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Glossary of Must-Know Gender Identity Terms

Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.

Daniella Amato is a biomedical scientist and fact-checker with expertise in pharmaceuticals and clinical research.

Verywell / Alex Dos Diaz

A Through E

F through l, m through r, s through z.

Gender identity terms are words that are used to help convey meaning related to how people identify with particular genders regardless of their sex assignment at birth. While it may seem arbitrary to some people, the words that we use are extremely important as they can be used to either exclude or empower. Choosing words carefully when we speak can help to affirm someone’s identity and challenge discrimination against them.

On the other hand, choosing not to use the words someone prefers can be disempowering and demeaning. To help you recognize the words that are best in each situation and be an ally , it helps to familiarize yourself with common terms. Given that terms are also constantly changing, it can be helpful to ask someone how they self-identify to make sure that you are using the language that they prefer and that feels affirming to them.

You may feel awkward or uncomfortable asking someone their pronouns , for example, but rest assured that people are generally happy to educate to ensure they are identified correctly.

In addition, terms may not be standard across cultures, languages, and different groups of people. In particular, if you grew up as part of Gen X or an older generation, chances are that all of these terms feel somewhat new to you. While you may feel that you are at a disadvantage in terms of knowing what to say, there’s no need to worry that you are going to say the wrong thing if you are willing to learn.

While in the past people were accustomed to speaking in binary language (male vs. female gender matching assigned sex only), this terminology ignored people who experience a sense of gender that doesn’t fit into societal norms. This also reflected a limited understanding of gender that doesn’t account for the variations of identities that we know to exist today.

Below is a glossary of terms to help you familiarize yourself with the different words and meanings that you may encounter. Remember that these terms are constantly changing and it's important to stay up-to-date by asking people about their preferred terms.

AFAB: Acronym with the meaning “assigned female at birth.”

AMAB: Acronym with the meaning “assigned male at birth.”

Agender: Referring to a person who does not identify with any gender identities, most people who use agender don't feel that they have a gender at all.

Ally: Ally is a term to describe anyone who actively and fully supports the LGBTQIA+ community.

Androgynous: Referring to a person with a gender identity or presentation that is neutral or has both masculine and feminine parts. Synonyms include null-gender, androgyne, genderless, and neutrosis.

Assigned Sex at Birth: A medical assignment given at birth based on physical characteristics of the body. This can refer to male, female, or also intersex.

Bigender : Referring to a person who identifies with two different genders at the same time.

Body Dysphoria: Discomfort about the body that is related to gender identity and misalignment with physical characteristics such as anatomy, secondary sex characteristics, reproductive organs, etc.

Cisgender or Cisnormativity: A person whose gender identity or subconscious sex aligns with the sex that they were assigned at birth. For example, a person assigned the sex of a male at birth who identifies as male gender would be considered cisgender. Similarly, a person assigned the sex of female at birth and who identifies as female gender would be cisgender .

Most people are cisgender and so this is considered the “norm,” which can lead to systemic and unintentional prejudice against trans people in society. However, cisgender individuals can also be gender non-conforming . The Latin prefix “cis” means “on the same side.”

Cisgender Privilege : Referring to the experience of never having one’s natural sexual identity be questioned by society. This leads to the behavior of taking for granted that everyone has the same life experience and a lack of struggle with their gender identity.

Coming out: The ongoing process of disclosing one's gender identity to oneself and others (e.g., with friends, at work, with family).

Cross-Dresser: A person who wears clothing that is not typical for their gender. Usually, the term is used for men who prefer to dress in women’s clothing. This may be done for self-expression or other reasons. Synonyms include transvestite or drag queen. Being a cross-dresser does not automatically equal being transgender, some people may just do this to express themselves.

Deadname: Name assigned at birth that the individual does not identify with. Deadnames reflect the idea that the name is no longer how the person identifies, hence the word “dead.” Being deadnamed can cause trans people to experience dysphoria.

Demigender/Demiboy/Demigirl: The prefix “demi” indicates a person who has the experience of partially identifying with a particular gender and includes those who may be nonbinary. Other related terms include demienby and demitrans.

Family of choice: The circle of friends, partners, etc. that people who are LGBTQIA+ choose to associate with because they provide validation, support, and a feeling of belonging that they may be missing in their biological family.

Female-to-male (FTM): Referring to people who were assigned female at birth but who identify as male. This may or may not involve changing the body through medical procedures or surgeries.

Feminine-of-center: Referring to a person who identifies with a feminine gender expression regardless of whether they consider themself a woman or were assigned the sex of female at birth.

Feminine-presenting: Referring to a person with an outward gender expression that appears feminine. For example, this could be shown through style, mannerisms, body language, etc.

Femme: Referring to a person with a gender identity or expression that leans toward being feminine in general. A person who is femme does not necessarily identify as a woman and is not necessarily assigned the female sex at birth by a doctor.

Gender Affirmation Surgery: Surgery to affirm an individual’s gender identity that involves changing primary or secondary sex characteristics. This can be necessary to alleviate gender dysphoria.

Gender Apathetic: Referring to a person who does not care about their gender nor how they appear to others in terms of their gender. In other words, they do not identify with any particular gender.

Gender Binary: A binary division of gender into only two types (man or woman) which is expected to match the sex assigned at birth (male, female, or intersex). This system does not allow for people who identify with a gender that does not fit the binary system or people who feel their gender is fluid rather than fixed.

Gender Conforming: Referring to a person who follows the rules of society about how genders should act, behave, and appear to others.

Gender Dysphoria: A medical diagnosis and term to reflect the distress experienced by individuals who have a misalignment between their sex assigned at birth and the gender that they identify with internally. This means that a person doesn’t feel right about their body parts, physical characteristics, or societal interactions in terms of their internal experience of gender.

Gender Expansive: Referring to people who work to make culture more inclusive in terms of gender expression, gender roles, and gender norms in society.

