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Gender Norm

An arbitrary social standard or expectation based on an individual’s perceived gender (Wilson, 2014). Gender norms are rarely static and vary significantly over time and among cultures. In the early 1900s, some gender norms were vastly different than the ones we observe today—for example, in the United States, male-assigned babies commonly wore pink clothing, while female-assigned babies wore blue.

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Gender-Neutral

A term used to denote all-gender-inclusive spaces, language, concepts, items, and more (for instance, gender-neutral clothing, gender-neutral language, gender-neutral bathrooms).  The newborn’s parents decided to give their baby a gender-neutral name so as to discourage traditional, gender-based expectations about how they might identify as they grew up.

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Gender Marker

An abbreviation (usually M or F) denoting a person’s gender on legal documents and government-issued identification forms. Gender markers can be changed from one binary gender to the other (Wilson, 2014). However, some United States jurisdictions allow non-binary gender markers on IDs and driver’s licenses, represented by the letter “X.” Changing a gender marker on an individual’s driver’s license, ID, birth certificate, or passport may require different processes specific to state, county, or city regulations.

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Genderfluid

A state of fluctuating, or shifting, between various genders, depending on a person’s internal state. Genderfluid individuals may or may not change their gender expression, pronouns, and/or name due to shifts in their gender identity. Genderfluid individuals’ expression of their identities may be context-sensitive and/or based on preferences

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Gender Expression

The external manifestation of a person’s gender identity, which may or may not conform to gender stereotypes and may be expressed through clothing, appearance, behavior, and/or prosthetics. Gender expression or presentation may be masculine, feminine, androgynous, gender-neutral, etc. Jaime’s gender expression was traditionally feminine; they liked to wear dresses, high heels, and make-up.

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