Terms to know

2-Spirit: See entry for Two-Spirit below.

2SLGBTQIA+: An acronym for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and other gender identities and sexual orientations not represented in the initialism.

Agender: A term that often describes someone who falls under the nonbinary umbrella and does not have a gender.

Ally: A term used to describe someone who is actively supportive of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as those within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who support each other (e.g., a lesbian who is an ally to the bisexual community).

Asexual (Ace): Someone who does not experience sexual attraction is asexual. Asexual people may still have romantic attraction, and may be sexually active.

Assigned sex at birth: The classification of a person at birth as male, female, or intersex, based on biological characteristics, including chromosomes, hormones, external genitalia, and reproductive organs.

Assigned female at birth (AFAB): A person who is assigned female when they are born, based on genitalia.

Assigned male at birth (AMAB): A person who is assigned male when they are born, based on genitalia.

Bigender: A nonbinary gender or word to describe someone’s gender that often means someone who has two genders. These genders can be, but are not always, male and female.

Biphobia: The fear and hatred of, or discomfort with, people who love and are sexually attracted to more than one gender.

Bisexual: A person emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to more than one sex, gender, or gender identity—though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree. Sometimes used interchangeably with pansexual.

Cisgender: Individuals who have a gender identity that matches their sex assigned at birth. This is independent of sexual orientation.

Coming out: The process in which a person first acknowledges, accepts, and appreciates their sexual orientation or gender identity and begins to share that with others.

Deadnaming: Deadnaming occurs when someone, intentionally or not, refers to a person who is transgender by the name they used before they transitioned. It can be invalidating and can cause someone to feel like you don’t respect their identity, that you don’t support their transition, or that you don’t wish to put in the effort to make this necessary change.

Demisexual: People who only feel sexually attracted to someone when they have an emotional bond with the person are demisexual.

Dysphoria (Gender dysphoria): A profound, persistent state of distress or pain that can impair daily life functioning. It can occur when a person’s gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth.

Gay: A person who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to members of the same gender. Men, women, and nonbinary people may use this term to describe themselves.

Gender: Gender is an individual and social experience of being a man, a woman, both, or neither. Social norms, expectations, and roles related to gender can shift over time.

Gender-affirming care/surgery or transition-related medical care: A broad term for health care that transgender people may pursue, including counselling, hormone replacement therapy, and surgical treatments. Not all transgender people pursue every form of medical treatment available. Many choose not to have all medical interventions, and others never receive medical care of any kind due to cost, access, or personal choice.

Gender binary: The idea that there are only two genders (female or male) and the belief that a person must be strictly gendered as either one or the other.

Gender dysphoria: A feeling of discomfort or distress that can occur when a person's gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender dysphoria is not simply a matter of not conforming to gender stereotypes; it's a deep-seated unease related to the mismatch between one's internal sense of gender and the physical characteristics or societal expectations associated with their assigned sex.

Gender euphoria: A feeling of joy, happiness, or well-being experienced when one's gender identity is affirmed or expressed.

Gender expression: The way a person presents and communicates their gender. Gender can be expressed through clothing, speech, body language, hairstyle, voice, bodily behaviours, mannerisms, gait, etc.

Genderfluid: A person who does not identify with a single fixed gender or who has a fluid or changing gender identity. Someone who is gender fluid may feel more feminine at some times, and more masculine at other times.

Gender identity: An individual’s internal and individual experience of their gender. This could include an internal sense of being a woman, a man, both, or neither. One’s gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.

Gender-neutral pronouns: Gender-neutral pronouns provide an identity for a singular person who does not identify as he/him or she/her. They/them is one of the most common, although there are others. If you’re uncertain, it’s acceptable to offer your pronouns and ask the person for theirs.

Gender nonconforming: A broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that conforms to the traditional expectations of their gender, or whose gender expression does not fit neatly into a category. While many also identify as transgender, not all gender nonconforming people do.

Genderqueer: A person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions, and may identify with both, neither, or a combination of female and male genders.

Homophobia: The fear and hatred of—or discomfort with—people who are attracted to members of the same sex.

Intersex: A general term used when a person is born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies.

LGBTQ+/LGBTQ2S+: An acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. See also 2SLGBTQIA+.

Lesbian: A woman who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to other women. Women and nonbinary people may use this term to describe themselves.

Misgender: The act of referring to someone as a different gender from what they actually are. This often involves using gendered words that are inappropriate or the wrong pronouns. Misgendering can be very painful for the person to whom it has been done, whether intentional or not.

Nonbinary: A term used to describe individuals who experience a gender identity that is neither binary female nor male or is between or beyond both binary genders. Nonbinary is an adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Nonbinary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. While many also identify as transgender, not all nonbinary people do. Nonbinary can also be used as an umbrella term encompassing identities such as agender or bigender.

Omnisexual: Omnisexual individuals recognize the genders of potential partners, and can be sexually attracted to anyone—men or women, cis or trans, nonbinary, or binary.

Outing: Exposing someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation to others without the person’s permission. Outing someone can have serious repercussions on employment, economic stability, personal safety, or religious or family situations.

Pansexual: Pansexual individuals can be sexually attracted to anyone regardless of the person’s gender identity, sexual orientation, or gender expression.

Panromantic: A romantic attraction to people regardless of their gender. Panromantic people can be romantically attracted to people of every gender identity. People of any gender identity may identify as panromantic.

Polyamory: Engaging in multiple romantic (and typically sexual) relationships, with the consent of all the people involved.

Queer: An umbrella term for a wide variety of people across a spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities. The term “queer” was originally used in a derogatory way, but has been reclaimed by people within the community. For some, it still carries an uncomfortable sting from the past association, while others (especially young people) embrace it enthusiastically as a way to identify that they are not cisgender heterosexuals, without using specific labels.

Sexual orientation: Emotional, romantic, spiritual, or sexual attraction to others. It is an inherent or immutable, enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people. Note: An individual’s sexual orientation is independent of their gender identity. Sexual orientation and gender identity are two different aspects of a person; one does not determine the other.

Social dysphoria/euphoria: Social dysphoria is a type of gender dysphoria that refers specifically to the feeling some trans people get when others do not treat them as the correct gender. People sometimes use the term social dysphoria to distinguish between dysphoria prompted by interactions with others and dysphoria prompted by physical or internal factors, such as being uncomfortable with their bodies (gender dysphoria). In contrast, social euphoria is a feeling of happiness, satisfaction, affirmation, or “rightness” that happens when others treat them in a way that is congruent with their gender identity.

Transgender: Individuals who have a gender identity that is incongruent from their assigned sex at birth, regardless of sexual orientation. It is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender is an adjective and should not be used as a noun.

Transition: The process of transition refers to a variety of social, medical, and/or legal changes that some transgender people may pursue to affirm their gender identity. Transition is different for each individual and there is no one way to transition; it is up to the trans person to decide what is right for them. For example, social transition can involve changing one’s name (informally or legally), pronouns, or gender expression. Medical transition can involve hormones and/or gender-affirming surgery.

Two-Spirit (or 2-Spirit): Two-Spirit refers to a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit. Two-Spirit is used by some North American Indigenous people to describe their sexual, gender, and/or spiritual identity. As an umbrella term, it may encompass same-sex attraction and a wide variety of gender diversity, including people who might be described in Western culture as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, or gender fluid. This term may only be used by the Indigenous community.