HeatherN offers Part 2 of the “Queer Dictionary” to help understand the terminology surrounding sexuality and gender.
Yesterday we covered the basics of sexual orientation and identity. Today we will delve into the not-so-mysterious world of gender identity and biological sex. Really, it’s a lot simpler than you might think. So climb into your comfy clothes, put up your feet, and let’s get started.
Again in dictionary form, and again totally not in alphabetical order:
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Biological Sex: A medical diagnosis made at birth based on anatomical features and chromosomes.
Intersex: From ISNA: Something of an umbrella term used for people born with reproductive anatomy and/or chromosomes that do not fit into typical definitions of ‘male’ and ‘female.’ Exactly where ‘female’ ends and ‘intersex’ begins, and where ‘male’ ends and ‘intersex’ begins is somewhat debatable, particularly because humans decide where the boundaries of these categories start and end. The term ‘hermaphrodite’ used to be used to describe intersex people. However, that is a problematic term. For one thing, ‘hermaphrodite’ implies that someone is both fully male and fully female, and that is inaccurate. For another thing, it’s a highly stigmatized term. So don’t use it. There’s a reason it’s ‘I’ in LGBTIQ, not ‘H.’
Male: The biological sex that is capable of producing sperm, although the ability of an individual to produce sperm is not necessary to be considered male. This is also determined by having certain anatomical features, such as male reproductive organs. However, a male who has had his reproductive organs removed is still considered male. This is also determined by having an XY sex chromosome (instead of an XX chromosome). However, sometimes an individual will have an XY chromosome and also have anatomical features that do not conform completely into the definition of ‘male.’
Female: The biological sex that is capable of producing ova, although the ability of an individual to produce ova is not necessary to be considered female. This is also determined by having certain anatomical features, such as female reproductive organs. However, a female who has had her reproductive organs removed is still considered female. This is also determined by having an XX sex chromosome (instead of an XY chromosome). However, sometimes an individual will have an XX chromosome and also have anatomical features that do not conform completely into the definition of ‘female.’
Gender Identity/Expression: This is an individual’s personal, private, and subjective sense of, and experience of their gender. (Gender: The physical and behavioural characteristics that a society associates with biological sex).
Transgender: An umbrella term used to describe anyone who identifies with a gender other than the gender they were assigned at birth. Trans* is another term used to describe this. Yes, that asterisk is there on purpose. It’s meant to be an all-encompassing symbol that includes transsexual and transvestite, genderqueer, etc.
Transvestite: Someone who wears clothing usually associated with a different gender than the one they self-identify as. That’s it, really. If you’re into British stand-up I can provide you with a great example: Eddie Izzard. He’s a cis-man; he just likes wearing a frock every once in a while.
Drag Queen: Now you might be wondering, what’s the difference between a transvestite and a drag queen? (No, this isn’t the setup for some inappropriate joke). Firstly, drag queens are often men who perform as women. Secondly, drag queens often identify as gay men, though not always. (Side note: Drag Kings are women who dress as men for the purposes of entertainment). If you’ve seen Priscilla, Queen of the Desert then you saw drag queens. Guy Pierce and Hugo Weaving play drag queens, and damn good ones. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, go watch it; right now. I’ll wait.
Faux Queen/King: If you’re back from the awesomeness that is Priscilla, I’ve got something that’ll really take a minute to wrap your head around. Faux queens are cis-women who dress like drag queens and faux kings are cis-men who dress like drag kings. So back to Priscilla, if Guy Pierce and Hugo Weaving’s characters were actually cis-women, they’d be faux queens. (Incidentally, don’t worry about my use of cis-men and cis-women. I’ll totally explain that at the end).
Transsexual: An individual who identifies with the opposite gender they were assigned at birth. These are people who have either gone through the process of transitioning or want to go through the process of transitioning but have not yet started. (Don’t freak out, I explain transitioning below). To go back to Priscilla, Terence Stamp’s character is transsexual.
Transitioning: This is the process of changing a person’s gender presentation with their internal gender identity. This can include sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy, though neither of these is necessary to be considered transitioning.
