By Tara Haelle
Using appropriate terminology when reporting on medical studies is important not only for the sake of accuracy and clarity but also to avoid causing harm to populations with specialized, but often misused, terms. Such is the case with transgender people, whose experience with language is often already fraught when they must navigate misgendering with pronouns and outdated, inappropriate terms such as “transsexual.”
Sometimes the difference between an appropriate term and an inappropriate one is a seemingly subtle grammatical difference, such an extraneous “ed” at the end of transgender: “transgendered” is a problematic term to avoid whereas “transgender” is an appropriate one.
GLAAD, the nonprofit advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and non-binary gender individuals, provides a helpful GLAAD Media Reference guide on transgender terms that any journalist reported on trans issues should bookmark.
Below are the most basic terms to know when reporting on transgender populations or issues, pulled from a study about emergency care experiences of transgender patients. But the GLAAD tip sheet goes into more detail with additional terms.
Transgender — describes someone whose gender identify or expression diverges from the gender they were assigned at birth and/or that societal norms expect of them
Cisgender — describes a person whose gender identity matches the gender they were assigned at birth
Gender identity — an individual’s personal, basic sense of their identity as a man, woman or other non-binary gender, which may or may not “match” their physical anatomy or sex chromosomes
Gender non-conforming — describes someone who does not conform to society’s gender norms, including the arbitrarily binary distinction of gender
Intersex — describes a person who was born with “external or internal genitalia that vary from typical male or female genitalia, a chromosomal pattern that varies from XX (female) or XY (male), or hormonal insensitivity (such as androgen insensitivity syndrome, disorders of sex development)
Two-spirit — a very specific term used in some North American Native American communities to describe individuals who identify with both male and female gender roles or expressions; use with cautious sensitivity only when a source uses the term, and in a non-pejorative context
Transsexual — an historic, outdated term previously referring to transgender people but no longer used because of its inappropriate oversimplification of gender identity
Transitioning — the process of changing from one gender identity to another, including physical changes—such as cosmetically, hormonally, surgically or otherwise medically—and legal and social changes, such as changing a name or the designation of “sex” or “gender” on identification documents.
