gaythe adjective used to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions are to people of the same gender (e.g., gay man, gay people). sometimes lesbian (n. or adj.) is the preferred term for women. avoid identifying gay people as "homosexuals," an outdated term considered derogatory and offensive to many lesbian and gay people.
gender creativepeople, usually children, who don’t conform to gender stereotypes but also don’t necessarily identify as transgender. they are sometimes also called gender non-conforming.
gender dysphoriain 2013, the american psychiatric association released the fifth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-v), which replaced the outdated entry "gender identity disorder" with gender dysphoria, and changed the criteria for diagnosis. the necessity of a psychiatric diagnosis remains controversial, as both psychiatric and medical authorities recommend individualized medical treatment through hormones and/or surgeries to treat gender dysphoria. some transgender advocates believe the inclusion of gender dysphoria in the dsm is necessary in order to advocate for health insurance that covers the medically necessary treatment recommended for transgender people.
gender expressionexternal manifestations of gender, expressed through a person's name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, and/or body characteristics. society identifies these cues as masculine and feminine, although what is considered masculine or feminine changes over time and varies by culture. typically, transgender people seek to align their gender expression with their gender identity, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.
gender identitya person's internal, deeply held sense of their gender. for transgender people, their own internal gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. most people have a gender identity of man or woman (or boy or girl). for some people, their gender identity does not fit neatly into one of those two choices (see non-binary and/or genderqueer). unlike gender expression, gender identity is not visible to others.
gender non-conforminga term used to describe some people whose gender expression is different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity. please note that not all gender non-conforming people identify as transgender, nor are all transgender people gender non-conforming. many people have gender expressions that are not entirely conventional – that fact alone does not make them transgender. many transgender men and women have gender expressions that are conventionally masculine or feminine. simply being transgender does not make someone gender non-conforming. the term is not a synonym for transgender or transsexual and should only be used if someone self-identifies as gender non-conforming.
gender normativea synonym for cisgender, gender straight people are those whose gender identity matches up with expectations of their sex assigned at birth.
gender questioninga person who is questioning their current gender identity and/or exploring other identities and presentations.
gender variantlike gender nonconforming, gender variant is an umbrella term used for anyone who is not cisgender. the term is sometimes considered problematic considering it implies that non-binary genders are deviations from the two “natural” genders.
gender-fluidsomeone for whom gender identity and presentation is a spectrum. a gender-fluid person doesn’t confine themself to one gender, or even a few. instead, they may fluctuate between presenting as feminine, masculine, neither, or both.
gynesexualbeing primarily sexually, aesthetically, and/or romantically attracted to femininity.