There are many ways to experience gender that exist outside the binary. Nowadays, there are a variety of terms you might use to describe your gender identity, from cisgender to non-binary and many more. There is also a growing awareness of intersex people, those born with variations in their sex traits. That said, language is always evolving and growing, and labels can be tricky. If you’re new to conversations about gender identity, it can be tough to figure out which labels you feel best represent you (and keep up with new emerging terms).
Regardless of where you are on your gender education journey, learning about the nuances of gender identity language is important, says Renée Zavislak, LMFT, a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice and host of Psycho Therapist: The Podcast. “The core concept and governing value in the LGBTQ+ community is self-determination—that is, every person’s right to make their own choices about gender and sexual identity, rather than having those identities dictated by societal norms or laws,” she says. And a big part of honoring others’ self-determination is respecting the language and terms they use to identify themselves.
Even if you’re not part of the LGBTQ+ community, understanding gender-related terms is a key part of being a good ally. “For queer folks, the misalignment between their sense of self and the identity assigned at birth is profoundly painful; the most powerful balm against this pain is support and validation from friends and family,” Zavislak says.
As a quick 101, there are different spectrums to gender identity, sex, gender expression, and sexual orientation (but remember, these terms aren’t black-and-white).
Biological sex is the sex we were assigned at birth based on genitals. Gender identity refers to how a person identifies.
“The spectrum runs from male to female with non-binary, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, and other non-binary identities in between—these depend entirely on self-determination,” Zavislak explains.
Gender expression is how a person presents themselves. Think clothes, styling, accessories, and mannerisms, Zavislak says. You might see this described in terms of “masculine to feminine with various degrees of androgyny in the middle.”
Sexual orientation refers to who a person is sexually attracted to. "The spectrum might include bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and other sexual identities,” Zavislak says.
Ready to dive in deeper? Here are 20 terms essential to creating a more inclusive and respectful environment for everyone.
20 Gender Identity Terms to Know
1. Agender
A person who identifies as agender might experience an “absence of any gender feelings or affiliation,” says Courtney D’Allaird, MA, the founding coordinator of the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center at the University of Albany. (Remember that “a” as a prefix means “absence of something,” so agender = absence of gender.) The term “gendervoid” is also sometimes used to describe the absence of gender.
2. Gender nonconforming
Gender nonconforming is an umbrella term that includes “anyone or anything that challenges gender expectations,” says D’Allaird. In other words, gender nonconforming people “challenge and subvert gender stereotypes and expectations.” In some societies, there is a set of expectations that come with each gender—like women wear pink and men wear blue—but those who identify as gender nonconforming reject that way of thinking entirely.
3. Sex
Sex often refers to what doctors (and society) assign a person at birth based on their genitals, whether male or female. Licensed psychologist and LGBTQ+ sex educator Liz Powell, PhD, notes that defining sex versus gender is a complicated area.
“But in context, if we’re talking about someone’s sex, we’re talking about what they were assigned at birth, based on external genitalia,” they clarify. For the sake of most discussion, this is a helpful way to frame it.
4. Gender
While sex is based on biology, chromosomes, and what doctors assign at birth and write on the birth certificate, gender is a social construct, meaning something that was created by humanity, complete with its own set of “rules” and expectations.
As such, individuals may identify with a different gender than what they were assigned at birth. As Powell explains it: “Gender is someone’s own internal understanding about whether they are a man or a woman, something in between, or none of those things.”
5. Cisgender
Cis, which is short for “cisgender,” refers to people whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. So if you were born with a penis and you feel and consider yourself to be male, you’d be a cisgender male.
6. Cishet
Cishet is short for “cisgender heterosexual,” or someone who is both cis and straight. (Note: “Straight” is not a gender term—it’s a way of defining your sexual orientation. However, it’s relevant to gender when combined with “cisgender.”)
7. Transgender
Trans is an abbreviation of “transgender” and refers to someone whose gender does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. “Trans is not aligned with what was determined [at birth], where cis is aligned with what was determined,” says therapist Kelly Wise, PhD, who also identifies as trans.
Although trans identity can mean that a person has transitioned, being trans is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures, according to GLAAD. Meaning, a person might call themselves trans the minute they realize their gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.