Gender Expression: The way that a person publicly expresses their gender as masculine, feminine, androgynous, etc. For example, gender can be expressed through their clothing, hair and makeup, body language, chosen name, pronouns, mannerisms, interests, etc.

For trans people, they may also physically alter their body through medical interventions to match their internal gender identity such as hormone therapy or surgery. Also known as gender presentation.

Gender Bender: Referring to an attack on stereotypes about gender that questions norms and expectations in society. May also be referred to as a genderf***.

Genderfluid: Referring to a person who shifts between genders or who feels as though their gender changes over time either rapidly or gradually.

Gender Identity: A core sense of the self as being a woman, man, or neither. This does not always align with the sex assigned at birth and can develop and change over time. It also cannot be assumed based on outward physical characteristics.

Gender-Inclusive Pronouns: Pronouns that are neutral and can be used by both transgender and cisgender people. For example, the words they, them, and theirs when used to refer to a single person are gender-neutral pronouns.

Gender Minority: Referring to people who are transgender or gender non-conforming and are in the minority in relation to society as a whole in terms of the binary view of gender.

Gender Non-conforming (gender variant, genderqueer): People whose gender expression does not follow the gender norms or societal expectations for the sex they were given at birth or their perceived sex. This includes people who are androgynous , feminine men, masculine women, etc. This can include trans people but not all people who are gender non-conforming identify as trans. People of any gender can be gender nonconforming (e.g., cis, nonbinary, trans).

Gender Norms: The cultural and social norms assigned to women and men regarding clothing, appearance, roles, and behavior. For example, women are expected to behave more passively than men, while men are expected to be more dominant than women. People who do not fit gender norms may be singled out (e.g., an overly feminine man or a dominant woman).

Gender Queer: Referring to a person who does not align with the gender binary of man vs. woman.

Gender Questioning: Referring to a person who is questioning aspects of their gender such as their gender identity or gender expression.

Gender Roles: Societal norms about what it means to belong to a certain gender. These can change over time and refer to behaviors, interests, etc. They may also differ across cultures.

Gender Outlaw: A person who does not follow the rules of society as far as being defined in a binary way (male vs. female).

Graygender: Referring to a person who does not experience a strong pull toward any particular gender identity or expression.

Intergender: Referring to a person who does not experience one gender, but rather falls between male and female gender identities.

Internalized Transphobia: Feeling uncomfortable with oneself because of having transgender feelings or a gender identity that does not match one’s assigned sex at birth or the gender roles of society.

Intersex: A person born with characteristics that are not easily categorized as male or female (e.g., reproductive organs, chromosomes, hormones). For example, a man could be born with ovaries instead of testes or a woman could be born with XY chromosomes. Intersex occurs at a rate of about one in 1500 births but most people are assigned either male or female sex at birth regardless of being intersex. Intersex people may identify with their assigned sex, identify with the opposite sex, or identify as intersex. They do not usually identify as trans (transgender or transsexual).

LGBTTTIQ: An acronym representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, two-spirit, intersex, and queer.

LGBT: An acronym representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender.

LGBTQIA+: An acronym representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/ally, etc.

LGBTQ+ : An acronym representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, etc. This acronym is internationally recognized.

LGBTQ2: An acronym representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and two-spirit.

LGBTI: An acronym representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex.

“Lived” Gender Identity: The combination of an internal gender identity and how it is publicly expressed (gender expression) in daily life such as when shopping, at work, when in the community, etc.

Male-to-female (MTF): Referring to people who were assigned male at birth but who identify as female. This may or may not involve changing the body through medical procedures.

Masculine-of-Center: People who identify as masculine. These individuals may or may not identify as a man. Being masculine-of-center does not indicate a person’s assigned sex at birth.

Masculine-presenting: People with a gender expression that they consider to be masculine. This includes outward expression through such things as body language, mannerisms, physical characteristics, and style.  This term does not indicate anything about assigned sex at birth.

Maverique: A person who experiences their gender identity to be separate from current categories and descriptions.

Misgender: Calling someone by the wrong pronoun or using language that is not inclusive to their gender identity.

Multi-gender: People who identify with more than one gender. This includes people who identify as bigender, trigender, pangender, polygender, and in some cases, genderfluid.

Neutrois: People who have a gender that is neither male nor female. This includes nonbinary, genderless, genderfluid, and agender identities.

Nonbinary: Nonbinary (sometimes called enby or nb) is an umbrella term for anyone who falls outside the gender binary of male or female. Some people simply identify as non-binary and some identify as a specific type of nonbinary identity. Examples include genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, bigender, etc.

Novigender: A gender identity used to describe the experience of people who don’t feel that their gender can be described using existing categories due to its complexity.

Out or Out of the Closet: Being open about one’s gender identity with others.

Outing Someone: Outing someone means telling a person about someone else's gender identity or sexuality when they may not be out yet. Ex. My friend Stacy told her parents I'm trans when I didn't want them to know yet. Outing someone can be very harmful as they might not be in a safe environment to come out on their own.

Omnigender: A person who identifies with all gender identities.

Pangender: A gender identity that involves experiencing many different gender identities simultaneously.

Passing: The experience of “passing” for one’s gender identity. For example, a transgender individual may be accepted by strangers as being the gender that they identify with even when this is different from their assigned sex at birth. This typically involves cues originating from physical characteristics, behaviors, and mannerisms.

Polygender and Pangender: The experience of displaying different parts from multiple gender identities.

Queer: Previously used as a derogatory term for transgender and transsexual individuals, which has since been reclaimed by the community to display their identities with pride .

Questioning: People who are in the process of questioning their gender identity and wish to explore different options.

Sex: A classification system assigned at birth based on a person’s physical characteristics, reproductive systems, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary sex characteristics. Sex is generally classified at birth as male, female, or intersex based on the appearance of the external genitalia. If these are ambiguous, sex is assigned based on internal genitalia, hormones, and chromosomes. Sex is generally recorded on the birth certificate but can sometimes be changed on this document as well as on other legal documents such as a driver’s license.