Transman/Transwoman: A transman is a female-to-male transgender person and a transwoman is a male-to-female transgender person. So a transsexual person who is transitioning or has transitioned from female to male is a transman. The key is to remember that whether you use “man” or “woman” at the end of the word is determined by the gender that the individual identifies with, not the gender they were assigned at birth. And really, that makes sense. I mean, how would you like it if someone insisted on identifying you as the wrong gender? Not too much, I bet.
Genderqueer: Aka Queergender (depending on whether you’re a noun-first or adjective-first. I’m a noun-first type of person, myself). This is something of an umbrella term for people who toss the entire gender binary out the window. Sometimes people identify as genderqueer as a way to basically say they do not put a label on their gender. Other genderqueer people identify with a specific gender, such as third gender or bigender, but are still genderqueer in that they reject the gender binary (i.e. the system that says men and women are the opposites and the only genders available).
Third Gender: Now if you’re from the west, you’re probably wondering what the heck this even means. If you’re from any number of other cultures, you’ll recognize this really quickly. Basically, a lot of other cultures have created gender systems which have three genders (whereas the west mostly has two, men and women). So there are people who identify with one of these gender identities. Often these people are referred to in western culture as Two-Spirit, after the Native American third gender.
Bigender/Pangender: A bigender person is someone who identifies as both a man and a woman, and a pangender person is someone who identifies as a man and a woman and also third gender. Whereas someone who identifies as queergender identifies as existing totally outside the gender binary, someone who identifies as bigender encompasses the entirety of the gender binary.
Questioning: I bet you’re glad to see a term that is pretty self-explanatory and straightforward. This refers to someone who is questioning their gender identity.
Cis-gender: And now we’re back to the proper terminology. Cis-gender refers to someone whose individual gender identity matches up with their assigned gender identity at birth. If society perceives you as a woman (from birth) and you identify as a woman, then you are a cis-woman. Similarly, if everyone perceives you as a man (from birth) and you identify as a man, then you are a cis-man. I’m including this for the same reason I included “straight” and “monogamy” in part one. Also, though, I think it’s good for people to understand that even if you fit in the norm, your gender identity is still socially constructed, and it has a label.
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And thus, with the explanation of cis-gender, concludes our brief discussion of human gender identity and biological sex. Now this one, I really could just go on and on explaining the nuance of different identities and the history of different terms that have been used to describe these identities. However, as this is an article and not some academic paper, I’ll save you the trouble of reading all of that. These are some good basics to introduce you to just how diverse human gender identity and biological sex really is. Well I’m off to go watch Priscilla, and you should too. Catch you on the flip side.
Tomorrow concludes this series, and I’ll have a doozey for you, I’m sure. I’ll be explaining all the different miscellaneous terms used in queer theory, including a term near and dear to my heart: “heteronormativity.”
Read Part 1 of the Queer Dictionary
Read Part 3 of the Queer Dictionary
Image of brightly colored people courtesy of Shutterstock
I seek to defend my femaleness vehemently mostly because they are those, conservatives or revolutionaries (radfem separatists who want some gender utopia where men all die out or become irrelevant), who seek to say that they are right, that I am wrong, and that I am and have always been and will forever be, male (thus tainted, evil, and mostly: deluded about who I actually am). Those people will say I’m just a parody of myself, transitioned for reasons that have to do with colonizing a mystique, unique and forbidden experience for males, and demolishing it all. They’ll also argue… Read more »
I’m surprised you didn’t mention Victor Victoria as a near-example of a Faux Drag Queen. (Okay, it’s not entirely perfect as people are assuming she’s really a man the whole time… but it’s close.)
I’m surprised I didn’t include that, either. Whoops.
“Transvestite: Someone who wears clothing usually associated with a different gender than the one they self-identify as. That’s it, really. If you’re into British stand-up I can provide you with a great example: Eddie Izzard. He’s a cis-man; he just likes wearing a frock every once in a while.” Due to selective enforcement of gender normativity on men by both men and women, wether socially, familiarly, at school or at work, men have a much much reduced freedom of expression when it comes to clothing (type of clothing item, fabric type, tightness and overall looks), hair length, jewelry or usage… Read more »
Side note:
I meant to add that what makes female transvestites virtually inexistant is the freedom to wear what was once considered men’s wear without much of an issue.
