Many transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctor to change their body. Therefore, it’s best to use the descriptive term preferred by the individual. Some people who fit this definition may not consider themself to be transgender. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms or may simply use transgender. More broadly speaking, transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is culturally typically associated with the gender/sex they were assigned at birth. Simply put, transgender means that a person was assigned a sex and gender at birth which they disagree with. In some circles, gender identity is falling out of favor, as one does not simply identify as a gender, but is that gender. One’s actual, internal sense of being male or female, neither of these, both, etc. Thank you to Gloria Fraser for the Rainbow Mental Health Services Research that led to the development of the new kupu in the te reo Māori section. Thank you to our 2020 sponsors, International Trans Fund, Rule Foundation, Wellington City Council, and Wellington Community Trust. How trans people define themselves is important. While “diverse” means variety, “minority” indicates a group which seen as different to the social majority, and is often discriminated against on this basis, and protected by anti-discrimination legislation. We prefer this over using euphemisms such as “gender diverse” or “gender expansive”, as euphemisms are not necessary. We use “trans” or “transgender”, or “gender minorities” to discuss our communities. We acknowledge that language is always evolving, thus some of the terms here will not fit with how people know themselves to be.
It covers some context and history about some of the terms, however it is not designed to be exhaustive. This transgender language glossary covers many rainbow community terms, while focusing on gender and transgender identities.