What Does Ts Mean Sexually

What Does Ts Mean Sexually

Medically Reviewed by Smitha Bhandari, MD on May 20, 2021
Transgender is a general term that describes people whose gender identity, or their internal sense of being male, female, or something else, does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. By contrast, the term cisgender describes people whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.
According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, there are about 1.4 million transgender people in the United States, who fall into several categories. A transgender woman was labeled as male at birth but has the gender identity of a female. A transgender man was assigned female sex at birth but identifies as male. Some transgender people don’t identify with one gender exclusively. Their gender identity may combine both female and male elements, for instance, or they may not feel like either gender. These transgender people are often described as being “non-binary.” Another term that is sometimes used to describe people in this category is “genderqueer.”
Transgender people may be gender non-conforming, meaning that they adopt customs and habits that are not typically associated with their assigned birth sex. That is, they may express their gender identity through the way they talk, act, dress, style their hair , and other behaviors. Choosing a new name that better suits one’s gender identity is common, too. Some transgender people, though not all, elect to undergo medical treatments that change their bodies to make them more compatible with their gender identity. Treatments can include hormone therapy, surgery, and other interventions.
The term transgender does not describe a person’s romantic and sexual preferences. That’s because gender identity is not the same as sexual orientation . The latter term is used to describe a person’s innate preference for romantic or sexual relationships with men, women, or both sexes. Heterosexual (“straight”) people are attracted to members of the opposite sex. Homosexual people (gays and lesbians) are attracted to people of the same sex. Bisexual people are attracted to both men and women. Transgender people may be straight, gay or lesbian, or bisexual.
While these terms are often confused, they do not mean the same thing. A transgender person is typically born with a body that has unambiguous sexual characteristics (either male or female) but they don’t match the person's gender identity. By contrast, an intersex person is born with a body that is not clearly male or female. For instance, a baby with male chromosomes may have genitals and other sexual characteristics that appear female. The opposite can be true of babies born with female chromosomes. In some cases, an intersex person’s reproductive anatomy may combine male and female characteristics. Between one in 1,500 and one in 2,000 babies are born with a mix of sexual characteristics.
A transgender person may also be intersex, and vice versa, though that’s not usually the case. An intersex person may live in a way that’s in accord with the sex he or she was assigned at birth. For example, an intersex baby assigned female sex at birth might be raised as a girl and continue to behave, dress, and groom in a traditionally feminine manner for life. However, some who were raised as one sex later embrace the gender identity of the opposite sex, making changes to their appearance, behaviors, and bodies similar to those made by many transgender people.
For some transgender people, the mismatch between the sex they were assigned at birth and their gender identity may cause a medically recognized form of psychological distress called gender dysphoria . Adolescents can develop gender dysphoria, though the condition may not arise until adulthood. People with gender dysphoria feel an intense and persistent desire to be rid of the sexual characteristics they were born with and become another gender. Feeling rejected by family and society increases the risk for social dysphoria. Treatment involves working with a supportive psychotherapist and may include taking steps to “affirm” one’s gender identity through various forms of expression, from changing one’s name to seeking body-altering medical therapy.
An additional source of psychological distress for transgender people is the stigma they face in everyday life. Advocates point out that few states offer legal protections to prevent discrimination against transgender people, making them vulnerable to unfair treatment when they look for a place to live, a job, or medical treatment.
American Psychological Association: "What Does Transgender Mean?" "Definitions Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in APA Documents."
Johns Hopkins Medicine: "Glossary of Transgender Terms."
National Center for Transgender Equality: "Frequently Asked Questions about Transgender People."
Intersex Society of America: "How Common is Intersex?"
American Psychiatric Association: "What Is Gender Dysphoria?"
American Journal of Public Health: "Homicide Rates of Transgender Individuals in the United States: 2010–2014."
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Here’s a comprehensive look at the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
As we all know by now, gender , sexual orientation, and romantic preferences all span across a spectrum. And thanks to language constantly evolving, this means there are many more terms people can use to describe themselves that go well beyond just “straight” or “gay” and “male” or “female.”
But because sexuality and gender identity is so nuanced, it’s important to stay informed and knowledgeable about inclusive language so you can continue to provide a safe space for those around you. Especially since LGBTQ+ people can oftentimes be demonized for simply being themselves.
