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Trans Chaser

A person who seeks sexual relationships with trans people, sometimes exclusively, for the sake of fetish fulfillment. Some chasers may develop patterns of stalking, pursuing, or sexually harassing transgender individuals. Mariah suspected that the guy she met on Tinder was a chaser, as he had been known to date and fetishize transgender women and treated his partners disrespectfully.

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Top Surgery

A slang term used to describe surgical procedures intended to remove, enhance, and/or alter breast tissue. Types of top surgery include breast augmentation procedures, double mastectomy surgery, keyhole surgery, and many others. Binary, as well as non-binary, trans people may pursue various forms of top surgery, depending on their personal needs.

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Third Gender

A category of individuals who do not necessarily identify as masculine or feminine and may possess a gender identity that exists outside of the gender binary. The concept of a “third gender” (also referred to as “third sex”) is present in non-Western societies that have traditionally acknowledged the existence of three or more genders. Specific third-gender identities and modes of gender expression vary widely depending on a person’s society, culture, and personal identity.

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Testosterone

A hormone responsible for the development of secondary sex characteristics, typically including the growth of body and/or facial hair, increased muscularity, fat redistribution, and thickening of the vocal cords. Testosterone may cause clitoral growth and the reduction or cessation of menses in some individuals.

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TERF

An acronym for “transgender-exclusionary radical feminist.” TERFs deny the existence of gender identity and subscribe to the unsubstantiated notion that transgender women are co-opting or appropriating womanhood in order to gain access to cisgender women’s spaces.

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Street Hormones

Hormones procured from unlicensed parties and administered without oversight by a medical professional (“from the street”). While specific reasons vary from person to person, some people may use street hormones to circumvent economic and/or social barriers such as gatekeeping or lack of health insurance, which may prevent the acquisition of HRT through a licensed doctor. Note that self-administering street hormones may pose potential health risks. Allen couldn’t afford the out-of-pocket payments for his testosterone, so he briefly considered buying street hormones from an Internet vendor at a cheaper price.

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Stealth

Living full-time as one’s true gender without revealing one’s transgender status to others, sometimes for safety purposes. Jordan was stealth at work because disclosing his transgender status might have provoked hostility from bigoted co-workers.

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