Glossary
Words matter. Here are the key terms, defined based on scientific sources.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| AFAB | Acronym for "Assigned Female at Birth". It refers to the sex recorded at birth, regardless of the person's gender identity. Learn more → |
| Gender affirmation | The set of paths — social, medical, legal — through which a person aligns their life with their gender identity. Preferred over "sex change" because it recognizes identity as the starting point, not the destination. Learn more → |
| Ally | A cisgender person who actively supports the rights and well-being of trans people. Being an ally means listening, getting informed and standing up against discrimination, not speaking on behalf of trans people. Learn more → |
| AMAB | Acronym for "Assigned Male at Birth". It refers to the sex recorded at birth, regardless of the person's gender identity. Learn more → |
| Gender binarism | The cultural system that classifies gender into only two rigid categories (man/woman), excluding non-binary identities and the natural variations of biological sex. Learn more → |
| Alias career (carriera alias) | In Italy, the possibility of using one's chosen name in an organization's internal systems (badges, email, registers) before legal gender recognition. Adopted by several Italian universities and companies. Learn more → |
| Cisgender | A person whose gender identity matches the sex assigned at birth. The prefix "cis-" comes from Latin and means "on the same side". Learn more → |
| Coming out | The process through which a person tells others about their gender identity or sexual orientation. For trans people, it is often an ongoing and selective process. Learn more → |
| Deadnaming | Using a trans person's pre-transition legal name (deadname) without their consent. Even when unintentional, it can cause significant distress and put the person's safety at risk. |
| DSM-5 | Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition), published by the American Psychiatric Association. It includes "gender dysphoria" as a diagnosis, distinguishing it from simple gender nonconformity. Learn more → |
| Detransition | The interruption or reversal of a gender transition path. Detransition rates are very low (1-5%) and the most frequent causes are external social pressures, not regret. Learn more → |
| Gender dysphoria | Clinically significant distress caused by the incongruence between the experienced gender and the sex assigned at birth. Defined in the DSM-5 as a diagnosis; the ICD-11 uses the term "gender incongruence" instead and removed it from mental disorders. Learn more → |
| Gender expression | The way a person communicates their gender through clothing, behavior, voice and appearance. It may not match the social expectations associated with the person's gender. Learn more → |
| FTM (Female-to-Male) | Acronym referring to a trans person whose sex assigned at birth was female and whose gender identity is male. Many people simply prefer "trans man". Learn more → |
| Genderfluid | A gender identity that is not fixed but can vary over time, shifting between masculine, feminine, both or neither. It falls within the spectrum of non-binary identities. Learn more → |
| GnRH agonists (puberty blockers) | Medications that temporarily pause pubertal development. Used for over 40 years in pediatric endocrinology, they are considered reversible: once discontinued, puberty resumes normally. Learn more → |
| ICD-11 | International Classification of Diseases (eleventh revision) of the WHO, in force since 2022. It moved gender incongruence from the chapter on mental disorders to the one on "conditions related to sexual health". Learn more → |
| Gender identity | Each person's deep, internal sense of their own gender. It may or may not match the sex assigned at birth. It typically consolidates between 3 and 5 years of age. Learn more → |
| Gender incongruence | Term adopted by the ICD-11 (WHO, 2019) to describe the marked and persistent incongruence between the experienced gender and the assigned sex. It is not classified as a mental disorder. Learn more → |
| Intersex | A person with natural variations in biological sex characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, anatomy) that do not fit the typical categories of male or female. It concerns about 1.7% of the population. Learn more → |
| GAHT | Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy, the international term for hormone therapy for gender affirmation. It involves the administration of estrogen or testosterone to develop secondary sex characteristics consistent with one's gender identity. Learn more → |
| LGBTQ+ | Acronym standing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and other identities (+). It is an umbrella term representing the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities. |
| Law 164/1982 | The Italian law that allows legal gender recognition. Italy was one of the first European countries to adopt it. The Constitutional Court later ruled that surgery is not mandatory. Learn more → |
| Misgendering | The intentional or unintentional use of pronouns, names or gendered terms that do not match a person's gender identity. Research links systematic misgendering to negative effects on mental health. Learn more → |
| MTF (Male-to-Female) | Acronym referring to a trans person whose sex assigned at birth was male and whose gender identity is female. Many people simply prefer "trans woman". Learn more → |
| WHO | World Health Organization. In 2019, with the ICD-11, it reclassified gender incongruence, moving it from mental disorders to conditions related to sexual health, recognizing its biological basis. |
| ONIG | Italian National Observatory on Gender Identity. It coordinates the main Italian centers specialized in caring for people with gender incongruence, promoting guidelines and training for healthcare professionals. Learn more → |
| Non-binary | Umbrella term for gender identities that do not fall exclusively into the category of man or woman. It includes identities such as genderfluid, agender, bigender and others. Learn more → |
| Sexual orientation | The emotional, romantic or sexual attraction toward other people. It is a dimension completely distinct from gender identity: it concerns who you are attracted to, not who you are. Learn more → |
| Outing | Disclosing a person's gender identity or sexual orientation without their consent. Unlike coming out (voluntary), outing is a violation of privacy and can have serious consequences for the person's safety. Learn more → |
| Passing | A trans person's ability to be perceived as belonging to the gender they identify with. Not all trans people want or seek passing, and it is not an indicator of the validity of one's identity. |
| Pronouns | The words used to refer to a person in the third person (he/she/they). Respecting a trans person's pronouns is a fundamental act of recognition. When in doubt, it is appropriate to ask. Learn more → |
| Queer | Umbrella term embracing all gender identities and sexual orientations that do not conform to heteronormative and cisnormative norms. Originally a slur, it has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community. |
| Legal gender recognition | The legal procedure to change one's name and/or gender marker on official documents. In Italy it is regulated by Law 164/1982 and does not necessarily require surgery. Learn more → |
| Biological sex | A set of physical characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, reproductive anatomy) assessed at birth. It is not always reducible to a binary classification, as intersex variations demonstrate. Learn more → |
| TERF | Acronym for "Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist". It refers to those who hold feminist positions that exclude trans women from the category "woman". It is a descriptive term, not an insult, although it is contested by those who identify with these positions. Learn more → |
| Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) | Medical treatment involving the administration of estrogen or testosterone to develop secondary sex characteristics consistent with the person's gender identity. Learn more → |
| Transgender (trans) | A person whose gender identity does not match the sex assigned at birth. It is an adjective, not a noun: one says "a trans person", not "a transgender". Learn more → |
| Transphobia | The set of prejudices, discrimination and violence directed against trans people because they are trans. It manifests at the individual level (insults, assaults), institutional level (discriminatory laws) and cultural level (stereotypes, erasure). Learn more → |
| Transition | The process through which a person aligns their life with their gender identity. It can be social (name, pronouns, expression), medical (hormones, surgery) or legal (documents). Not all trans people undertake all of these paths. Learn more → |
| Social transition | The process of living according to one's gender identity in everyday life: adopting a new name, pronouns and gender expression. It does not involve any medical intervention. Learn more → |
| WPATH | World Professional Association for Transgender Health. International organization that publishes the Standards of Care (SOC), the reference guidelines for healthcare for trans and gender diverse people. Learn more → |