Sex Assigned at Birth: The sex assigned to a person at birth based on the existing classification system.

Social Dysphoria: A type of gender dysphoria that arises from distress about how other people label, interact with or perceive an individual. It can also be a result of one’s own behavior that is at odds with their gender identity.

Third Gender: The term third gender comes from native and non-Western cultures. It refers to a gender category that does not divide simply into male or female.

Trans Man/Trans Woman: A trans man is someone who was assigned the sex of “female” at birth but who identifies as a man (also known as female-to-male or FTM). A trans woman is someone who was assigned the sex of “male” at birth but who identifies as a woman (also known as male-to-female or MTF).

Transfeminine: Having a feminine gender identity but being assigned a different sex at birth.

Transgender/Trans: Transgender is as an umbrella term for anyone who identifies as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. This includes trans men or women and non-binary identities such as genderfluid, genderqueer, and agender.

Transitioning: Activities engaged in by trans individuals to affirm their gender identity such as changing their name, clothing, pronouns, sex designation, etc. This can include medical treatments such as hormone therapy, sex reassignment surgery, etc. This process is different for every person and the time it takes and activities that are engaged in are not universal.

Transmasculine: Having a masculine gender identity but being assigned a different sex at birth.

Transpositive: This term refers to the opposite of transphobia. This type of attitude is validating and accepting of transsexual and transgender individuals and celebrates their rights.

Transsexual: A person whose gender identity is different from the sex that they were assigned at birth. Transsexual generally means the individual has had gender-affirming surgeries and has fully gone through with their transition.

Transphobia: Intolerance, fear, aversion, prejudice, harassment, discrimination, violence, or hatred aimed at trans individuals and trans communities based on stereotypes and misconceptions.

Trigender: The experience of having three gender identities at the same time.

Two-Spirit: Two-Spirit is an important term in many indigenous cultures. It has no set definition but is mainly used to describe a spiritual view of gender or sexuality. It can be used to describe sexual orientation, gender identity, or spiritual identity. It is a term specific to Indigenous cultures and using it as a non-indigenous person would be cultural appropriation.

A Word From Verywell

Remember that terms are constantly changing and that it is important to keep current and ask people what terms they prefer when you are unsure. Although it may feel confusing, using the terms that affirm a person’s gender identity is no different than letting someone know that you care enough to understand things from their perspective.

Those who are cisgender may experience a type of privilege in that they do not understand what it is like to live with a gender identity that is outside the norm. Rather than trying to understand things through your own set of life experiences and views, it’s important to acknowledge that you can’t possibly understand what it might be like to live as a transgender person or someone with a gender identity that goes against the norm.

In these cases, it is best to defer to someone else’s personal experience of what it is like to live their life and what would help them the most. If someone shares their preferred pronouns with you, keep them in mind the same way that you would if they had told you their first name.

Government of Canada. Gender and Sexual Diversity Glossary .

Persad I. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Glossary .

Ontario Human Rights Commission. Appendix B. Glossary for Understanding Gender Identity and Expression .

Government of Canada. LGBTQ2 Terminology. Glossary and Common Acronyms .

By Arlin Cuncic, MA Arlin Cuncic, MA, is the author of The Anxiety Workbook and founder of the website About Social Anxiety. She has a Master's degree in clinical psychology.

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Definition of gender reassignment noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

gender reassignment

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What is gender reassignment

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A decision to undertake gender reassignment is made when an individual feels that his or her gender at birth does not match their gender identity. This is called ‘gender dysphoria’ and is a recognised medical condition.

Gender reassignment refers to individuals, whether staff, who either:

• Have undergone, intend to undergo or are currently undergoing gender reassignment (medical and surgical treatment to alter the body).
• Do not intend to undergo medical treatment but wish to live permanently in a different gender from their gender at birth.

‘Transition’ refers to the process and/or the period of time during which gender reassignment occurs (with or without medical intervention).

Not all people who undertake gender reassignment decide to undergo medical or surgical treatment to alter the body. However, some do and this process may take several years. Additionally, there is a process by which a person can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate , which changes their legal gender.

People who have undertaken gender reassignment are sometimes referred to as Transgender or Trans (see glossary ).

Transgender and sexual orientation

It should be noted that sexual orientation and transgender are not inter-related. It is incorrect to assume that someone who undertakes gender reassignment is lesbian or gay or that his or her sexual orientation will change after gender reassignment. However, historically the campaigns advocating equality for both transgender and lesbian, gay and bisexual communities have often been associated with each other. As a result, the University's staff and student support networks have established diversity networks that include both Sexual Orientation and Transgender groups.

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Glossary of Terms Related to Transgender Communities

Terminology frequently morphs within LGBTQIA communities, and a word that means one thing in one community may mean something else in another community. The terms used here are commonly used in the Stanford LGBTQIA community.

