Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms

Formerly a term you’d only hear in English classes, the word pronoun is everywhere these days. When we talk about someone’s pronouns, we are referring specifically to the little words that replace the person’s name in sentences like “Noah wrote that definition. He did a good job, and I’m going to tell him so.” He and him are Noah’s pronouns. These are, technically, only a particular kind of pronoun: third person personal pronouns.

In the current century, it’s become increasingly common for people for whom neither he/him nor she/her accurately apply to go by they and them. The fact that they and them function in the language as plural personal pronouns (“I asked the attendees if they wanted coffee, and many of them did”) can make using these as singular personal pronouns seem tricky. Remember that just as we say “you are” whether we’re talking to one person or multiple people (“You, Miriam, are my friend; you, Miriam and Noah, are my friends”), “they are” is correct for both a single person and multiple people.

When referring to either of the two major biological forms of individuals, sex tends to be the preferred term, especially in medical, technical, and academic contexts. It's common in phrases like “the baby’s sex” and “able to quickly determine the sex of the chick.” We define this meaning of sex as “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.”

Gender is sometimes used in exactly the same way, as in “a party to announce the baby’s gender.”

Gender is also used to refer to the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Gender by itself can also refer to gender identity, which is a person’s internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female. More on that below.

Some people assert that gender should only be used to refer to either the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex, or to a person’s internal sense of self, but gender is frequently used more broadly than that, as in phrases about differences between male and female people. It's likely that the tendency to apply gender in such contexts as “gender bias” and “gender gap” is specifically because of the word's psychological and sociocultural meanings, the word's duality making it dually useful. The fact remains that these uses are against the prescribed use.

Because of the overlap in meaning, sometimes gender and sex are used together, as in “gender/sex bias” and “sex/gender discrimination.” For more on this pair, see the note at the entries.

Someone’s gender identity is their internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female.

Someone’s gender expression is the physical and behavioral manifestations of their gender identity. It’s what someone dresses like, talks like, etc., as those choices reflect the person's sense of their own gender.

You can’t see someone’s gender identity; you only see the ways they choose to express their gender identity—that is, you can only see their gender expression.

Someone’s sexual orientation describes who that person is romantically and/or sexually attracted to. The person may be attracted to people of the opposite sex (i.e, be straight), attracted to people of their same sex (i.e., be gay), or they may identify as another sexual orientation—there are many.

Note that sexual orientation is completely distinct from gender identity. Gender identity is someone’s internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female; who they’re attracted to is their sexual orientation.

You can think of gender identity as being who you see when you look inside yourself, and sexual orientation as describing who your attraction is oriented toward.

The term sexual preference shares the meaning of sexual orientation, but it is now considered offensive in its implied suggestion that a person can choose who they are sexually or romantically attracted to.

These abbreviations all refer to groups of people, which each letter representing a single or multiple group.

Some letters refer to sexual orientation—who someone is sexually and/or romantically attracted to—and some letters refer to gender identity—a person’s internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither.

All of the abbreviations refer to groups of people who in some way fall outside the most common norms of gender and sexual identity.

The L means “lesbian,” a lesbian being a woman who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to other women.

The G means “gay.” Gay can describe anyone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their same sex, or it can be used narrowly to describe a man who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to other men.

The B means “bisexual,” which can have two distinct meanings. Bisexual can describe someone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their own sex as well as people of the opposite sex, or it can describe people who are romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their same gender identity as well as people of other gender identities. [Reminder: someone’s gender identity is their internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female.] In this second meaning, bisexual covers the same semantic territory as the word pansexual, but there are people who identify as one but not the other, and people who identify as both.

The T means “transgender,” which describes someone whose gender identity is different from the sex the person had or were identified as having at birth. Often, transgender means specifically that the person’s gender identity—their internal sense of their gender—is opposite the sex they had or were identified as having at birth.