8. Queer
This term has been reclaimed by many people in the LGBTQ community. According to the HRC, “queer” is often used as a catch-all to describe people who don’t identify as exclusively straight—and/or folks who have non-binary or gender-expansive identities.
9. Genderqueer
Genderqueer refers to someone who does not subscribe to the traditional gender binary. A genderqueer person may identify as neither gender, both, or a combination. They might even enjoy playing with that political and activist sense of the experience of expressed gender, Powell says.
“I identify as genderqueer, because a lot of times I feel like a woman, and a lot of times I feel like a dude who feels like wearing women’s clothes. Sometimes I feel like a dude who doesn’t wear women’s clothes. I think that it’s a complicated thing,” Powell says.
10. Gender fluid
Someone who is gender fluid feels that their gender can change and vary over time. “People who are gender fluid find themselves moving between different gender presentations and identifications,” Powell says. “They may identify as a man or masculine one day and as femme, woman, or feminine another day and move between these expressions of their gender.” They may use gender-neutral pronouns such as they/them, as can non-binary or genderqueer people.
11. Non-binary
Non-binary is an umbrella term for people whose gender is not just male or female, Powell explains. And (staying on the theme) this word may have different meanings to different people. “Non-binary is anyone…outside of gender or someone who is transgender or people who don’t fall strictly within the binary at all,” Powell says. Someone can be trans, gender fluid, genderqueer, and non-binary all at the same time.
12. Intersex
Intersex traits are completely separate from gender identity. People who are intersex are born with variations in their sex traits such as chromosomes, hormones and/or reproductive anatomy. According to interACT, Advocates for Intersex Youth, there is no way to “look” intersex. Every person is different, and there are over 40 medical terms for the different ways sex anatomy might develop. Intersex children are typically raised male or female and may or may not ultimately identify with the gender they are assigned at birth. That is why it's important to postpone "normalizing" genital surgeries at birth until a person can make their own informed decision.
13. Orientation
Sexual orientation is completely separate from gender identity. One refers to who you’re attracted to, while the other refers to your gender. This is important and often misunderstood. While someone who is non-binary or trans may identify as gay or bisexual, various gender identities can also have a heterosexual sexual orientation.
14. Bigender
Bigender is a gender-expansive term that describes a person who is two genders, sex educator Goody Howard, LCSW, previously told Cosmo. For example, someone might alternate between being feminine or masculine, but they can also be both simultaneously. (Also, remember that being bigender is a gender identity, and doesn’t have to do with sexuality!)
15. Demigender
People who identify as demigender feel partially connected to either male or female gender while primarily identifying otherwise, Zavislak says. “For example, someone who identifies as ‘demigirl’ feels partially connected to the female gender identity, but identifies primarily as non-binary or another gender,” she explains. “Similarly, ‘demiboys’ identify as non-binary—or a gender other than male—but feels partly or sometimes male.”
Additionally, the term “demifluid” has been adopted by those who identify primarily as fixed male or female, but sometimes experience gender fluidity, Zavislak says.
16. Gender-Expansive
This term is often used as an umbrella term when referring to people who are exploring the possibilities of their gender expression and/or gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign. This term refers to having a “wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or expression than typically associated with the binary system,” per the HRC.
17. Polygender
“Poly” means “many,” so a person who is polygender experiences many gender identities. Similar to other terms on this list, polygender is a gender that exists outside the binary of man/woman and male/female. Some polygender folks shift between genders while others are multiple genders simultaneously, per the Living Language Guide at Boston University Diversity and Inclusion.
18. Pangender
Those who identify as pangender identify with all genders on the spectrum, says Zavislak. Their identities may be fluid, move among different genders, or they may feel connected to all genders all the time.
19. Omnigender
Those who use the term "omnigender" identify with many, but not all, genders, says Zavislak. While omnigender folks may move with some fluidity among genders, they generally have a more “fixed” identity, she explains (whereas pangender folks, for instance, might feel more ambivalent about their gender identity).
20. Two-Spirit
This is an adjective used by some Indigenous and First Nations people as an umbrella term to describe folks who aren’t straight and/or cisgender, according to GLAAD. The term should not be used to describe people who are not Indigenous (and you should only use it for an Indigenous person if they use it to describe themselves). As GLAAD notes, it’s also important to note that many Indigenous communities have specific words in their language to describe these experiences, but some don’t.