Basic Definitions

• Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB) or Female-Assigned-at-Birth (FAAB) : An individual assigned female at birth.
• Assigned Male At Birth (AMAB) or Male-Assigned-at-Birth (MAAB) : An individual assigned male at birth.
• Assigned Sex or Sex Assigned At Birth : The sex (typically M or F) that is assigned to a person based on external genitalia at birth.
• Cisgender, Cis : Someone whose gender identity corresponds with expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a person who was assigned female at birth and identifies as a woman is regarded as cisgender or as a cisgender woman.
• Gender-Affirming Surgery : Any surgical procedure that aims to increase a sense of congruence with one’s gender identity and physical body. Gender-affirming surgeries may include: chest reconstructive surgeries (e.g., double mastectomy, feminizing mammoplasty), genital reconstructive surgeries (e.g., orchiectomy, vaginoplasty, metoidioplasty, phalloplasty), facial feminization surgeries (e.g., tracheal shave, rhinoplasty, brow lift), or other procedures (e.g., vocal cord surgery). In California, surgery is not required to change one’s legal gender marker. Note: This term is preferred over the outdated term Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS). It is also preferred over the term gender confirmation surgery (GCS) because gender cannot be “confirmed” by having surgery. A person’s gender is to be respected regardless of surgical history/status or what kind of genitals they have or had. It is best to avoid terms such as “pre-op”, “non-op”, or “post-op,” as they reinforce the assumption all trans people want to or will have the opportunity to have surgery.
• Gender Dysphoria : Emotional distress related to the sense that one’s assigned sex is not in line with one’s gender identity. Gender Dysphoria is also a medical and mental health diagnosis that may warrant treatment in the form of gender-affirming medical interventions.
• Gender Expression : The ways in which a person outwardly expresses their gender, often through hair, makeup, clothing, and other aspects of appearance. Gender expression does not always correspond to gender identity.
• Gender Identity : The inherent feeling within an individual of what gender they are; a person may identify as a man, woman, neither, in-between, both, or fluidly moving between these two binary categories.
• Gender-Neutral Pronouns : Pronouns that a person may use when they do not fully identify with binary gender categories. Examples of gender-neutral pronouns include singular they/them/their, ey/em/eir, zie/hir/hirs, or no pronouns. It’s best to ask what pronouns are appropriate for them.
• Genderqueer : A gender identity that denotes someone who does not fully identify with the binary genders of male/man/masculine or female/woman/feminine. A genderqueer person may identify as neither a man nor a woman, in-between, both, fluidly moving between these two categories, or as a third/alternate gender. Related to the term  nonbinary , which has become more popular in the 2010’s.
• Intersex : A general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a physical characteristics (e.g., gonads, chromosomal makeup, external genitalia, internal reproductive or urinary organs) that do not fit typical medical or social definitions of female or male. Some people use the term DSD (Disorders of Sex Development) to describe intersex people, but this is not seen as affirming by intersex communities.
• Nonbinary : A gender identity that denotes someone who does not fully identify with the binary genders of male/man/masculine or female/woman/feminine. A nonbinary person may identify as neither a man nor a woman, in-between, both, fluidly moving between these two categories, or as a third/alternate gender. Related to the term  genderqueer , which was used more often prior to the 2010’s.
• Passing : Being perceived as cisgender or as a gender in line with one’s gender identity. This term is not considered affirming to many, as it implies that trans people are deceptive or are not truly the gender they say they are. Passing is important to some people (e.g., for safety reasons), but it is not the goal of every trans person.
• Queer : Used to describe non-normative identities (both sexual identities and gender identities) that might not easily be classified under other terminology (gay, lesbian, etc.). Queer can also be used as an umbrella term to describe LGBTQIA identities as a whole. In many communities, the term “queer” also has a political connotation that is connected to LGBTQIA activism. The term queer may be offensive to older LGBTQIA individuals, so it is best to use caution and only use this term when you know that someone uses it as an affirming term to describe themselves.
• Sexual Orientatio n: A way to describe a person’s romantic and/or sexual attractions to others. Sexual orientation may consist of attraction, behavior, and identity, and not all of these factors need to be aligned/consistent. For example, a person may have attractions towards trans women, be sexually active with cisgender men, and have an identity as heterosexual. Some labels to describe sexual orientation include: heterosexual, straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, or fluid.
• Transgender man, trans man, trans masculine
• Transgender woman, trans woman, trans feminine
• Genderqueer
• Gender neutral
• It’s best to ask how a transgender person identifies. Be aware that the word “tranny” is considered offensive.
• Transgender Man, Trans Man, Trans Masculine : Someone who was female assigned at birth who identifies as a man or on the masculine spectrum. Note: The term FTM is no longer considered affirming.
• Transgender Woman, Trans Woman, Trans Feminine : Someone who was male assigned at birth who identifies as a woman or on the feminine spectrum. Note: The term MTF is no longer considered affirming.
• Transition : The process of shifting one’s gender identity and/or expression. Transition is a process that occurs over time, varies greatly among individuals, and may consist of physical/medical, emotional, social, and legal components. There is no uniform or set path for how a person transitions, if at all. Some transgender people consider themselves post-transition, and some no longer consider themselves to be transgender. Others feel that they are in a state of transition for the rest of their lives.
• Transsexual : A term that was commonly used before the term “transgender” came into more popular usage in the 1990’s. Some people still identify as transsexual, but this term is no longer considered affirming.

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gender reassignment

• male-to-female or female-to-male transformation involving surgery and hormone treatment

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Example sentences.

Last May, Israel lowered the minimum age for gender reassignment surgery from 21 to 18.

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gender reassignment surgery

Definition of gender reassignment surgery

Note: This term is sometimes considered to be offensive in its implication that a transgender or nonbinary person takes on a different gender through surgery, rather than using surgery to align their outward appearance with their gender identity. Gender confirmation surgery and gender-affirming surgery are the preferred terms in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities, and surgery is seen as one of many possible ways to affirm one's gender identity, rather than as an essential part of transitioning (see transition entry 2 sense 2 )

Examples of gender reassignment surgery in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gender reassignment surgery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1969, in the meaning defined above

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gender reassignment

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Cite this Entry

“Gender reassignment surgery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gender%20reassignment%20surgery. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

Medical Definition

Medical definition of gender reassignment surgery.

Note: This term is sometimes considered to be offensive in its implication that a transgender or nonbinary person takes on a different gender through surgery, rather than using surgery to align their outward appearance with their gender identity. Gender confirmation surgery and gender-affirming surgery are the preferred terms in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities, and surgery is seen as one of many possible ways to affirm one's gender identity, rather than as an essential part of transitioning (see transition ).

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Gender reassignment

What does it mean.

This term has two different meanings depending on context.

Legal definition

According to the Equality Act 2010 , a person has the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment” if that person:

“is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.”

UK law makes it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on the basis of their gender reassignment. It also makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone because they are perceived to be undergoing gender reassignment, even if they aren’t.

