Terminology
• Sex: External anatomy determined at birth by chromosomes, hormones, reproductive organs and secondary characteristics.
• Gender identity: A person's internal sense of gender, whether it be male, female or something on a sliding scale between the two.
• Transgender: A person whose gender identity doesn't match the sex they were assigned at birth. "Assigned" refers to external anatomy at birth.
• Gender expression: A person's external presentation of gender, through name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice or body characteristics. Most transgender individuals define themselves by gender expression rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.
• Sexual orientation: A person's physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to another person. Transgender people may be straight, lesbian, gay, asexual or bisexual.
• Transgender man: A person assigned female anatomy at birth but who's gender identity is male. Sometimes also defined as female-to-male or FTM. Many prefer to use male pronouns such as he or him.
• Transgender woman: A person assigned male anatomy at birth but who's gender identity is female. Sometimes also defined as male-to-female or MTF. Many prefer to use female pronouns such as she or her.
• Cisgender: A non-transgender person whose sex matches their gender identity. Conventional male or female.
• Gender Non-Conforming (also Non-Binary, GenderQueer, Bi-Gender, Two-Spirit, Androgyne): Used to describe people whose gender expression (not sexual preference) is different from conventional male or female. The person's gender may be a mix of male and female or no gender at all.
• Cross-dresser: A term typically used to refer to heterosexual men who occasionally wear clothes, makeup and accessories culturally associated with women. Cross-dressers do not wish to permanently change their sex or live full-time as women.
• Transition: The process of changing one's name, dress or body to reflect one's gender identity. Individuals may or may not chose to have surgery, take hormones or make other changes as part of their transition.
Source: GLAAD, <a href="http://www.glaad.org">www.glaad.org</a>