The I means “intersex,” and describes someone born with intersexuality, a condition in which someone has both male and female gonadal tissue, or has the gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is either ambiguous or is of the other sex.

The Q can mean either “queer” or “questioning (one’s sexual or gender identity).” The second meaning is transparent: someone who is actively working to figure out what their internal sense of self is, or what kinds of people they’re romantically and/or sexually attracted to, falls under the Q of LGBTQ in its “questioning” meaning. The “queer” meaning of Q is broad: it can describe someone whose gender identity doesn’t match the sex they were identified as having at birth, or whose gender identity is not accurately characterized as being solely male or solely female; it can describe someone whose sexual and/or romantic attraction is not limited to members of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation; it can describe someone whose sexual orientation is not straight/heterosexual. Note that in LGBTQQ and LGBTQQIA there is a Q for each meaning. More on queer below.

The A means “asexual/aromantic/agender,” which addresses three different categories of people. Someone who is asexual doesn’t experience sexual desire or attraction; the person may experience romantic feelings. Someone who is aromantic (often shortened to aro) experiences little or no romantic desire or attraction; the person may experience sexual attraction/desire. Someone who is agender has an internal sense of being neither male nor female, nor some combination of male and female; the person’s gender identity is genderless, or neutral. Whether someone is agender has no relationship to who they're attracted to; agender is a term of gender identity, not of sexual orientation.

The + means “others.” It denotes whatever gender identities and sexual orientations aren’t adequately covered by the other letters.

Both genderqueer and queer commonly describe someone whose gender identity—their internal sense of self—cannot be categorized as solely male or female; it may be neither, it may be a combination of the two.

Queer is also sometimes used to describe someone whose sexual and/or romantic attraction is not limited to members of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation; for example, a queer woman might be attracted to other women and also to people who can’t be categorized as solely male or female, as well as to bisexual people.

Queer can also describe someone whose sexual orientation is not straight. In this way, a gay man or lesbian woman can also fall under the category of “queer.”

A word of caution: the word queer was in the past commonly used as an insult, and some people still find it offensive. For more information, see the note at the entry.

Gender nonconforming (also styled as gender-nonconforming) describes people who look or behave differently from what is traditionally associated with their sex. In other words, they exhibit behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits that don’t conform to gender norms.

Nonbinary (also styled as non-binary) describes someone who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that is neither entirely male nor entirely female; the word is a synonym of genderqueer. Of the two, nonbinary is the term that’s more often found in technical, medical, and formal contexts, but in personal contexts, many people prefer one over the other, and vice versa.

Gender-fluid (also styled as gender fluid and genderfluid) describes someone whose gender identity—their internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither—is not fixed. Instead, it changes over time, or from day to day.

Cisgender (often shortened to cis) describes someone whose gender identity matches the sex they had or were identified as having at birth. Most people can be described as cisgender. If the pronouncement your mom heard at your birth—It's a girl! or It's a boy!—still feels like it was accurate, then you're cisgender.

Cisgendered is also used with the same meaning, but cisgender is preferred.

Transgender (often shortened to trans) describes someone whose gender identity is different from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth. Often, transgender means specifically that the person’s gender identity—their internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither—is opposite the sex they had or were identified as having at birth. A transgender woman was likely identified as male at birth; a transgender man was likely identified as female at birth.

The term transgendered used to be used with this same meaning, but it is now considered offensive.

Transsexual (also spelled as transexual) is a dated term that is now widely considered offensive. Use transgender instead unless the person you’re referring to explicitly says that transsexual is the term they prefer.

The term cross-dresser refers to someone who sometimes wears clothes designed for the opposite sex, or who chooses styles traditionally associated with the opposite sex, as a form of self-expression. Cross-dresser is most commonly applied to men who occasionally wear such traditionally feminine clothes as dresses and skirts.

Cross-dressing is not about entertaining an audience, in the way that drag is (see below). And cross-dressing is not what a transgender person is doing when they dress for the day. Cross-dressing is a form of gender expression used by someone who typically dresses according to what is typical for that person’s sex.

