Assigned
Sex
Sexual/Romantic
Orientation
Gender
Identity
Gender
Presentation
Some Identities by Alphabetical Order
Gender-Fluid: a gender identity which flows between
masculine/feminine or male/female to varying degrees,
not exclusively one or the other
Agender: not identifying with gender at all
Gender-Nonconforming: not identifying or expressing
one’s gender in a way that is typical or expected in
the larger society or culture
Aggressive: a term used primarily by people of color
who were assigned female at birth and who have a
masculine gender expression/presentation
Androgyne: someone who does not identify with their
gender assigned at birth and identifies as a
combination of male/female or masculine/feminine
Aromantic: someone who does not experience romantic
attraction, but may experience sexual attraction
Asexual: someone who does not experience sexual
attraction, but may experience romantic attraction
Assigned-at-Birth: the sex category assigned at birth
by a healthcare provider
Bigender: having two distinct, separate gender
identities that change depending on mood, day, or
social environment (female one day, male another day)
Bisexual/Bi: someone who experiences sexual/romantic
attraction to both men and women
Binary-Identified: identifying ones gender within the
traditional gender binary of male/female
Cisgender/Cissexual/Cis: identifying with the gender
or sex assigned at birth; not transgender
Crossdresser: a person (often cisgender, though
sometimes transgender) who at times wears clothing
traditionally associated with a gender they do not
identify as in their daily life
Demisexual/Demi: someone who does not experience
sexual attraction outside of an intimate emotional
connection
Drag King/Queen: someone who performs drag - a
type of performance that uses gender presentation
for entertainment or to critically explore categories
of gender
FAAB: an acronym for female-assigned-at-birth;
sometimes written AFAB (assigned female at birth)
Female: someone who identifies as female; someone
who was assigned the category female at birth
Feminine/Femme: a feminine gender expression, role, or
identity
Gay: typically refers to a man who primarily or
exclusively experiences sexual/romantic attraction to
other men; can also refer to anyone who experiences
sexual/romantic attraction to people of the same
gender and/or sex
Gender Dysphoria: feelings of mental/emotional
discomfort or anguish due to not identifying with ones
gender assigned at birth
Genderqueer: someone who does not identify as
exclusively masculine/feminine or male/female, and
may or may not identify with their gender assigned at
birth
Gender-Variant: not identifying or expressing ones
gender in a way that is typical or expected in the
larger society or culture
umbrella term to refer to all identities in the
LGBTQIA+ spectrum; can also be a political
identification that rejects oppression based on sexual
and/or gender diversity. (Note: Because of its history
as a slur, the word queer can be considered
offensive to some people, depending on generation,
location, or relationship with the word.)
Stealth: passing as a man or woman and not disclosing
ones transgender experience/past
Stud: a term used by people of color, and primarily by
African Americans, who are assigned female at birth
and whose gender expression is masculine or butch.
Though many studs identify as women and with the
lesbian community, not all do.
Intersex: someone who identifies as intersex; assigned
the category intersex” at birth because their sexual
anatomy or chromosomes do not fit with the
traditional markers of "female" and "male." (Note:
Intersex-assigned infants are then often assigned
either male or female by medical providers and/or
family, a process which sometimes includes invasive
surgical procedures.)
Trans(*): the prefix trans is short for transgender;
when an asterisk is included, the word is being used in
a broad, inclusive sense to refer to the wide variety
of trans identities
Lesbian: a woman who primarily or exclusively
experiences sexual/romantic attraction to other
women
Transgender: someone who does not identify with the
gender or sex they were assigned at birth, may choose
to medically and/or socially transition to reflect
their gender identity
MAAB: an acronym for male-assigned-at-birth;
sometimes written AMAB (assigned male at birth)
Male: someone who identifies as male; assigned the
category male at birth
Man: someone who identifies as a man (regardless of
cisgender or transgender experience)
Masculine/Butch: a masculine gender expression, role,
or identity
Neutrois: someone who does not identify with their
gender assigned at birth and does not identify with a
gender category, may or may not experience body
dysphoria
Non-Binary: someone who does not identify with their
gender or sex assigned at birth and does not identify
exclusively as man or woman, masculine or feminine,
male or female
Non-Gender: someone who does not identify with their
gender assigned at birth and does not identify with
any gender identity
Pansexual: someone who experiences sexual/romantic
attraction to people across the gender spectrum
Polysexual/Poly: someone who is comfortable
(consensually) having multiple sexual relationships or
partners concurrently
Queer: someone whose sexual/romantic orientation
cannot be characterized by traditional categories such
as straight, gay, bisexual, etc; sometimes used as an
Transfeminine: someone who does not identify with
their gender assigned at birth and whose gender
identity/expression/role is feminine
Transition: a process of medically and/or socially
changing how your gender and/or sex are expressed in
order to better align with your internal sense of
your gender identity
Trans Man: someone who was assigned female at birth
and whose gender identity is man/male; sometimes
called female-to-male (FTM)
Transmasculine: someone who does not identify with
their gender assigned at birth and whose gender
identity/expression/role is masculine
Transsexual: sometimes used in an overly-medicalized
and offensive way; may also be a self-label by
someone who does not identify with their gender or
sex assigned at birth and who may or may not pursue
medical procedures to physically transition
Trans Woman: someone who was assigned male at birth
and whose gender identity is woman/female; sometimes
called male-to-female (MTF)
Two-Spirit: a modern umbrella term used by some
Native/First Nations North Americans for members of
their communities whose social gender roles, gender
expression, and/or sexual orientation do not fit
wholly into traditional categories of male or female.
The term Two-Spirit encompasses many distinct gender
identities and/or sexual orientations that are unique
linguistically and socially to each nation.
Woman: someone who identifies as a woman (regardless
of cisgender or transgender experience)
For more information about the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalitions
resources and services for the trans* community, contact:
Loftin Wilson, Transgender Services Coordinator
[email protected]