This legal definition applies to you regardless of what you have or have not had any particular treatment, and is intended to be interpreted broadly. It includes people who have only had social aspects of transition such as a name change.

Medical definition

In medicine, the term “gender reassignment” can refer to any medical treatment to do with gender, but most often refers to “bottom” surgeries such as vaginoplasty , phalloplasty , or metoidioplasty .

"Gender reassignment" is a word that has a specific meaning in UK law.

Words like this can:

• be useful if you want to assert your rights under law

However, words like this can also:

• be confusing, as a word's legal definition may differ from its use in casual speech
• sound overly rigid or formal
• imply that the law's definition is the main one that matters

Think carefully before using this word to describe someone or a group of people - they may not wish to be described that way.

Medical treatment

"Gender reassignment" is a word that describes a broad class of medical treatments.

• give a broad and holistic view of medical treatments to do with gender
• be ambiguous as to which treatments are or are not included
• imply that such treatments are inherently to do with gender
• imply that these treatments are "necessary" for your identity to be valid

Errors and omissions

Is there something missing from this page? Have you spotted something that isn't correct? Please tweet us or message us on Facebook to let us know.

Danielle Laidley among advocates to welcome bid to scrap WA Gender Reassignment Board

Western Australians will no longer have to undergo medical or surgical reassignment in order to change their sex or gender, under the state government's proposed law reforms.

The state's Gender Reassignment Board, which manages applications to legally change a person's gender, would be abolished under the new laws.

Attorney-General John Quigley said the legislation would bring WA in line with the rest of Australia.

"This is not radical legislation … we're only bringing Western Australia out of the dark ages, up to a level of social reform that the rest of the country already respects and enjoys," he said.

Reforms will save lives, advocate says

Danielle Laidley is an AFL premiership winner, and one of the youngest senior coaches in the sport's history.

Laidley was outed as a trans woman by police, had her family turn their back on her, and survived the drugs she turned to as her life spiralled out of control.

"Today I can finally stand here, as a proud Western Australian and transgender woman," she said.

Laidley said the abolition of the Gender Reassignment Board was a step forward for WA.

"It was wrong for someone to sit there and tell me who I was. They haven't walked a mile in my shoes, they don't know how I feel," she said.

Transfolk of WA deputy chairperson Dylan Green said the reform was a significant step to creating a pathway for transgender and gender-diverse people to align legal documentation with their gender identity.

"This will improve the lives, and save the lives, of many trans and gender diverse people in Western Australia," he said.

However, Mr Green noted the state government's proposal did not meet all of the recommendations made by the state's Law Reform Commission in 2018.

"We will be making further recommendations to the government regarding the regulations for this proposed bill, and advocating for further law reform," he said.

"We've seen in other states … certain requirements for clinical evidence have been removed for adults over the age of 18, so they use the self-determination model.

"That is what is widely considered best practice."

More change to come

Under the new laws, adults who have received counselling would be able to apply for a sex-change through the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Teenagers between 12 and 18-years-old would need the consent of both parents, and children under 12 would need approval from the WA Family Court.

The legislation also includes clauses prohibiting certain types of offenders from applying to change their gender.

"You don't want someone who, for example, has been convicted of a nasty, aggravated sexual offence, then changing gender so they can access women-only areas," Mr Quigley said.

The proposed bill would also make the sex descriptors "non-binary" and "indeterminate/intersex" available, alongside "male" and "female".

The reforms would not change the existing procedure for registering the sex of a newborn. It also contains a requirement for the legislation to be reviewed after three years.

Mr Quigley has flagged the proposed legislation is only the first tranche of a multitude of changes to remove barriers for, and improve the lives of, the LGBTQIA+ community.

The WA government is chasing further reforms, including the development of a new Equal Opportunity Act and banning conversion therapy practices, which the attorney-general said would have to wait until after the 2025 state election.

"The federal government has announced the Australian Law Reform Commission findings, and the Prime Minister has come out and said on some contentious areas he is hopeful of getting bipartisan support," Mr Quigley said.

"I don't want to come in from left field and upset the applecart."

Reform follows landmark UK review

The proposed law reform comes after a landmark investigation into gender-affirming care in England, known as the Cass Review.

It recommended significantly limiting the prescription of medications, known as puberty blockers, for people aged under 18.

Federal health minister Mark Butler described the review's findings as "significant" but said the clinical treatment of transgender children in Australia was very different than in the UK.

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Definition of 'gender reassignment'

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gender reassignment in British English

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Biden Administration Releases Revised Title IX Rules

The new regulations extended legal protections to L.G.B.T.Q. students and rolled back several policies set under the Trump administration.

By Zach Montague and Erica L. Green

Reporting from Washington

The Biden administration issued new rules on Friday cementing protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students under federal law and reversing a number of Trump-era policies that dictated how schools should respond to cases of alleged sexual misconduct in K-12 schools and college campuses.

The new rules, which take effect on Aug. 1, effectively broadened the scope of Title IX, the 1972 law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. They extend the law’s reach to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and widen the range of sexual harassment complaints that schools will be responsible for investigating.

“These regulations make it crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, said in a call with reporters.

The rules deliver on a key campaign promise for Mr. Biden, who declared he would put a “quick end” to the Trump-era Title IX rules and faced mounting pressure from Democrats and civil rights leaders to do so.

The release of the updated rules, after two delays, came as Mr. Biden is in the thick of his re-election bid and is trying to galvanize key electoral constituencies.

Through the new regulations, the administration moved to include students in its interpretation of Bostock v. Clayton County, the landmark 2020 Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination. The Trump administration held that transgender students were not protected under federal laws, including after the Bostock ruling .

In a statement, Betsy DeVos, who served as Mr. Trump’s education secretary, criticized what she called a “radical rewrite” of the law, asserting that it was an “endeavor born entirely of progressive politics, not sound policy.”