Transvestite is a dated term that is now considered offensive. Cross-dresser should be used instead.

Drag is a kind of entertainment in which performers caricature or challenge gender stereotypes. Drag performers often wear elaborate or outrageous costumes, usually in clothing stereotypical of another gender, and often use exaggeratedly gendered mannerisms. Drag also refers to the costumes worn by drag performers.

A drag queen is an entertainer who performs in female drag; a drag king is an entertainer who performs in male drag.

Gender transition and also the word transition by itself refer to a process by which a transgender person or a nonbinary person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity (their internal sense of being male or female, both, or neither) through changes to their appearance and their presentation. Often, but not always, gender transition includes the aid of medical procedures and therapies, but a person’s transition may also involve simpler changes, such as a change in name, pronouns, hairstyle, and clothing.

Transition is also used as a verb to talk about when a transgender person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity through a transition process. A person may transition over a period of years.

The abbreviation AFAB means “assigned female at birth”; AMAB means “assigned male at birth.” These abbreviations are useful when someone’s gender identity differs from the sex they were identified as having at birth.

Pansexual and omnisexual are both used to describe those who feel sexual and/or romantic attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity (that is, they can be attracted to people whose gender identity is male, female, both, or neither) or sexual orientation (that is, they can be attracted to people who are gay, lesbian, straight, queer, etc.).

Pansexual is the older word of the pair, and it has an older, now less common use describing people who are neither solely gay nor solely straight—in other words, people who are somewhere between straight and gay.

Omnisexual also has broad use meaning “sexual in many or unlimited ways.”

Despite the shared meanings of these terms, some people identify solely with one or with the other, and other people feel that both are an accurate descriptor for them.

Sapiosexual describes someone who is attracted to people who exhibit a high level of intelligence.

The term demisexual describes someone who feels sexual attraction towards another person only after establishing an emotional bond with that person.

Straight and heterosexual both describe someone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex—women who are attracted to men, and men who are attracted to women. Gay and homosexual both describe someone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their own sex—women who are attracted to women, and men who are attracted to men.

The terms heterosexual and homosexual are disliked by many people, and homosexual especially is increasingly considered offensive, as it can be seen as evoking negative stereotypes and outdated clinical understandings of homosexuality as a psychiatric condition. The term’s offensiveness is also apparent in its disparaging use. For more information, see the notes at the entry.

Gender dysphoria is a term that refers to a distressed state that arises from conflict between a person's gender identity—their internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither—and the sex the person has or was identified as having at birth. The condition marked by this kind of distress is also referred to as gender dysphoria.

The term gender identity disorder is sometimes used with the same meaning.

Gender-affirming surgery/gender affirmation surgery and gender confirmation surgery refer to any of several surgical procedures that a transgender or nonbinary person may choose to undergo in order to obtain physical characteristics that match their gender identity.

When gender reassignment was first used in the late 1960s, the term referred to the process of surgically altering the reproductive anatomy of someone with ambiguous genitalia or intersexuality (a condition in which someone has both male and female gonadal tissue, or has the gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is either ambiguous or is of the other sex). Later, the term came to be used to refer to the gender transition process by which a transgender person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity, with or without the aid of medical procedures and therapies. Today gender transition is the preferred term in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities, as gender reassignment implies that someone is taking on a different gender, rather than making changes to align their outward appearance and presentation with their gender identity.

Similarly, gender reassignment surgery, which refers to any of various surgical procedures that a transgender or nonbinary person may choose to undergo in order to obtain physical characteristics that match their gender identity, is avoided because of its implication that a transgender or nonbinary person takes on a different gender through surgery, rather than using surgery to align their outward appearance with their gender identity. Gender confirmation surgery and gender-affirming surgery are the preferred terms in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities, and surgery is seen as one of many possible ways to affirm one's gender identity, rather than as an essential part of transitioning.