TW: mentions of gender dysphoria, self harm, suicidal thoughts, sex and sexual organs

___

Gender is the sex with which a person identifies. For most people this is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth: male or female.

Most people are endosex, meaning that their physical sex characteristics align with what is normally expected from a male or a female, but not both. Some people’s sex is not easy to identify at birth as they are born with sex characteristics associated with both males and females, these people are intersex. Sex characteristics could include gonads, genitals and chromosomes. 

Most people are cis gender, meaning that they identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Some people do not identify with the sex that they are assigned at birth. These people are transgender. This can mean that they are non-binary; though not all non-binary people identify with being transgender. Non binary means that the person does not identify as entirely male or female. This can be within a male-female spectrum, or include xenogenders (genders considered outside of the normal human gender experience such as robogender, animal based, or cosmological genders). Transgender is an adjective, often shortened to trans, that is followed by the person’s gender (noun). Trans means across. For instance a person assigned male at birth who identifies as female is a transgender woman or trans woman. A person assigned female at birth who identifies as male is a transgender man or trans man. 

Gender dysphoria is where a person feels intense emotional discomfort associated with their body having aspects typically associated with the opposite gender to which they identify. This can be caused by their physical appearance, how their body feels, or their voice. It can also be triggered by being misgendered or missing out on things that they consider normal for their gender. Many, though not all, transgender people struggle with sex due to gender dysphoria. It can also cause issues with their mental health such as anxiety and depression as well as self harm, suicidal thoughts, self neglect and eating problems. It can also trigger dissociation, depersonalisation and derealization. Because of all this gender affirming care can make a huge impact on people’s wellbeing and can even save their life.