as chromosomes, genitals and hormone levels.
Sexual Orientation how a person identifies based on their attractions and desires, or lack of attractions and desires, to other people (example: gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, asexual). This is separate from gender, and transgender people can have any sexual orientation.
Transgender A person whose gender is different from what is expected based on
the sex they were assigned at birth.
Transphobia hatred, violence, or discrimination toward people who are transgender
Two-Spirit a word that Indigenous people can use to describe themselves.Two-spirit identity can be a sexual orientation, a gender identity, a cultural identity or a mix of these.
Queer a broad term that is often used to describe people who are not heterosexual/straight