So whether you are one of the identities below or just want to be a better ally, read on to learn more about 45 LGBTQ+ terms that are absolutely essential to know.
Aromantic is used to describe someone who doesn’t experience a romantic attraction to another person. This could look like someone who doesn’t want to go on dates, has no interest to ever be in a romantic relationship, and/or doesn’t need to get to know someone above and beyond a friendship.
Aromanticism is most often confused with asexuality . The difference is (to put it very simply) an asexual person may not want to sleep with you, while an aromantic person may not want a romantic relationship with you. But they might still decide to have one anyway.
On the flip side of aromantic is alloromantic . The term describes people who experience romantic feelings for one or more individuals. An alloromantic person can experience romantic feelings with someone from the opposite gender or the same gender, of two genders, or of various genders. This is a privileged identity since it’s often the (incorrectly) assumed romantic orientation.
The term agender describes someone who doesn’t have any particular gender. This can include people who are not their assigned sex or not any gender. A tip to remember: “A” as a prefix means the absence of something, so when you look at the term “agender,” it refers to the absence of gender completely.
Put simply, if someone is asexual , it could mean they are not sexually attracted to other humans, explains sexologist Timaree Leigh , PhD. According to The Trevor Project , it’s “little interest in having sex even though most desire emotionally intimate relationships.”
“You may desire close relationships with people, even romantic ones, but the idea of touching each other’s genitals is not particularly thrilling,” says Leigh.
But keep in mind that asexuality is different than celibacy, which is making an intentional decision not to have sex with others. “Asexual folks may still enjoy masturbation, but they may not fantasize about involving another person in it.”
“Sex-repulsed” can describe someone who is uninterested in sex and/or finds sex undesirable. Chances are, they wouldn’t want to look at, hear about, or talk about any sexual activity. The reason for sex repulsion can be circumstantial, contextual, psychological, medical, or related to past trauma.
Oh, and while the term is commonly used within the asexual community , it’s not actually a marker of asexuality. Asexuality is a sexual identity, but being sex-repulsed describes the lived-in sexual experience.
Cupiosexuality falls under the larger asexual spectrum as a more specific label of asexuality. While asexuality describes someone who feels little to no attraction to others, cupiosexuality describes someone who still desires a sexual relationship despite feeling little to no attraction. So basically they want to have a sexual relationship, but they don’t experience sexual attraction.
Another orientation within the asexuality spectrum is greysexual (or graysexual, grey-ace, or gray-ace). This term is used to describe people who experience sexual attraction and sexual feelings very rarely—whether that’s a few times their whole lives or more. Outside of the rare occurrences where they feel attraction, they’re virtually identical to asexual individuals.
Greyromantic is a romantic orientation, meaning it describes someone’s romantic interests and patterns—not their gender or sexual orientation . It’s kinda like a flip-flop of sexuality in the sense that “greyromantic” is used to describe a person who rarely feels a romantic attraction to someone. A greyromantic individual will experience romantic attraction more often than someone who is aromantic but less often than someone who is alloromantic .
Since “omni” means “each and every one,” omnisexual means someone who can find themselves attracted to all people, regardless of their gender. It’s important to clarify that omnisexual people aren’t gender blind though—they see gender but someone’s gender is not why they’re attracted to them.
While the term trans feminine most commonly describes someone who was assigned male at birth (AMAB) and is feminine, different people use the term in different ways. Some trans feminine people may be trans women (aka someone assigned male at birth who is a woman), whereas others may be non-binary people, genderqueer people, or any other gender identity.
The term trans masculine describes someone who was assigned female at birth (AFAB) and is masculine. Like with trans feminine people, some trans masculine people may be trans men , whereas others might be non-binary , genderqueer , or another gender identity.
Demiboy is a gender identity that can be used to describe someone who embraces aspects of masculinity. It doesn’t matter whether they were born with X or Y chromosomes—their identity is tied in some way to the male gender.
Keep in mind that demiboy differs from what it means to be transgender though, because a demiboy might still be their assigned gender at birth.
