There'due south a chance you landed hither because y'all may not totally become all the terms and phrases to express gender identity.

"It's understandable that some folks may experience confused or even uncomfortable with all the variations of gender, gender identities, and gender roles," says Tracy Marsh, PhD, faculty member for Walden Academy's PhD in Clinical Psychology program, and a licensed psychologist in California who specializes in LGBTQIA issues. Or, you could be exploring your own gender identity and looking for the right words to express yourself and help others understand.

Thankfully, it's 2022, and many of the terms surrounding gender are becoming more than widely recognized in our society. "The language nosotros have around [gender identity] is rapidly expanding to accommodate for the wide variety of gender identities and expressions out in that location," says Paula Leech, LMFT, an AASECT-certified sex therapist. "The more we tin betrayal ourselves to the multifariousness of gender identity and expression out in the world, the more likely we are to find ourselves reflected back with greater clarity."

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And if yous aren't sure about something, the best matter you can do is attempt to brainwash yourself. "Achieve out and have a respectful dialogue with someone who has more cognition of these terms and topics. Enquire others how they place and how they prefer to exist addressed," Marsh says.

Meet the experts: Tracy Marsh, PhD, is a faculty member for Walden University'south PhD in Clinical Psychology program, and a licensed psychologist in California who specializes in LGBTQIA issues. Paula Leech, LMFT, is an AASECT-certified sex therapist. Jackie Golob, MS, works at a private practice at the Centre for Sexual Wellness in Minnesota

Women's Health spoke to experts on those questions you may desire to ask, but don't know exactly where to start: What exactly does gender identity hateful? What is biological sexual activity vs. gender? And how do gender identity and sexuality relate? Commencement, Jackie Golob, MS, who works at a individual practice at the Centre for Sexual Wellness in Minnesota, provides an overview on some commonly confused ideas surrounding gender identity.

  • Genitalia does not equal gender. "The sex activity characteristics a person is built-in with practise non signify a person'due south gender identity. When people accept 'gender reveal parties,' it actually should be called a 'genital reveal party,'" she offers. The concept of gender is a social construct, adds Golob.
  • Forget most the ii-gender binary. "Gender is a term that relates to how we experience nearly ourselves, the manner we cull to express our gender through makeup, dresses, high heels, athletic shorts, sneakers, and more," she explains. Our club has convinced us that in that location are only two options for gender identity, "male" and "female," based on biological sex. But in reality, there's more fluidity.
  • Gender identity is on a continuum. Information technology's not just the male/female gender binary—there's a spectrum of gender identity. "[Well-nigh people] lie in between [the binary], with personality traits that relate to gender identity, expression, and biological sexual practice. Gender identity can change over time, and information technology is not fixed," says Golob. But because you place 1 way at one point in fourth dimension, does not mean y'all volition e'er cull that identity, or that your identity won't shift and evolve.
  • Sexuality and gender identity are non the same thing. "Gender identity is how y'all feel about yourself and the ways you limited your gender and biological sex," says Golob. Meanwhile, sexuality refers to who you are emotionally, physically, romantically, or sexually attracted to, she says. In summary, "gender is how you lot experience about yourself, while sexuality is how you experience near others," says Golob.

Now that yous have the basics, permit'southward practise a deep dive into gender identity terms and what they each mean.

1. Anatomical sexual activity

                    In conversations virtually gender, you lot may hear this expression used. "Gender identity is about one'southward psychological sense of self. Anatomical sexual activity is comprised of things similar genitals, chromosomes, hormones, torso hair, and more," says Sophie Mona Pagès, relationship proficient and founder of LVRSNFRNDS, a social network that fosters connections and conversations about relationships.

                    "You may be familiar with the terms 'AFAB' (Assigned Female person At Nascence) and 'AMAB '(Assigned Male At Nativity). This is what they are about." AFAB and AMAB people may not choose to identify with those terms during babyhood, or when they become adolescents or adults.

                    two. Cisgender

                      This term describes a person whose gender identity aligns with or matches their assigned sex at nativity. "If a doctor assigns gender based on genitalia, when the baby is born and says, 'Information technology'due south a daughter,' and that person aligns with their gender, that'south what it ways to be cisgender," says Golob, noting that this term sometimes gets shortened to "Cis."

                      3. Transgender

                      "Transgender people are folks whose gender identity does not lucifer their sex assigned at nativity. They tin can exist trans men, trans women, and too non-binary people, meaning they practise non identify as men or women," says Pagès.

                      She adds 1 quick notation: "Practice not say 'a trans' or 'a transgender.' Say instead, 'a trans person,' 'a transgender person,' 'a trans man,' or 'a trans adult female.'"

                      iv. Cishet

                      "Cishet refers to people whose gender identity and biological sexual practice are aligned (cisgender), and who are sexually attracted to the contrary sex," says Marsh. For example, an individual built-in with a vagina who identifies as female and is romantically involved with males would be described as Cishet.

