Glossary of English gender and sex terminology

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This glossary of English gender and sex terminology shows actual language use. Unless a word is marked with a specific country, assume all these words may be used internationally, in any country where English is spoken.

This glossary's selection of words has a focus on nonbinary identities, and closely related subjects of gender non-conformity. This glossary also collects words about gender and sexuality, especially words used by or in reference to LGBT+ identities as well as intersex conditions, as these provide essential context, and often have an overlap with the main subject. The glossary includes psychiatric terminology as well as subcultural slang, and obsolete historical terms as well as very new words (neologisms). The words cover identity labels, gender-neutral pronouns, diagnoses, and political issues.

If you put more words into this glossary, try to only put in words that you wouldn't find in the average pocket dictionary. Give sources to show that the word is really used in the way you say, or, if the wiki has an entry about that word, link to it. Keep glossary entries short, about three lines long at most. If they get too long, make a new wiki article for them.

Although it is useful to learn how to understand specialized jargon, you can be more helpful to your readers if you keep your own writing easy to understand. When writing for this wiki, please try to use plain English as much as possible, and use specialized jargon only sparingly, and as needed.

A

• ace. Short for asexual, which see.
• AGAB. Assigned gender at birth. Most people are either assigned female at birth (AFAB) or assigned male at birth (AMAB).
• AFAB. See AGAB.

The most commonly used agender pride flag, created in 2014.

• agender. A nonbinary identity. 1. Some who call themselves agender have no gender identity (genderless). 2. Some who call themselves agender have a gender identity, which isn't female or male, but neutral.
• altersex. Describes people or fictional characters for whom "their actual body or their desired body does not conform to either binary sex standard in some way, but is not this way due to any variation of intersex. This can be due to sexual transitioning, being of a fictional/impossible sex, being able to shapeshift to change sex characteristics, or having an 'alien' sex that is not found in humans but may be found elsewhere, such as a species that has different sexes from our own." Coined by farorenightclaw. Intended to replace problematic terms like "futanari", "herm", "dickgirl", etc. Has been called transphobic by some and should not be applied to real life people who do not identify themselves as such.
• AMAB. See AGAB.

Androgyne symbol. In 1996, self-identified androgyne Raphael Carter proposed adopting this ambiguous geometric shape, the Necker Cube, as a symbol for androgynes, "because it is either concave or convex depending on how you look at it."

• ambonec. A nonbinary "gender identity in which you identify as both male and female, yet you also identify as neither, at the same time."
• androgyne. This word is used for a wide variety of gender nonconforming and nonbinary gender identities and gender expressions.
• androphilic. A romantic and sexual orientation in which a person feels attraction to men or masculinity.
• angenital or ANG. "an identity in which you feel uncomfortable (potentially dysphoric) with having any sort of genitalia (sex) at all but do not mind gendered pronouns or having a gender label. You have a desire to be sexless but not necessarily genderless." Coined by uchuulien. See also genital nullification.