3 Commonly used terms Transgender Transition ‘Transgender’ (commonly abbreviated to ‘trans’) is a general term used to describe a person whose gender identity is different from 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. ‘Transition’ or affirmation refers to the social, medical or legal steps that a transgender person takes to affirm their gender identity. A person whose birth certificate originally described them as female, who now identifies as a man, may use the labels ‘trans’, ‘trans man’ or ‘man’. Similarly, a person originally described on their birth certificate as male, who now identifies as a woman, may use the label ‘trans’, ‘trans woman’ or ‘woman’.15 A transition or affirmation may or may not involve medical treatment, including surgeries or hormone therapy. People can transition as children or as adults. Each transition is different. 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. ‘Transition isn’t a process from one destination to the other; there is time involved.’ 14