'Transgender' (often abbreviated to ‘trans’) is used as an inclusive umbrella term to describe anyone who feels that the gender assigned to them at birth based on their genitalia fails to describe them.
This umbrella includes (but is not limited to!) the following identities:
It should be noted that transgender is a very broad term, and it encompasses many different experiences with distinct (though often overlapping) sets of issues. Whether or not an individual subscribes to the term transgender is subject to self-definition. There is no “right” way to be trans.
By “Trans / Transgender” we are referring to all people who consider themselves to fall under the trans / transgender and gender variant umbrella. This includes, but is not limited to: trans women, trans men, transsexual men and transsexual women, non-binary, androgyne, polygender, agender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, genderless, gender questioning, gender diverse, cross-dressing and transvestite people, and anyone who feels that the gender assigned to them at birth incompletely describes or does not at all describe their own personal (a)gender identity. We also include those who reject the western division of cis/trans labels who are gender non-conforming.
More information on these identities can be found on our Figuring Things Out page.
This umbrella includes (but is not limited to!) the following identities:
- Non-binary - a person who identifies as neither a man nor a woman;
- Transsexual - an older term, now considered offensive by some, which some choose to identify with. These are usually people who have permanently changed or seek to change their bodies through medical procedures
- Intersex people - those born with a physical sex anatomy that does not fit medical norms for female or male bodies - are often included under the trans umbrella, although often face different forms of marginalisation that are not always fully represented within the general trans community. Some intersex people identify as trans while others do not because they feel that their condition does not relate to gender but rather to physical sex.
It should be noted that transgender is a very broad term, and it encompasses many different experiences with distinct (though often overlapping) sets of issues. Whether or not an individual subscribes to the term transgender is subject to self-definition. There is no “right” way to be trans.
By “Trans / Transgender” we are referring to all people who consider themselves to fall under the trans / transgender and gender variant umbrella. This includes, but is not limited to: trans women, trans men, transsexual men and transsexual women, non-binary, androgyne, polygender, agender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, genderless, gender questioning, gender diverse, cross-dressing and transvestite people, and anyone who feels that the gender assigned to them at birth incompletely describes or does not at all describe their own personal (a)gender identity. We also include those who reject the western division of cis/trans labels who are gender non-conforming.
More information on these identities can be found on our Figuring Things Out page.