Drag Kings do it for show and purposely overdo it. Funny enough that I’ve seen post-op trans men doing a drag king show once. And I’ve known trans women (who identify as women and all) also doing drag queen shows.
I can’t speak of the reasons drawing them to it, but I guess the environment of drag feels a lot safer than society at large.
“And I’ve known trans women (who identify as women and all) also doing drag queen shows.” I know a post-op transwoman who actually prefers to be called a drag queen, which just points to the way in which all the social labels in the world can’t quite encompass the diversity of everyone. My goal in making these lists was to just help some people who might want to be able to discuss gender and sexual orientation, but just didn’t have any of the language. And with regards to female transvestites, yeah they exist…it’s wicked rare, but they exist. Again, the… Read more »
“Biological Sex: A medical diagnosis made at birth based on anatomical features and chromosomes.” Brain sex / sex identity (not gender identity, as this conflates the concept of gender with performativity, and we don’t want that) is biological, innate and unchangeable after birth You’re right about this being true for *legal sex* however. “Transman/Transwoman” There should be a space here. We don’t have whitewoman or whiteman or blackwoman and blackman. Trans or transsexual or transgender is an adjective affixed to a noun. It is not itself a noun. “Cis-gender” First, no need to use a dash, it’s one word here.… Read more »
I mean butch women and femme men might be seen as transgender, or at least not quite cisgender, due to their notably going against gendered expectations in looks.
Also, what you’re saying about cis-gender versus cis-sexual, is also about whether a person’s personal identity or perceived identity is most important. A butch woman might be perceived as transgender, or possibly as a transvestite, but she may very well identify as a cis-woman. And she might be perceived as being a cis-woman too, just barely within the acceptable norms.
So first, thanks for the many comments. 🙂 I’ll get on to my responses: With regards to “brain sex,” well if you’re referring to the idea that there’s a ‘male’ brain and a ‘female’ brain, whether that even exists at all is up for debate. If you’re referring to the idea that everyone is born innately knowing whether they’re male or female, that’s also up for debate. There has been a lot of discussion around the fact that people have created the categories of ‘male’ and ‘female.’ Whenever people create a category, even if we think we’re only observing natural… Read more »
“With regards to “brain sex,” well if you’re referring to the idea that there’s a ‘male’ brain and a ‘female’ brain, whether that even exists at all is up for debate. If you’re referring to the idea that everyone is born innately knowing whether they’re male or female, that’s also up for debate.” So far all hypothalamus region studies have shown that the seat of sex identity, where the brain is truly sex-typed at birth hereon and forever (and not plastic at all), matters a lot more than the shape of genitals, to determine wether someone identifies as male or… Read more »
Okay few things: first, a lot of the discussions around those studies conflate biological sex and sexual orientation. They claim that gay men’s brains are more similar to straight women’s, and that lesbian’s brains are more similar to straight men’s. Even the discussions that don’t do that, are still being debated. For the longest time everyone pointed to physical anatomy as proof that the strict line between male and female was biological, and then oh not so much. And then everyone pointed to chromosomes as proof, and then oh not so much. Now people are pointing to the hypothalamus, and… Read more »
“Heck, even if it turns out that the data from the studies of the hypothalamus is totally accurate, it doesn’t mean that it’s biological in origin.” You mean that female or male identity is a made-up construct? Well, sure. Though as long as there is an actual difference between the sexes, in terms of body map, in terms of endocrine balance and in terms of pheromones and who knows what, sex identity (what sex one knows oneself to be) will always exist. And it’s in the hypothalamus. It’s pretty impervious to nurture. Or we’d be able to “pray the gay… Read more »
I’m a lesbian, just on the genderqueer side of a woman, and I have studied gender and sexuality, so I am well aware of the history of ex-gay ministries and what-not. I am most assuredly not trying to say that anyone can change their gender or sexual orientation. “It’s pretty impervious to nurture.” – I’d argue it’s pretty impervious to human choice and agency. But just because something is a combination of biology and culture, doesn’t mean it’s any less fixed than something that’s purely biological. “It’s fixed at birth even if it doesn’t manifest right then and there.” –… Read more »
