Language & Terminology

Gender identity is defined in the Act as ‘the gender-related identity, appearance or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of a person (whether by way of medical intervention or not), with or without regard to the person’s designated sex at birth’.

For example, a person’s birth certificate may include a marker which indicates that the person’s designated sex is female when that person identifies as a man (in other words, their gender identity is that of a man).

Gender dysphoria is the discomfort a person feels with how their body is perceived and allocated a gender by other people. The experience may occur when a person feels their biological or physical sex doesn’t match their sense of their own gender.

This feeling, that there is a mismatch, can trigger a range of responses. Some people experience serious distress, anxiety and emotional pain, which can affect their mental health. Others experience only low-level distress — or none at all. For this reason, gender dysphoria is no longer considered a mental illness. (Not to be confused with ‘Body Dysmorphia’)

Intersex (Intersex status) is a protected attribute under the Act. Under the Act ‘intersex status’ means the status of having physical, hormonal or genetic features that are:

neither wholly female nor wholly male
a combination of female and male, or
neither female nor male.
The term ‘intersex’ does not describe a person’s gender identity (man, woman, neither or both). A person with an intersex variation may identify as a man, woman, neither or both.

Learn more at:

• Intersex Human Rights Australia
• Intersex Peer Support Australia

LGBTQI (or variations of it) is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex. It is used to refer collectively to these communities. The ‘LGB’ refers to sexuality/sexual identity; the ‘T’ refers to gender identity; and the ‘I’ refers to people who have an intersex variation. ‘Q’ can refer to either gender identity or sexuality.

Non-Binary is a term used to describe a person who does not identify exclusively as either a man or a woman. Genders that sit outside of the female and male binary are often called non-binary.

A person might identify solely as non-binary, or relate to non-binary as an umbrella term and consider themselves genderfluid, genderqueer, trans masculine, trans feminine, agender, bigender, or something else.

Transgender (commonly abbreviated to ‘trans’) is a general term used to describe a person whose gender identity is different to the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender is about how an individual describes their own gender. It is not necessarily about their biological characteristics.

Trans people may position ‘being trans’ as a history or experience, rather than an identity, and consider their gender identity as simply being female, male or a non-binary identity.

Some trans people connect strongly with their trans experience, whereas others do not. Processes of gender affirmation may or may not be part of a trans or gender diverse person’s life.

Transition / Gender Affirmation means the personal process or processes a trans or gender diverse person determines is right for them in order to live as their defined gender and so that society recognises this. Transition may involve social, medical/surgical and/or legal steps that affirm a person’s gender.

Affirming gender doesn’t mean changing gender, ‘having a sex change’ or ‘becoming a man or a woman’, and transition isn’t the same as being trans. A trans or gender diverse person who hasn’t medically or legally affirmed their gender is no less the man, woman or non-binary person they’ve always been.

Social transition is the process by which a person changes their gender expression to better match their gender identity. This may include changing their name, pronouns, and appearance.

Medical transition is the process by which a person changes their physical sex characteristics to align with their gender identity. This may include hormone therapy, surgery or both.

Legal transition is the process by which a person changes their identity documents, name, or both, to reflect their gender identity. This may include changing their gender marker on a passport or birth certificate or changing their name on a driver’s licence or bank card.

A social attitude is commonly defined as “a behavior pattern, anticipatory set or tendency, predisposition to specific adjustment or more simply, a conditioned response to social stimuli” (Dockery & Bedeian, 1989, p. 11).