Sidewinders

Welcome! Presented here are the Gender ABCs, a list from A to Z of words related to gender and gender identity.

Before you begin, here are a few short notes.

Sidewinders is a play that from its outset defies the very labels that are presented in the Gender ABCs. In fact, the actors in Sidewinders do not use a single term among those listed below. This list is offered with the goal of introducing the big and complex world of gender by teaching 26 key words.

As the alphabet only has 26 letters, there are only 26 terms listed: one per letter. Unfortunately this meant not listing every word related to gender identity, including Gender Bending, LGBT, Two-Spirit, and more. The Gender ABCs is not a comprehensive list, but simply an introduction.

Vocabulary is constantly changing, evolving, and growing. Words, particularly those describing gender, are also subjective and personal. Many of the terms below have different meanings for different people and none of these definitions are set in stone.

– Rem Myers
Literary Manager/Dramaturg

Let’s Begin!

A is for Androgynous: Someone who exhibits a combination of male and female characteristics, either physically or behaviorally.

B is for Binary Gender: The classification of gender into two separate and distinct categories: male and female. This includes gender identity, gender roles, and gender expression. Biological women identify as women, act as women and dress as women. Biological men identify as men, act as men and dress as men. This is overwhelmingly the most common type of gender system in the West and dictates how we see, view, treat others around us. Unfortunately, it excludes any person that does not fit in this system.

C is for Cis, or Cisgender which describes the gender of a person if their current identity matches the gender assigned at birth.

D is for Drag: A gender performance. A drag king or queen is someone who performs a caricature of a man or a woman respectively. While male drag queens are the most well known drag artists (men putting on an exaggerated performance of a female), there are also female drag kings, male drag kings (faux kings), and female drag queens (faux queens).

E is for Gender Expression: The mannerisms or traits a person displays or features in order to express their gender. Some types of gender expressions include butch, femme, androgynous, masculine, flamboyant, and feminine. More >>

F is for Gender Fluid: A dynamic movement back and forth between genders.

G is for Genderqueer: An umbrella term that describes all gender categories other than simply male or female. Someone who identifies as genderqueer may identify with two or more genders, may identify as genderless, may identify as genderfluid, or may identify as third gendered.

H is for Heteronormativity: The assumption that the gender binary is fact and that all people are born either male or female, are heterosexual, and must follow gender norms.

I is for Intersex: Someone who, at birth, features physical traits that do not allow them to be assigned as distinctly male or female. Intersex is the current term for the now outdated hermaphrodite. It is uncertain how many people are born intersex as it is common for doctors to perform immediate gender assignment surgery in order to place the child in the gender binary,

J is for Judith Butler: Professor at UC Berkley, Judith Butler is a philosopher, queer theorist, and feminist author. Known for her book Gender Trouble, which originates the idea that gender is a performance.

K is for Kate Bornstein, a playwright, performer, gender theorist, and author. Bornstein is known for her works Gender Outlaw and A Queer and Present Danger.

MSNBC interview with Kate Bornstein, Mel Wymore, and Mara Keisling

L is for Legal Recognition. While some countries recognize multiple genders, the United States legally recognizes only two: female and male. Some states will require sex reassignment surgery to legally recognize a gender not assigned at birth, some states do not require surgery, and other states will not recognize a new gender at all.

Legal requirements each state has for altering the sex on one's birth certificate.

M is for MTF. MTF (male to female) refers to a trans woman. A trans woman is someone who was assigned male at birth but identifies as female. Alternatively, FTM (female to male) is a trans man, assigned female at birth but who identifies as male.

N is for Non-Op. Transgender people may or may not choose to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. If they do, prior to surgery, individuals may be referred as pre-op and after surgery as post-op. However, transgender people may choose not to have surgery at all and may be refereed to as non-op.

O is for Sexual Orientation: The attraction and desire of another person based on gender. Homosexuality is an attraction for someone of the same gender, heterosexuality of someone of the opposite gender, bisexuality for both male and female genders, and asexuality for no genders.

For those who identify as genderqueer, more accurate terms to describe attraction may be androphilia, an attraction to men, and gynephilia, an attraction to women.

Finally, polysexuality is an attraction to multiple genders and pansexuality is an attraction to all genders.

P is for Passing. In terms of gender identity, passing refers to the extent to which a trans or genderqueer person is able to be regarded by others as cis-gender based on physical appearance and behavior. In some environments, passing means safety and quiet while not passing means harassment and violence.

Q is for Queer. Once a pejorative term for homosexual men, the word queer was re-appropriated in the 1990s by the LGBT community. In addition to people who identify as LGBT, queer encompasses those who reject gender norms and the gender binary.

R is for Radical Faeries: A modern day group of male bodied people who identify as neither men or women.

"We are the equivalent of Shamans in modern culture," said Peter Soderberg, during an interview at the 1985 Pagan Spirit Gathering. "Many gay men want to be middle-class Americans. They want to be respected as human beings and they want their sexuality to be ignored. But radical faeries are willing to live on the edge. We feel there is power in our sexuality. You know there is a power there because our culture is so afraid of us." – Adler, Margot Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshipers and Other Pagans in America (Revised Edition). London: Penguin, 2006. p. 361

S is for Sex reassignment surgery: The surgical process of changing one’s body to male or female. Adults must go through an extensive interviews and therapy in order to be ‘diagnosed’ with gender identity disorder so that the surgery may take place.

T is for Trans. Simply put, someone who is trans does not identify with the gender they were assigned with at birth.

"One answer to the question, ‘Who is a transsexual?’ might well be, ‘Anyone who admits it.’ A more political answer might be, ‘Anyone whose performance of gender calls into question the construct of gender itself.’" – Bornstein, Kate. Gender Outlaw. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. p. 131

U is for Unisex. One common problem trans or genderqueer people face are public restrooms. Trans or genderqueer people who enter into gender binary (male or female) public restrooms may be open to harassment and violence. Unisex or gender neutral toilets are an available solution to this problem.

V is for Variance. Gender variant people show gender expression that does not conform to gender norms. Often genderqueer and gender variance are used interchangeably, however genderqueer refers more to an identity while gender variance refers more to an expression.

W is for Waria, the traditional third option in Indonesia. Other example of traditional third genders in the Asia/Pacific region include hijra (India), kathoey (Thailand), and fa'afafine (Samoa). Compared to the West, multiple genders are generally more accepted in this region. Bahasa Indonesia (the language of Indonesia) lacks gender specific pronouns; the third person pronoun is simply "dia."

Waria musician in Bali, Indonesia

X is for X. On Passports in certain countries (Australia and New Zealand included) there are three gender options, M, F, and X (which refers to indeterminate/unspecified).

Y is for Youth. If a child recognizes that they are transgender, they can undergo hormonal therapy to transition into their gender identity while avoiding unwanted sexual characteristics that come with puberty. Whether a young transgender person can begin taking hormones is up to the will of the parents.

Z is for Ze, an example of an English gender neutral pronoun. "Ze," "hir," and "they" are all gender neutral pronouns and may be used in place of gender specific pronouns (such as him or her) for people who don’t identify as strictly male or female, or if they simply prefer to be addressed with gender neutral pronouns.

Special Thanks to Mordecai Ettinger and Alex Myers.