In 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released the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), which replaced the outdated entry Gender Identity Disorder with Gender Dysphoria, and changed the criteria for diagnosis.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 …
The term gender expansive is increasingly being used for people who challenge cultural expectations regarding gender roles, identities, expressions or norms. Some gender-expansive individuals identify as a man or a woman, some identify as neither, and others identify as a mix of both or on a spectrum between male and female. Some express their gender in …
External manifestations of gender, expressed through one’s name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics. Society identifies these cues as masculine and feminine, although what is considered masculine and feminine changes over time and varies by culture. Typically, transgender people seek to make their gender expression align with their gender identity, rather than the …
Gender fluidity conveys a wider, more flexible range of gender expression, with interests and behaviors that may even change from day to day. Gender fluid children do not feel confined by restrictive boundaries of stereotypical expectations of girls or boys. In other words, a child may feel they are a girl some days and a …
One’s internal, deeply held sense of one’s 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 …
Outdated, avoid. See gender dysphoria.
A 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 …
A model of gender that breaks the gender binary and takes into account the infinite variations of gender.
Avoid unless used in academic writing.
An individual who intentionally does not conform to predominant binary gender roles or expression. Use only if self-referential or in a quotation where there is a compelling reason. As an adjective, gender-bending.