Trans is an umbrella term for anyone whose gender identity is different to that they were assumed to be at birth. It includes transsexual people, gender queers, cross dressers, androgynous and bi-gendered people, as well as people with a transsexual history who simply identify as the men and women they know themselves to be (ref: Shining the Light by Ben Gooch, Galop 2010).

Some people prefer the term ‘self designated gender’ to show that trans people have chosen to define their own gender, rather than just accept the gender assigned to them by others or medical or social institutions (ref: Beyond Cis-Genderism, Y.G. Ansara, 2010).

Trans man is a term covering a range of masculine-identified trans people. This includes anyone who was labelled female at birth but who identifies as male, including people identifying as FTM, gender queer or simply men – albeit with a trans history (ref: Sexual Health Booklet for Transmen, THT, 2012).

Cis is a way of describing people who are comfortable in the gender they were assigned with at birth. The word comes from the Latin word ‘cis’ which means ‘on the same side’. Cis-genderism is about the way society gives privilege to cis people in its structures, organisations, power and what society thinks people are ‘supposed’ to be like. Some people prefer the term ‘non-trans’.

Cis men are people who were assigned male at birth and who feel comfortable with male as their gender identity.