Glossary – Personal, Social & Community Based Terms

AI/AN, Native: American Indian and Alaskan Native: these terms used to include all tribes, peoples, and communities throughout North America.

Historical Trauma: is the term used to describe cumulative emotional and psychological wounds that span time and generation. These wounds are a direct result from large scale group trauma, perpetrated on groups of people who share a specific identity. AI/AN individuals

Loss of culture, land, language, ways of life, and family all contribute to historical trauma. These communities may respond with anxiety, shame, anger, depression, suicidality, and rejection of culture.

Resilience: cultural factors, indigenous world views, and indigenous approaches to healing and coping. EX. Tribal sweat lodge ceremonies and tribal social capital.

There are 3 parts to Resilience: 1) individual level (the mind) 2) collective resilience (the body) 3) cultural resilience (the spirit)

Two-Spirit: describes and individual who has both a male and female essence. Whether the person was assigned male or female at birth is of no importance. The term also expresses the traditional Indigenous understanding of a non-female, non-male gender. Two-Spirit individuals are not bound by gender roles, binary gender expression, sexual orientation, and live according to their non-linear identity.

Two Spirit Individuals are honored in traditional society and viewed to be skilled decision makers due to their ability to see multiple perspectives. They served as mediators, medicine people, warriors, peace makers, and teachers.

Other Indigenous persons and cultural groups worldwide have gender expansive groups like Two-Spirit individuals; however, they do not qualify as Two-Spirit since that term is AI/AN specific.

LGBTQIA2S: Inclusive abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/ Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two Spirit

Gender: socially defined and tends to dictate an individual’s place and role within the community

Gender Identity: the gender that the person identifies with, or how they perceive themselves. Gender identity may be different than their assigned sex at birth and separate from their sexual orientation. Gender Identity may change over time.

Gender Expression: how an individual expresses their gender identity, typically through clothing, body shape, body language, hairstyle, makeup, voice, etc. Expression can and may change over time or it can be fluid.

Gender-expansive: a wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or expression than typically associated with the binary gender system.

Cisgender: Someone whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth

Transgender: Someone whose gender identity is different than their assigned sex at birth

Trans-female/Transfeminine: someone who was assigned male at birth who identifies as something other than male. Often written as MTF.

Trans-male/Transmasculine: someone who is assigned female at birth and now identifies as other than female. Often written as FTM.

Non-Binary: An individual whose gender identity is not completely male or female

Sex: Medical classification of individuals assigned at birth as male, female, or intersex, based on anatomy at birth. Chromosomal identification also plays a role in this classification.

Intersex: the terms to describe infants born with genitals that do not appear to be entirely male or female and who’s anatomy does not match chromosomal sex. Considered a DSD (Disorders of sex development) which is the umbrella category to describe individuals with these conditions.

Sexual Orientation: who an individual is attracted to and makes intimate emotional and romantic attachments/relationships with. It is independent from gender identity and epression of gender.

Asexual: Asexuality is a sexual orientation, like being gay or straight. It is different from celibacy or abstinence. Not everyone agrees on the definition of asexuality. It is a spectrum. An asexual person feels little or no sexual attraction, but they may engage in sexual activity. The spectrum of asexuality contains much diversity in people’s experiences of attraction and arousal and desires for relationships.

Heterosexual: a person who is physically, emotionally, sexually and/ or spiritually attracted to people of the opposite gender.

Homosexual: attractions toward the same gender

Lesbian: refers to a woman attracted to the characteristics of another woman. Some lesbians may refer to themselves as gay or queer, or neither. It is up to the person and their preference.

Gay: refers to a person attracted to the same gender.

Bisexual: a person who is attracted to both male and female identifying individuals

Pansexual: a person who is attracted to multiple genders.

Questioning: the process through which individuals question gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Individuals who are exploring their identity or may not want to conform or define themselves as one identity.

Queer: individuals who are both sexual and gender minorities and who do not identify as heterosexual or cisgender.

Ally: a person who is not LGBTQIA2S+ but demonstrates support for their people. They may promote equality and advocate for the community in various ways

Transition, Gender-transition: the process of working towards more closely aligning one’s outward appearance with one’s internal knowledge of gender identity. Some people may socially transition or undergo medical intervention by means of Gender Affirming Hormone Replacement Therapy or medically necessary surgeries, but neither are necessary to the trans experience. It is an extremely personal journey and never a “one size fits all” or linear path.

Pronouns: a word that refers to the person or people we are talking about. Pronouns are extremely important to a person’s identity and just as important as calling a person by their chosen name.

Here are some common examples of pronouns:

SUBJECTIVE	OBJECTIVE	POSSESSIVE	REFLEXIVE	EXAMPLE
She	Her	Hers	Herself	She is looking. I looked at her. The basket is hers.
He	Him	His	Himself	He is looking. I looked at him. The basket is his.
They	Them	Theirs	Themself	They is looking. I looked at them. The basket is theirs.
Ze	Hir/Zir	Hirs/Zirs	Hirself/Zirself	Ze is looking. I looked at zir. The basket is zirs.
e/ey	Em	Eir	Eirs	eirself
Ve	Ver	Vis	Virs	verself
Xe	Xem	Xyr	Xyrs	xemself