Ms. DeVos said the inclusion of transgender students in the law gutted decades of protections and opportunities for women. She added that the Biden administration also “seeks to U-turn to the bad old days where sexual misconduct was sent to campus kangaroo courts, not resolved in a way that actually sought justice.”

While the regulations released on Friday contained considerably stronger protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students, the administration steered clear of the lightning-rod issue of whether transgender students should be able to play on school sports teams corresponding to their gender identity.

The administration stressed that while, writ large, exclusion based on gender identity violated Title IX, the new regulations did not extend to single-sex living facilities or sports teams. The Education Department is pursuing a second rule dealing with sex-related eligibility for male and female sports teams. The rule-making process has drawn more than 150,000 comments.

Under the revisions announced on Friday, instances where transgender students are subjected to a “hostile environment” through bullying or harassment, or face unequal treatment and exclusion in programs or facilities based on their gender identity, could trigger an investigation by the department’s Office for Civil Rights.

Instances where students are repeatedly referred to by a name or pronoun other than one they have chosen could also be considered harassment on a case-by-case basis.

“This is a bold and important statement that transgender and nonbinary students belong, in their schools and in their communities,” said Olivia Hunt, the policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality.

The regulations appeared certain to draw to legal challenges from conservative groups.

May Mailman, the director of the Independent Women’s Law Center, said in a statement that the group planned to sue the administration. She said it was clear that the statute barring discrimination on the basis of “sex” means “binary and biological.”

“The unlawful omnibus regulation reimagines Title IX to permit the invasion of women’s spaces and the reduction of women’s rights in the name of elevating protections for ‘gender identity,’ which is contrary to the text and purpose of Title IX,” she said.

The existing rules, which took effect under Mr. Trump in 2020, were the first time that sexual assault provisions were codified under Title IX. They bolstered due process rights of accused students, relieved schools of some legal liabilities and laid out rigid parameters for how schools should conduct impartial investigations.

They were a sharp departure from the Obama administration’s interpretation of the law, which came in the form of unenforceable guidance documents directing schools to ramp up investigations into sexual assault complaints under the threat of losing federal funding. Scores of students who had been accused of sexual assault went on to win court cases against their colleges for violating their due process rights under the guidelines.

The Biden administration’s rules struck a balance between the Obama and Trump administration’s goals. Taken together, the regulation largely provides more flexibility for how schools conduct investigations, which advocates and schools have long lobbied for.

Catherine E. Lhamon, the head of the department’s Office for Civil Rights who also held the job under President Barack Obama, called the new rules the “most comprehensive coverage under Title IX since the regulations were first promulgated in 1975.”

They replaced a narrower definition of sex-based harassment adopted under the Trump administration with one that would include a wider range of conduct. And they reversed a requirement that schools investigate only incidents alleged to have occurred on their campuses or in their programs.

Still, some key provisions in the Trump-era rules were preserved, including one allowing informal resolutions and another prohibiting penalties against students until after an investigation.

Among the most anticipated changes was the undoing of a provision that required in-person, or so-called live hearings, in which students accused of sexual misconduct, or their lawyers, could confront and question accusers in a courtroom-like setting.

The new rules allow in-person hearings, but do not mandate them. They also require a process through which a decision maker could assess a party or witness’s credibility, including posing questions from the opposing party.

“The new regulations put an end to unfair and traumatic grievance procedures that favor harassers,” Kel O’Hara, a senior attorney at Equal Rights Advocates. “No longer will student survivors be subjected to processes that prioritize the interests of their perpetrators over their own well being and safety.”

The new rules also allow room for schools to use a “preponderance of evidence” standard, a lower burden of proof than the DeVos-era rules encouraged, through which administrators need only to determine whether it was more likely than not that sexual misconduct had occurred.

The renewed push for that standard drew criticism from legal groups who said the rule stripped away hard-won protections against flawed findings.

“When you are dealing with accusations of really one of the most heinous crimes that a person can commit — sexual assault — it’s not enough to say, ‘50 percent and a feather,’ before you brand someone guilty of this repulsive crime,” said Will Creeley, the legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

The changes concluded a three-year process in which the department received 240,000 public comments. The rules also strengthen protections for pregnant students, requiring accommodations such as a bigger desk or ensuring access to elevators and prohibiting exclusion from activities based on additional needs.

Title IX was designed to end discrimination based on sex in educational programs or activities at all institutions receiving federal financial assistance, beginning with sports programs and other spaces previously dominated by male students.

The effects of the original law have been pronounced. Far beyond the impact on school programs like sports teams, many educators credit Title IX with setting the stage for academic parity today. Female college students routinely outnumber male students on campus and have become more likely than men of the same age to graduate with a four-year degree.

But since its inception, Title IX has also become a powerful vehicle through which past administrations have sought to steer schools to respond to the dynamic and diverse nature of schools and universities.

While civil rights groups were disappointed that some ambiguity remains for the L.G.B.T.Q. students and their families, the new rules were widely praised for taking a stand at a time when education debates are reminiscent to the backlash after the Supreme Court ordered schools to integrate.

More than 20 states have passed laws that broadly prohibit anyone assigned male at birth from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams or participating in scholastic athletic programs, while 10 states have laws barring transgender people from using bathrooms based on their gender identity.

“Some adults are showing up and saying, ‘I’m going to make school harder for children,” said Liz King, senior program director of the education equity program at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “It’s an incredibly important rule, at an incredibly important moment.”

Schools will have to cram over the summer to implement the rules, which will require a retraining staff and overhauling procedures they implemented only four years ago.

Ted Mitchell, the president of the American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,700 colleges and universities, said in a statement that while the group welcomed the changes in the new rule, the timeline “disregards the difficulties inherent in making these changes on our nation’s campuses in such a short period of time.”

“After years of constant churn in Title IX guidance and regulations,” Mr. Mitchell said, “we hope for the sake of students and institutions that there will be more stability and consistency in the requirements going forward.”

