Terminology

[floit63]

This post got me thinking. How many of our arguments (either amongst ourselves or with others) stem from the fact that everyone has a slightly different interpretation of key words we use? I'm going to post a few different words that are rather important when discussing trans issues and I'd love it if everyone could go through and give their definitions of these words so that I can make a list for n00bs (all of them can be anon if you wish). My own definitions will be in the comments.

The Words:
Sex
Gender
Transgender
Transexual
Trans*
Male
Female
Man/boy
Woman/girl
Cisgender
Gay
Lesbian
Straight
Bisexual
Pansexual
Polysexual
Asexual
Ally
Stealth
Out (as in out of the closet, not as in out to the store)
Pride

Comments

That took me a while, and I'm still not perfectly happy...

[ten]

My personal definitions of the terms (some easy, some difficult to put down in a few words) Note that where there are options, these options don't have to be exclusive of each other.

Sex The biological sex as defined by one's genetic makeup and natural reproductive organs.
Gender A role related to social interaction and environments. Can be set or fluent, depending on the person's self-identification and/or social environment. May be, but must not be related to the person's sex.
Transgender a) A state in which a person does not feel they belong to the gender assigned to them
b) a recently preferred term for transsexual as it is considered to encompass a far wider range of self-identification
Transexual A state in which a person considers their sex to not fit their gender
Trans* A common term for all forms of transitioning between genders and/or sexes
Male a) having the xy chromosome
b) a gender identity connected to certain characteristics most commonly defined by one's social environment
Female a) having the xx chromosome
b) a gender identity connected to certain characteristics most commonly defined by one's social environment
Man/boy a male person (see 'male' above)
Woman/girl a female person (see 'female' above)
Cisgender a state in which one feels their gender and natural sex are congruent
Gay being physically and/or romantically attracted to persons of the same sex and/or gender
Lesbian being of the female gender and/or sex and being physically and/or romantically attracted to other person of the female sex and/or gender
Straight being physically and/or romantically attracted to persons of the other gender and/or sex in a binary gender system
Bisexual being physically and/or romantically attracted to persons of either gender and/or sex in a binary gender system
Pansexual being physically and/or romantically attracted to persons of all genders and/or sexes in non-binary gender systems
Polysexual being physically and/or romantically attracted to persons of many but not necessarily all genders and/or sexes in non-binary gender systems
Asexual not being sexually attracted to others. Romantic attraction is however possible and sexuality still exists.
Ally Someone who supports the rights and situations of trans persons while not being trans themselves.
(I ... honestly dislike this term. It sounds too much like part of a war situation to me. I prefer a simple 'friend'.)
Stealth hiding one's trans* state from other people
Out informing other people about one's trans* state
Pride a movement that celebrates gender diversity and encourages people to never be ashamed nor let others treat them like they should be ashamed of their gender and/or sexuality.

Re: That took me a while, and I'm still not perfectly happy...

[floit63]

I rather like your definitions for male/female. Allows for biology without also getting into the issues I had with my own definitions.

And you gave me an actual definition of polysexual! I've been trying to figure out the difference between pansexual and polysexual since I first heard the term, thank you.

Re: That took me a while, and I'm still not perfectly happy...

[sin_nombre]

You do realize that there's no such thing as AN XY chromosome or AN XX chromosome, right? There's an X chromosome, and a Y chromosome, and they can be thrown into almost any configuration. Also, XY women (e.g., people with AIS) wouldn't fit into this definition, nor would XXY, XYY, XXYY men, or XO, XXX, or XXXX women, to name a few. And then there are the wonderful conditions that result in mosaicism.

Moreover, I'd venture to say that most trans* people have never had genetic testing and wouldn't know their own karyotypes anyway.

Re: That took me a while, and I'm still not perfectly happy...

[floit63]

Just as a note, comments are screened unless you're a member of the community.

Re: That took me a while, and I'm still not perfectly happy...

[auntysarah]

There's no such thing as "the XX chromosome" and "the XY chromosome". There are X chromosomes, and there are Y chromosomes. It's also a lot more complicated than "46XX = female, 46XY = male", even if you ignore trans people. There are 46XX male people walking around who assume they are 46XY, there are 46XY female people walking around who assume they are 46XX. There are both 47XXY male and female people, again many of whom have no idea of their unusual chromosomal configuration, and various others.

XX=female, XY=male is very simplistic, and nature is much more complicated than that.

Re: That took me a while, and I'm still not perfectly happy...

[ten]

Someone else already commented that, but as their comment was screened I couldn't reply.

Yes, I had a word brainfart there. Chromosome combination would be what I really meant. Maybe adding a 'predominantly' would be more medically correct.

That person also mentioned AIS, which I, as far I'm very basically informed, is medically considered an intersex condition though.

Re: That took me a while, and I'm still not perfectly happy...

[floit63]

Sorry about the screened comment, I set it to screen from non-members automatically to cut down on trolls/spam and managed to miss that one.