Gender Expression
Gender, Gender Expression, and Sex
- Gender is “the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex” (APA, 2012b). Gender expression is the “the physical and behavioral manifestations of one's gender identity” (Merriam-Webster, 2022). Sex is a biological assignment, “predicated on observation of genitalia and/or determination of chromosomes and anatomical structures of the body at birth, which necessarily is interpreted within a sociocultural context” (APA, 2020, p. 138).
- “There terms are generally used in an identity-first way (e.g., transgender people, TGNC people). However, there is some variation in the field; for example, clinicians often refer to individuals according to identity (self-identified) or describe gender variance, gender expansiveness, or gender diversity rather than gender nonconformity or nonbinary gender” (APA, 2020, p. 139).
- Any list of cultural identities, including this one, will not be comprehensive and will be ever-evolving. Gender and sex language is also intersectional and fluid, so expect frequent changes and nuance when researching and writing on these concepts.
- Precision and clarity are key values in bias-free language; note that this is specifically called out in some terms.
- For definitions see: GLAAD, Glossary of Terms, GLAAD Media Reference Guide 11th Edition and Merriam-Webster dictionary. Per APA (2020), it is important to “ask people from the group about which you are writing to read and comment on your material or consult self-advocacy groups to determine appropriate terminology” (p. 131). In addition to consulting this resource, writers should also consult with the communities they’re describing. When the two are in conflict, defer to the preference of the community.
Agender
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: agender people, people who are agender
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Assigned Sex
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: people whose assigned sex is…
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: birth sex, biologically male, biologically female, genetically male, genetically female.
Date of last revision: September 11, 2021
Birth Sex
Pejorative. See Assigned Sex
Boy
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: boy, for a person 12 years old or under
NOTE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PRECISION: In some cases, clarity will be helpful to fully express a person’s gender identity, as in cisgender boys or transgender boys
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Cisgender
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: cisgender women, cisgender adults, cisgender men. Cisgender is not hyphenated. Do not use cisgendered.
NOTE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PRECISION: Provide full details when relevant and available; cisgender women, cisgender adults
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Female
Definition: “Use ‘male’ and ‘female’ as adjectives (e.g., a male partner, a female experimenter) when appropriate and relevant” (APA, 2020, p. 139).
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Female (noun)
Definition: “Use ‘male’ and ‘female’ as nouns only when the age range is broad or ambiguous or to identify a transgender person’s sex assignment at birth (e.g., ‘person assigned female at birth’ is correct, not ‘person assigned girl at birth’). Otherwise, avoid using ‘male’ and ‘female’ as nouns and instead use the specific nouns for people of different ages (e.g., women)” (APA, 2020, p. 139).
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Gender Creative
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: gender-creative people, people who are gender creative
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Gender Expression
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: The external manifestations of gender, expressed through a person's name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, voice, and/or behavior (GLAAD).
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Gender Fluid
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: gender-fluid people, people who are gender fluid
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Gender Identity
Definition: A person's internal, deeply held knowledge of their own gender. - GLAAD
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: A person's internal, deeply held knowledge of their own gender (GLAAD).
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Gender Neutral
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: gender-neutral people, people who are gender neutral
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Gender Nonbinary
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: gender-nonbinary people, people who are gender nonbinary
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Gender Nonconforming
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: gender-nonconforming people, people who are gender nonconforming
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: September 10, 2021
Girl
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: girl (for a person 12 years old or under, per APA, 2020, p. 135)
NOTE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PRECISION: In some cases, clarity will be helpful to fully express a person’s gender identity, as in cisgender girls or transgender girls
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Intersex
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: intersex person
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: hermaphrodite, "Disorders of Sex Development." In 2005, the medical community formally introduced the term "disorders of sex development," or "DSD" for short. GLAAD & InterACT
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Male (adjective)
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: “Use ‘male’ and ‘female’ as adjectives (e.g., a male partner, a female experimenter) when appropriate and relevant” (APA, 2020, p. 139).
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Male (noun)
Definition: “Use ‘male’ and ‘female’ as nouns only when the age range is broad or ambiguous or to identify a transgender person’s sex assignment at birth (e.g., ‘person assigned female at birth’ is correct, not ‘person assigned girl at birth’). Otherwise, avoid using ‘male’ and ‘female’ as nouns and instead use the specific nouns for people of different ages (e.g., women)” (APA, 2020, p. 139).
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Man/Men
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: man, men
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Nonbinary
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: nonbinary
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Pronouns
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: pronouns, identified pronouns
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: preferred pronouns
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Sex Assigned at Birth
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: sex assigned at birth
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: birth sex, natal sex
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Transgender
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: transgender person, transgender woman, transgender man
NOTE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF PRECISION: Transgender people sometimes hold a binary gender and sometimes do not. The nouns used with transgender should be precise in order to align with the person’s identity.
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: transgendered, tranny, transvestite, transsexual, “Identifies as…”, Female-to-male, or male-to-female, cross-dresser. Terms to avoid when referring to gender confirmation surgeries (GCS) – Sex change, pre-operative, post-operative, sex reassignment surgery. Should generally not focus on surgeries (GLAAD).
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022
Women
Current, culturally sensitive term(s) when writing about members of the community: women for a person 18 years old or under, per APA, 2020, p. 135
Related search terms: n/a
Inaccurate, outdated, or pejorative terms: unknown
Date of last revision: May 6, 2022