Zach Montague is based in Washington. He covers breaking news and developments around the district. More about Zach Montague

Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent, covering President Biden and his administration. More about Erica L. Green

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Heated arguments at the Supreme Court in newest abortion case

Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case examining a federal-state conflict over emergency abortions. Catie Dull/NPR hide caption

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case examining a federal-state conflict over emergency abortions.

Inscrutable. That is the only word to accurately describe the Supreme Court's latest abortion argument Thursday.

At issue is a clash between federal and state law about how pregnant women must be treated in the emergency room. Specifically, whether a state may ban medical termination of a pregnancy if the woman's health, but not her life, is in grave danger.

Supreme Court to examine a federal-state conflict over emergency abortions

The case centers on a law enacted in 1986 to stop hospitals from turning away uninsured patients or dumping them on other hospitals. It's known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA. The law says that as a condition for receiving Medicare funds, hospital emergency departments must stabilize a patient whose life or health is at risk. If the hospital can't do that, it must provide safe transport to a facility that can.

But Idaho and a few other states have now enacted laws that ban emergency abortions unless the mother's life, but not her health, is at risk.

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What's at stake as the supreme court hears idaho case about abortion in emergencies.

At the Supreme Court lectern Thursday, Idaho Solicitor General Joshua Turner defended the restrictive law, declaring that the state is entitled to make decisions about the practice of medicine within its borders. But he faced some unusually angry questions from the court's three liberal justices, all women, with an occasional assist from conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who is firmly opposed to abortion.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor hammered Turner with a series of real-life examples of women in dire health circumstances, who would be denied a medically necessary abortion under the Idaho law. She interrupted him so often that Chief Justice John Roberts at one point intervened to lower the temperature and get an answer from Turner.

Drawing an analogy not involving abortion, Sotomayor, a diabetic, observed that "no state licensing law" would permit the state to tell doctors, "don't treat diabetics with insulin, treat them only with [far less effective] pills.... Federal law would say you can't do that."

Supreme Court allows Idaho abortion ban to be enacted, first such ruling since Dobbs

Justice Elena Kagan asked Turner what in EMTALA says that a woman has to be at "death's door" before doctors treat her with a necessary emergency abortion to stabilize her condition.

"That understanding is a humble one with respect to the federalism role of the states as the primary care provider for the citizens, not the federal government," Turner answered.

"It may be too humble for women's health, you know," Kagan observed, caustically.

And Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said that EMTALA established a "federal mandate" that preempts state laws.

Pummeled with questions, Idaho's Turner refused to commit to which health-threatening conditions could be legally treated with abortions under state law. Could an abortion take place to preserve a woman's organs? Her fertility? To save her from future debilitating kidney disease or strokes?

Turner's ambiguous answers prompted surprise from Justice Barrett, a mother of seven who has herself had miscarriages. "Counsel, I'm kind of shocked actually because I thought your own expert had said below that these kinds of cases were covered. And you're now saying they're not? Turner's replay clearly didn't satisfy her. She accused him of "hedging."

Chief Justice Roberts asked who would make the decision, other than the doctor, as to what constitutes a permissible emergency abortion and what the standard would be.

Turner replied that there is no objective standard, just a subjective one. The doctor's decision would not be judged based on what a "reasonable doctor" would do, only on whether he personally acted in good faith.

Arguing the other side of the case on behalf of the Biden administration, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar faced an equal barrage of questions, mainly from the court's conservative justices.

Could a woman's psychological health be justification for an emergency abortion? No, replied Prelogar.

Three justices—Roberts, Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch—all asked if EMTALA provides exceptions for doctors or hospitals with religious objections to abortion.

Prelogar replied that conscience objections exempt both from performing abortions under EMTALA, but she added that the Department of Health and Human Services "had never come across a hospital that had a blanket objection to providing life-preserving and health-preserving pregnancy termination care."

Several conservative justices also sought to flesh out what limits there might be to laws that condition federal aid, such as the funding to hospitals governed by EMTALA. Barrett and Gorsuch, for instance, asked if gender-reassignment surgery could be banned at hospitals as a condition for receiving federal money.

Prelogar replied that in her view Congress has that power.

And Justice Samuel Alito, author of the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, looked up at the clock at one point and observed that an hour and a half into the argument, "one potentially very important phrase in EMTALA has hardly been mentioned...and that is EMTALA's reference to the woman's 'unborn child.'"

"The statute did nothing to displace the woman herself as an individual with an emergency medical condition," Prelogar replied. "In many of the cases you're thinking about, there is no possible way to stabilize the unborn child...it's inevitable that the pregnancy is going to be lost, but Idaho would deny women treatment in that circumstance even though it's senseless."

A decision in the case is expected in the summer.

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Nh senate committee hears testimony on bill to ban some gender-confirmation surgery for children.

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Lawmakers in Concord heard testimony Thursday on a bill to ban genital gender-confirmation surgery for children under the age of 18.

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard hours of testimony on House Bill 619, amended legislation that would ban genital gender-confirmation surgery for children under 18. The bill has already passed the New Hampshire House.

The legislation would also class referrals for reassignment surgery outside the state as "unprofessional conduct."

"Children are, by definition, immature," said Jennifer Black, of Windham. "We don't allow them to vote, enter into contracts, get a tattoo or smoke, because we know they lack the capacity to understand what they are doing."

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Some argued that allowing children, with parental consent, to get an irreversible surgery at such a young age is a form of cruelty. Others noted that such procedures are only being performed on a small number of older teens nationwide.

"Twenty times per year in the United States, never in New Hampshire, and virtually all of these surgeries are vaginoplasty for 17-year-old transgender girls right before heading off to college, while they can still recover in their parents' home with their parents' love and support, rather than in a college dorm with other students who may not even know they're transgender," said Chris Erchull, of GLAD Legal Advocates & Defenders.

There is a battle over data in the debate. Lawmakers who sponsored the bill said there isn't enough data for patients or families to give informed consent with a full understanding of the risks involved.

