Learn more about foundational topics related to gender.
What does transgender mean?
Gender diversity refers to the many different ways that people experience their gender.
Just like with any other complex topic, terminology and foundational concepts can help us understand and talk about gender.
What do I need to know first?
Gender and sex are different concepts, and neither are binary. Sex refers to biological traits such as sexual anatomy, hormones and chromosomes. Gender is about how people feel on the inside (for example, man/boy, woman/girl, neither or both).
What does transgender mean?
When someone is ”cisgender”, their gender is the same as their sex assumed at birth. When someone’s sex assumed at birth is not the same as their gender, they may use terms like ‘transgender’, ‘Two-Spirit’, ‘non-binary’ or others.
Gender expressions (the way people show their gender), identities and roles can vary across cultures and these notions are influenced by the people and society around us.
What does Two-Spirit mean?
Two-Spirit is an English-language term used by some Indigenous people. It reflects complex and diverse Indigenous understandings of gender roles, spirituality and the long history of sexual and gender diversity in Indigenous cultures. Individual terms and roles for Two-Spirit people, if they existed historically and are still within the awareness of nation members, are specific to each Nation.
Due to the cultural, spiritual, and historical context, the term Two-Spirit, as self-identification, is to be used only by Indigenous people. Not all Indigenous people who hold diverse sexual and gender identities consider themselves Two-Spirit.
What does non-binary mean?
The term ‘non-binary’ is used a lot these days. Binary means having only two alternatives, like man and woman/boy and girl. Non-binary refers to a spectrum or constellation of genders beyond only two.
How does sexual orientation fit in?
Gender can be thought of as who you are, while sexual orientation is who you are attracted to. Sexual orientation uses terms like ‘straight’, ‘gay’, ‘lesbian’ and ‘bisexual’. Transgender people can have any sexual orientation.