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glossary of terms
Gender
A person's gender is complex, encompassing countless characteristics of appearance, speech, movement and other factors not solely limited to biological sex. Our ideas about masculinity and femininity (our understanding of gender) arise from the roles, attitudes, appearance, values and behaviours attributed to women and men by society.
Gender Expression
The manifestation of an individual's sense of being masculine or feminine through appearance, speech, movement, behaviour, etc.
Gender Identity
An inner sense of being male or female.
Gender Stereotypes
Mental templates we all have for how each sex should look, dress, and act.
Homophobia
The unfounded fear or hatred of people on the assumption that they are lesbian, gay or bisexual. The root of prejudice and discrimination based on an individual's sexual orientation.
Intersex
Intersex people are people born with sex chromosomes, external genitalia, or an internal reproductive system that is not considered 'standard' for either male or female.
LGBT
An abbreviation used as an umbrella term for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Mainstreaming
A strategy promoted by the Scottish Executive for progressing equality:
"the systematic integration of an equality perspective...[which] tackles structures, behaviours and attitudes that contribute to, or sustain inequality and discrimination."
Sex
The classification of people as male or female. At birth, infants are assigned a sex based on a combination of bodily characteristics including: chromosomes, hormones, internal reproductive organs, and genitals.
Sexism
Prejudice or discrimination based on gender. Like other "isms," sexism can be at a personal level, as when someone tells a joke or makes a remark that demeans a woman because of her gender; it can be at a cultural level where, for example, sexist views are accepted and remain unchallenged in a staff room, just because they "mean no offence" or institutional, as when women are paid less than men doing the same work, or are offered fewer promotion opportunities.
Transgender
An all-embracing term for people whose gender identity or gender expression conflicts with the 'norms' expected by their society.
Transsexual
A transsexual person's self-perceived gender is not the gender they were assumed to be at birth on the basis of their physical characteristics.
The term transsexual is usually used to describe a person who intends to undergo, is undergoing or has in the past undergone a process of gender recognition/reassignment (which may or may not involve hormone therapy or surgery). Transsexual people are protected in employment law under the 2006 Equality Act.
Transphobia
The unfounded fear or hatred of transgender people. The root of prejudice and discrimination based on an individual's gender expression/identity.
This glossary has borrowed and adapted definitions from four sources:
http://www.gpac.org/gpac/glossary.html
http://www.equality-network.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender
http://www.culturalpartnerships.org/productspubs/glossary.asp
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