Skip to content

Gender transition: gender diverse people

Gender diversity now includes a much larger range of identities.

Masculinity and femininity are two points on the gender spectrum, and people can exist anywhere along that spectrum, or even outside of it.

People who are not gender diverse are called cisgender people. Cisgender and transgender are two points on a spectrum, and people can exist or move anywhere along that spectrum, or even outside of it. While separatists in the trans community believe some of these people are not transgender, everyone, including transgender people, are gender diverse.

Most gender diverse people take social steps to express their gender identities.

Some gender diverse people also take legal or medical steps that overlap with transgender options. For instance, you can make a gender transition without taking hormones, or you can take hormones without making a gender transition. It is your body, and you can choose which things you want to do and do not want to do.

Identities

Possible identities include:

Androgynous

  • Both masculine and feminine in appearance and/or behavior

Genderqueer (GQ)

  • Reject expected gender roles

Non-binary (NB or enby)

Genderfluid

  • Identify as masculine, feminine, or gender diverse at different times

Neutrois

  • Neutral on gender

Amalgagender

  • Gender affected by people with differences of sex development

Demigender

  • A partial connection to a gender (like demigirl or demiboy)

Bigender

  • Having two gender identities either simultaneously or switching between the two

Third gender

  • Many cultures have a name for this, like mahu in Native Hawai’ian, hijra in India or two-spirit in some Native American cultures

Pangender

  • Identifying with most or all genders

Agender

  • Lacking gender, genderless, or not caring about gender identity.
  • Related terms include:
    • Beyond the binary
    • Gender-neutral
    • Ungenderable
    • Void of gender

Drag

  • Performance of gender expression, often for money

Eunuch

  • Eunuchs remove their testicles for personal or cultural reasons
    • Related terms include
    • Male to eunuch (MtE, M2E)
    • Castrato

Cross-dresser

  • Crossdressers wear items of clothing not often associated with one’s assigned sex

Transsexual

Tomboy

Sissy

  • Sissy” is a controversial term for a feminine boy
  • It is also an erotic identity involving interest in feminization
    • “Femboy”
    • “Ladyboy”
    • “Shemale”
    • “Trap”
    • Otokonoko

Fujoshi / fudanshi

Salmacian

  • Salmacians desire a nonconforming genital configuration, usually achieved through surgery or other body altering procedures

Pronouns

MyPronouns.org (mypronouns.org)

  • A great overview of issues around personal pronouns.

Books

genderqueer and non-binary genders book

Genderqueer and Non-Binary Genders

  • Great overview.

Resources

Genderqueer and Non-Binary Identities (genderqueerid.com)

  • Maintained by Marilyn Roxie. The best genderqueer resource online.

Transgender Law Center (transgenderlawcenter.org)

Gender Wiki (gender.wikia.org)

  • Collaborative gender-based reference work.

genderqueer (genderqueer.tumblr.com)

Neutrois (neutrois.com)

Genderfork (genderfork.com)

Exobinary (exobinary.info)

  • Maintained by Cory Dostie. Includes a section on vocab links.

Agender.info (agender.info)

Genderqueer.me (genderqueer.me)