                      5. Non-binary

                      "Non-binary describes a person who does not identify conspicuously or exclusively every bit male or a female, says Alexandra Bausic, M.D., a board-certified OBGYN, and sexual activity educator at Let's Talk Sex. "They can either feel both gender characteristics or feel different from them." You may hear non-binary used as an umbrella term for various groups of people that don't place equally male or female.

                      6. Intersex

                      A person born with either some combination of both biological sex characteristics (genital organs, hormones, chromosomes) or certain genital variations that don't align with either biological sexual practice is intersex, explains Bausic. "It is a natural variation in human anatomy, and it shouldn't be perceived as something bad," she says. Also, it's important to know that being intersex is non uncommon: Planned Parenthood estimates that one to two people out of every 100 in the U.S. are intersex.

                      Bausic adds that some examples of modified anatomic features of intersex people include a clitoris that's larger than the average, a penis that is smaller than the boilerplate, or a airtight vagina.

                      7. Genderqueer

                      "Genderqueer people can identify as neither adult female nor human, both woman and man, or a combination of these genders," says Pagès. Sometimes the words "genderqueer" and "not-binary" are used interchangeably.

                      "Genderqueer is often an identity that is besides a political statement, and sometimes perceived every bit a third gender," adds Marsh.

                      8. Gender-fluid

                      Just similar yous can exist fluid in your sexual orientation of who you lot're attracted to, you can also be flexible with your gender. "Gender-fluid typically refers to someone who prefers to express either or both maleness or femaleness, and that can vary, perhaps from day to mean solar day," says Marsh.

                      "Some people'southward gender identity varies over time," adds Pagès, who also recommends looking at the Genderbread Person, a helpful resources on understanding gender, likewise as guidelines on explaining gender to others. FYI: The fluid (i.e., transformative) aspect of beingness gender-fluid can happen at any betoken in life. Yous can exist super young or a supercentenarian—it doesn't only occur during a particular time in your lifespan.

                      9. Gender Not-befitting

                      "Gender not-conformity refers to when someone does not conform to their cultural gender norms," says Marsh. It could be something equally minute as an Assigned Male At Nascency (AMAB) person wearing nail polish, Marsh explains. That could be considered gender non-befitting, since nail shine is typically attributed to female person-presenting people in our guild. Or, on a larger calibration, the person might not cull to identify with "he/him" or "she/her" pronouns.

                      Since all the specifics of these phrases may commencement to experience similar, Marsh provides some more useful intel: "The terms gender non-conforming, genderqueer, gender-fluid, and not-binary typically fall under the umbrella of transgender, or those persons who practice not identify as cisgender," says Marsh. But they don't all mean the verbal same affair, then information technology'south nonetheless of import to bank check in with people to see what labels they prefer.

                      10. Gender-Expansive

                      You lot may have heard of "gender not-conforming," merely the phrase "gender-expansive" is coming to be the preferred choice amid LGTBQIA+ people.

                      "Gender non-conforming was a term previously used, that however shows up in research and articles today, insinuating something is 'wrong' with a person if they are participating in something in society that is 'non-conforming' of the norm," says Golob. Essentially, this term is cis-normative, she points out. "Gender-expansive is the term to use instead that allows folks creativity and freedom to non fit into a societal norm," Golob says.

                      11. Agender

                      "Agender ways that one does not place with any gender," says Marsh. "They do not feel a sense of male person or female," adds Marsh, noting that like other not-cisgender groups, they may ask to be addressed using the pronouns "they" or "them" rather than "he" or "she."

                      Golob elaborates that "Agender tin also hateful existence gender-free, gender-blank, or genderless," with no connection to any gender in particular.

                      12. Gendervoid

                      "Gendervoid is a term that is similar to agender, but specifically refers to non simply a lack of gender identity, but also a sense of loss or a void in not feeling that gender identity," explains Marsh. For gendervoid people, they feel like they don't experience or aren't able to feel their gender.

                      It may exist helpful to remember, in curt, that "biological sex is physical, while gender is feeling," as Golob puts it. There'due south no pop quiz on these terms, we promise, merely becoming familiar with all gender identities is part of being a thoughtful human, no thing where yous fall on the gender spectrum.

                      13. Bigender

                      Not to be confused with bisexual, existence bigender means "having two gender identities that can be experienced and expressed separately, or that tin can blend and be experienced simultaneously," says Leech. "Two gender identities can hateful identifying as a man and woman, but it can also hateful identifying as a man or adult female and gender-neutral or agender."

                      14. Omnigender

                      "Someone who is omnigender identifies with all genders, each gender existence experienced equally separate with singled-out qualities and characteristics," explains Leech. "People who identify as omnigender are often gender-fluid, moving amongst the genders depending on what feels authentic to who they are at a given moment or period in time."

                      xv. Pangender

                      According to Leech, omnigender and pangender are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are a few primal differences between the two. "Someone who is pangender identifies with, experiences, and 'is' all genders at one time," she says. "All genders exist alongside one another simultaneously."

                      xvi. Two-spirit

                      This term is used past some Indigenous communities to refer to someone who "identifies equally having a tertiary gender, encompassing both a masculine and feminine spirit or essence," Leech explains, calculation that non-Indigenous people should not use this term.