Assigned gender

Assigned gender at birth is in most places male or female based on visible genitalia (so babies with a penis are assigned "male" and babies with a vagina are assigned "female". In some countries, babies may also be assigned "intersex" at birth if their genitals are neither typically male nor typically female; this may be denoted by an "X" in place of "M" or "F" on the birth certificate.

For most people, the gender they are assigned at birth determines whether they are raised in the male or female gender role and the gender matches what their gender identity is. For transgender people, their gender identity is different to the gender they were assigned at birth.

The terms AFAB, FAAB, and CAFAB stand for "assigned female at birth", "female-assigned at birth", and "coercively assigned female at birth". The acronyms AMAB, MAAB, and CAMAB, as well as AIAB or AXAB and IAAB or XAAB, are related terms for being assigned "male" or "intersex" at birth. The CAFAB and CAMAB terms are used only by some intersex people, particularly when they underwent genital surgery as an infant to make their genitals more typically female or male. The term AGAB stands for "assigned gender at birth".