Transgender

A person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender is about identity, not medical transition — you do not need to have surgery or take hormones to be trans.

Transgender people may identify as male, female, non-binary, or another gender entirely. The term encompasses trans men, trans women, and non-binary people, though not all non-binary people identify as transgender.

The opposite of transgender is cisgender (someone whose gender matches their assigned sex). Being transgender is not a mental illness — the distress many trans people feel comes from societal stigma and lack of access to gender-affirming care, not from being trans itself.