"I'm not trying to say that to trivialize this, but if you have to wait until you're 18 to use a tanning bed with those known risks, why would be endorsing something with completely unknown risks that have many people talking about the challenges they never knew or expected from these surgeries?" said state Rep. Erica Layon, R-Derry.

Dr. Ketih Loud, chairman of the Dartmouth Health Department of Pediatrics, urging senators to reject the bill.

"We prefer to use scalpels, and this statute feels a little more like a machete and does not allow for the nuance that we need in clinical practice," Loud said.

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New federal rule bars transgender school bathroom bans, but it likely isn’t the final word

FILE - A protester outside the Kansas Statehouse holds a sign after a rally for transgender rights on the Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2023, in Topeka, Kan. A new rule from President Joe Biden’s administration assuring transgender students be allowed to use the school bathrooms that align with their gender identity could conflict with laws in Republican-controlled states that seek to make sure they can’t. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File)

FILE - Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, center, signs a bill that prevents transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams, March 30, 2022, in Oklahoma City. A new rule from President Joe Biden’s administration assuring transgender students be allowed to use the school bathrooms that align with their gender identity could conflict with laws in Republican-controlled states that seek to make sure they can’t. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy, File)

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A new rule from President Joe Biden’s administration blocking blanket policies to keep transgender students from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity could conflict with laws in Republican-controlled states.

The clash over bathroom policy and other elements of a federal regulation finalized last week could set the stage for another wave of legal battles over how transgender kids should be treated in the U.S.

In recent years, transgender people have gained visibility and acceptance in the U.S. — and some conservative officials have pushed back.

Most GOP-controlled states now have laws reining in their rights. Measures include laws to keep transgender girls out of girls school sports, limiting which school bathrooms transgender people can use, requiring school staff to notify parents if their student identifies in school as transgender, and barring school staff from being required to use the pronouns a transgender student uses.

Most of those policies have been challenged in court.

Here’s a look at the new regulation, the states’ laws and what could happen next.

WHAT’S THE HEART OF THE REGULATION?

The 1,577-page regulation finalized last week seeks to clarify Title IX, the 1972 sex discrimination law originally passed to address women’s rights and applies to schools and colleges that receive federal money.

The regulations, which are to take effect in August, spell out that Title IX bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, too.

Many Republicans say this wasn’t the intent of the law.

The new rules also provide more protections to students who make accusations of sexual misconduct.

RULE CONTRADICTS BATHROOM LAWS

At least 11 states have adopted laws barring transgender girls and women from using girls’ and women’s bathrooms at public schools.

The new regulation opposes those sweeping policies.

It states that sex separation at schools isn’t always unlawful. However, the separation becomes a violation of Title IX’s nondiscrimination rule when it causes more than a very minor harm on a protected individual, “such as when it denies a transgender student access to a sex-separate facility or activity consistent with that student’s gender identity.”

The laws are in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee. A judge’s order putting enforcement on hold is in place in Idaho. A prohibition in Utah is scheduled to take effect July 1.

RULE ALLOWS PARENTAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

At least seven states have laws or other policies calling for schools to notify parents if their children are transgender.

The regulation seems to authorize those requirements, stating that “nothing in these final regulations prevents a recipient from disclosing information about a minor child to their parent who has the legal right to receive disclosures on behalf of their child.”

The requirements are already law in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana and North Carolina. The Arizona law requires schools to provide information to parents but does not specifically include details about students’ gender expression or sexuality. Virginia asked schools to provide guidance to the state’s school districts to adopt similar policies, though they’re not written into state law.

ARE PRONOUN RESTRICTIONS LEGAL? IT DEPENDS

At least four states — Florida, Kentucky, Montana and North Dakota — have laws intended to protect from discipline teachers and/or students who won’t use the pronouns transgender or nonbinary students use.

The regulations wrestle with this, finding that “harassing a student — including acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility based on the student’s nonconformity with stereotypical notions of masculinity and femininity or gender identity — can constitute discrimination on the basis of sex under Title IX in certain circumstances.”

But they also spell out that “a stray remark” does not constitute harassment and seek to protect the right of free speech.

THE BIG DEBATE: SPORTS PARTICIPATION

The new rules don’t specifically mention whether states can ban transgender girls from girls sports competitions. The Biden administration has put on hold a policy that would forbid schools from having outright bans.

State laws that contain such bans have been adopted in at least two dozen states in the name of preserving girls sports. But judges have paused enforcement of some of them, including in a ruling last week that applies only to one teenage athlete in West Virginia.

While the new rules are not specific to sports participation, advocates on both sides believe they could apply.

“They may be saying that this doesn’t address it, but through the broad language they’re using, the ultimate result is you have to allow a boy on a girls team,” said Matt Sharp, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, falsely identifying transgender girls as boys. Alliance Defending Freedom is a conservative group that has represented female athletes challenging sports participation by transgender women and girls.

“This document gives a good sense that says you can’t have a rule that says, ‘If you’re transgender, you can’t participate,’” said Harper Seldin, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

Lawsuits, probably.

After the rules were unveiled last week, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti posted on X that “TN is prepared to defend Title IX & protect against unlawful regulations that redefine what sex really means.”

“We absolutely plan to challenge this betrayal of women in court,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement Monday.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond submitted comments critical of the rule before it was finalized.

Over the last two decades, attorneys general have frequently sued the opposing party’s president over rules and executive orders.

Sharp of Alliance Defending Freedom said his group is still dissecting the federal rules but does represent groups that could be affected, including female athletes and religious schools and could sue over aspects of the rules. He expects states to do the same thing.

“I don’t think a lot of states want to wait until the federal government enforces this,” he said.

The ACLU’s Seldin said his organization will watch carefully how the rules play out.

“What do theses laws and regulations mean in terms of transgender youth and transgender students who find themselves attacked in every aspect of their lives?” he asked.

___ Associated Press reporter Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee; and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this article.