Trans/Transgender is a term describing a person’s gender identity that does not match their assigned sex at birth. This word is also used as an umbrella term to describe some groups of people who transcend conventional expectations of gender identity or expression.
Cisgender is a term to describe a person whose gender identity and/or expression is the same as their birth sex, such as someone who is identified as male at birth and grows up to identify as a man. The term Trans is inclusive of the Trans umbrella, but not limited to, identities such as:
- Male-to-female (MtF)
- Female-to-male (FtM)
Gender identity is the person’s feeling of being male, female, both, a mixture, or neither, which is shown to other people through gender expression (clothes, hairstyles, mannerisms, etc.). It is separate and independent from sexual orientation. Trans people can be lesbian, gay, bi, straight, pansexual, etc.