We are all assigned a sex at birth based on attributes such as our chromosomes, hormones and external and internal anatomy, but not everyone's gender identity – their internal sense of their gender – aligns with the sex they were assigned.  

Trans is an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth.   

Cisgender or cis people are those who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth.   

Transitioning refers to the steps a trans person takes to live in the gender with which they identify: each person’s transition will involve different things.   

Non-binary is an umbrella term covering gender identities that fall outside the gender binary, i.e. are not exclusively male or female. Some non-binary people identify as trans; some do not. 

Learn more from these videos