My female identity is tied in large part to being biologically repulsed to testosterone in my body, and estrogen being way more suitable. Given that I’ve never been very sexual, and that complications can arise, I’ll skip bottom surgery. It’s not that I “like the penis”, it’s that its not worth the hassle (meeting 2 shrinks for months is a big part of it, too) and possible complications. I doubt cultural or environmental factors can make a body find testosterone horribly toxic. Testosterone that it produces from apparently-normal testes (I’ve been given no reason to think they’re atypical, and T… Read more »
Well I don’t know you personally, and let me assure you I’m not trying to invalidate your own personal experience in any way. Mostly I think that humans are really complicated and that individual experiences often point to our diversity more than the trends. So yeah, for you personally, “brain sex” could totally be 100% biological. However, the studies that discuss “brain sex” are still quite debatable. And whether environment or culture could make your body find T toxic, well yeah it could, I suppose (I’m not a biologist). Like, we develop allergies all the time based on our environment… Read more »
If I’ve been affected by culture or environment for my body to be repulsed by T, it must have been very very early. Since even my pediatrician visits with height and weight checked point to a pretty big lag in growth. A lag which only grew in proportion the older I went. I’ve attained my final adult height at 18-19. Puberty was incomplete by far (Tanner stage 3-4) by age 23. And I have three brothers, they all have a rather smallish frame (though one is noticeably taller) like me, but they all had no issue with testosterone giving them… Read more »
Btw I highly suspect partial AIS of grade 1, the body finding it toxic and rejecting it via acne is just further proof. My acne fully cleared after I started hormones. I was pizza face for roughly 8 years non-stop before that though. My alimentation didn’t change. I ate as much fast food after than before. And I was rather slim, even skinny. So fat’s never been the issue. It’s somewhat normal to have acne for a certain period (usually earlier than 16 and ending before 24), especially with high T levels of puberty. Except it didn’t achieve full puberty… Read more »
Again, I’m really trying to emphasize I’m not talking about you personally. That’s the problem with any label, no matter how inclusive we make labels there are always people who fall outside of them. And yeah, when I said nurture combining with nature, I really did mean within the first year or two (maaaaaybe three). My understanding is that most studies suggest that sexual orientation and gender identity are ingrained within the first couple years, particularly gender identity. Also, the idea that an individual body’s reaction to testosterone must have indicate biological sex is, arguably, a cultural construct. Ya know… Read more »
Excellent posts as always, Schala. Indeed , autism etc does not affect men and women equally. It is overwhelmingly found in the ‘male brain’ whether in male or female bodies, as your comment about the very high levels of autism found in trans men remarked upon. As you know there is a study of trans women’s brains that showed a region (i cant remember what) that was not the size of natal men’s but the same size as found in natal women. I completely agree with you, there is such a thing as a ‘maleness’ and a ‘femaleness’ to the… Read more »
“Thanks also, for pointing out why ‘transmen’ is not quite right. Your reasoning is sound, and i dont understand the continued resistance to your point.”
Well, you know, in part because no one likes to be told they are wrong. Yeah, I’ll admit that. Also, in part because as I said it is a new term, and so there isn’t exactly a uniform way of writing it.
But I do totally get what Schala and jdlm are saying. It’s just I know that not all trans individuals would necessarily agree.
Trans man and trans woman are new-ish terms, but the trans community has spoken pretty clearly on them: a space is warranted. The idea is that there are not men and transmen, there are just men, some of whom are trans, some of whom are cis. Here’s a reference: http://transkitten.com/trans/transperson-vs-trans-person/ cisgender and cissexual as separate terms is also a useful construct, although maybe not necessary for a 101 piece like this one; regardless, I’d tweak your definition: a cisgender person is a person whose gender/ gender identity/ gender expression matches the gender assigned to them at birth. That’s the way… Read more »
I ran this by a few self-identified trans individuals and no one told me that I needed to make transman into trans man and transwoman into trans woman. Mind, as this is all about self-identification I totally get what you’re saying and understand why people would prefer it as two words. I’m just saying, it’s not quite completely agreed on. Yeah I’m going to see about editing my cis-gender definition. I’ve read it and re-read it a few times and I realize I failed to put “perceived gender at birth” which would make it more accurate. And yeah, this is… Read more »
And yeah, I edited my definition of cis-gender to more accurately explain what I meant. Thank you for pointing that out.