Women in Science Advocacy Group
Glossary
The purpose of the Ally Glossary is to inform on the correct definitions for gender-identifying terms. WiSAG aims to create a positive environment for gender-minority members of the Jefferson community through ally education.
If you identify with any of these terms or not, you are welcome to join WiSAG!
Agender: an umbrella term for people who do not have an internal experience of gender or feel they "lack gender"
Ally: someone who actively supports a certain group of people
Cisgender: your gender identity matches your sex assigned at birth
Gender: a person's identity and how they feel inside (ex: man, woman, nonbinary, agender, et al.)
Gender dysphoria: a person's distress when their assigned gender does not match their internal gender identity
Gender euphoria: a person's joy when their gender expression and/or presentation matches their identity
Gender expression: how someone presents their gender to the world
Genderfluid: someone whose gender identity changes over time rather than remaining static
Genderqueer: all gender identities that exist outside the gender binary
Gender roles: the societal expectations attached to a person's sex assigned at birth
Intersex: a person who was born with reproductive anatomy and/or physiology that does not fit the binary female or male definitions
Misgender: when someone gets a person's gender wrong (ex: use the wrong pronouns when talking to them or about them)
Nonbinary: a person whose gender identity is outside the gender binary (man or woman)
Queer: this can mean different things depending on the individual; for many, it means someone or something that is not cisgender and heterosexual
Sex: the physical characteristics that differentiate male, female, and intersex bodies
Transgender: a person whose assigned sex at birth does not align with their gender identity