How to access gender-affirming care: Definitions
2SLGBTQI+
An acronym that stands for:
- Two-Spirit (2S)
- lesbian (L)
- gay (G)
- bisexual (B)
- transgender (T)
- queer (Q)
- intersex (I)
- those who are part of sexual and gender diverse communities who use other terminologies (+)
This acronym is currently in common use, but terminology will likely continue to adapt and change as our understanding evolves.
Cisgender
A person who identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth.
Detransitioning
The process of halting or reversing social or medical transition. Not all people who detransition revert to their gender assigned at birth. Instead, some identify as gender-diverse or non-binary.
Gender
The socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men and gender-diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other, and how they act and interact.
Gender-affirming care
The social, psychological and health supports and care that affirms a person's gender identity.
Gender dysphoria
The significant distress that can arise when there's a difference between a person's self-identified gender and the gender they were assigned at birth. This distress can be expressed as:
- depression and anxiety
- increased risk of self harm and suicide
Gender expression
How people choose to express their gender identity. This can include:
- body language
- changing their name and pronouns
- changing how they dress, style their hair or speak
A person's gender expression may not align with societal expectations of gender. As such, it's not a reliable indicator of a person's gender identity.
Gender identity
How a person thinks and feels about their gender. It's how a person identifies their gender either personally or publicly. A person's gender identity may be the same as or different from the gender they were assigned at birth. It's not static nor confined to a binary (such as girl or boy, or woman or man). It exists along a continuum and can change over time.
Gender incongruence in adolescence or adulthood
The marked and persistent difference between a person's internal feelings of gender identity and their gender assigned at birth.
Gender incongruence in childhood
The strong desire to be a different gender than the one assigned at birth.
Non-binary
A term people use to describe genders outside of the binary (2) categories of man and woman.
Sex
A set of biological attributes in humans and animals. It's mostly associated with physical and physiological features, including:
- chromosomes
- gene expression
- hormone levels and function
- reproductive or sexual anatomy
Sex is usually categorized as female or male, but the biological attributes that comprise sex and how those attributes are expressed can vary.
Sex (assigned) at birth
The label a person receives at birth based on physiological factors, including:
- genitals
- hormones
- chromosomes
Most people are assigned male or female. Sex assigned at birth based on visible or external characteristics may not always align with:
- internal, hormonal or chromosomal sex characteristics
- how a person may feel or identify as they age
Health providers and insurance plans often require a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria before providing prescriptions for hormones or gender affirming surgeries.
Trans or transgender person
A person who does not identify, either fully or in part with the gender associated with the sex assigned to them at birth. It's often used as an umbrella term to represent a wide range of gender identities. For example:
- a transgender woman is a person who was assigned as male at birth but whose gender identity is a woman
- a transgender man is a person who was assigned female at birth but whose gender identity is a man
Transitioning
The change in how a person presents themself to others to align with and live in their gender identity. There are different ways to transition, such as:
- socially transitioning
- medically transitioning
- legally transitioning
Transitioning is a very individual process. A person may choose to undergo all 3 types of transitioning while others may not.