Opposite of demiboy, a demigirl is someone who embraces aspects of femininity. Demigirl is also different from the identity transgender since a demigirl might still be their gender assigned at birth.
As the name suggests, bigender describes a person who is two genders. People who are bigender can alternate between being masculine and feminine or they can be both at the same time. They can also be two gender identities, like female and male, or femme and genderqueer, or trans feminine and agender , etc.
Allosexual simply means you’re a person who experiences sexual attraction but with no specific definition for who you feel attraction toward. The term originated from the asexual community in order to call attention to the power and privilege dynamics of attraction since being allosexual is a privileged identity and sexual attraction is assumed to be the “norm.”
Heteronormativity is the perspective that all relationships are between cisgender , heterosexual people. This is problematic because it assumed that heterosexual relationships are the “norm” and heterosexuality is the default sexual orientation. Essentially, it says everyone is straight unless otherwise stated, which discredits the experiences of those who are not.
Amatonormativity describes the belief that everyone is better off in an exclusive, romantic, long-term, coupled-up relationship. This discredits the experiences of those who are asexual and polyamorous . Amatonormativity also suggests that romantic relationships are more important than other platonic relationships like with your friends, family, and coworkers.
Polysexuality means someone is attracted to many genders and identities . More often than not, those who are polysexual ignore gender binaries altogether—especially when it comes to who they are and aren’t attracted to. Being polysexual means a person isn’t necessarily attracted to all genders, but they are to many of them.
The term pangender is used to describes someone who feels comfortable with different gender labels, meaning they are cool being labeled every gender identity known to them all at once. A pangender person might choose to shift between identities over time or simply be one, all-encompassing identity like “pangender” forever.
Compulsory heterosexuality, also called “ comphet ,” is the idea that heterosexuality is the only valid sexuality and everyone should be straight. Typically, this looks like an acquaintance asking you if you have a boy friend or your mom insinuating you’re dating your guy friend because he’s, you know, a guy. For obvious reasons, this notion is super harmful to queer , trans , and/or non-cisgender folk.
Abrosexual describes someone whose sexuality is fluid and whose sexual preferences, intensity, and/or attraction may change over time. There’s no time frame as for when or how often this person might change their sexual orientation.
Gender nonconforming is an umbrella term that essentially challenges “accepted” gender expectations. The term is super broad and can relate to anything from how you live your life to how you perform gender through clothing, hairstyle, facial hair, and more.
This term refers to someone who is attracted to a person who is non-binary , transgender , and in some cases, anyone who isn’t cisgender . You may hear people use the term skoliosexual also, but this is no longer appropriate since “skolio” means “crooked” in Latin. Stick with ceterosexual.
Demiromantic can be used to describe someone who feels romantic feelings only after they build a strong bond or connection with someone. But keep in mind that while someone who is demiromantic can experience romantic attraction, they don’t actively seek it.
“The major difference for someone who is demiromantic is not that it’s a feeling that comes and goes with different people but an actual absence of any feeling around romanticism until they get deeply mentally connected to a partner,” says Courtney D’Allaird, assistant director of the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at University at Albany.
A biromantic person is capable of feeling a romantic connection with people of both similar and different genders from their own. Biromantic is only used to describe someone’s romantic preferences, not sexual preferences like bisexuality would.
If you are autosexual , it could mean you feel a sense of sexual attraction toward yourself, says sex and relationship expert Carmel Jones . And while autosexuality is often associated with narcissism, experts agree that’s not an accurate way of thinking of the term.
“Narcissists require admiration and attention from others and lack empathy,” explains Megwyn White, director of education for Satisfyer . “People who are autosexual are able to have relationships with others, but have a preference for sex with themselves,” she adds.
Orientation, or sexual orientation, describes who you are attracted to.
Although they’re often misunderstood to mean the same thing, there’s a crucial difference between gender and sexual orientation. “Sexual orientation is whom you are attracted to romantically, while gender identity is how one perceives themselves , such as male, female, non-binary, etc.,” says sex educator and trauma specialist Jimanekia Eborn .
Heterosexuality means being straight. Someone is hetero if they are attracted to their opposite gender.
While gay traditionally refers to men who are attracted to other men, it also has an umbrella definition to describe anyone who dates their same gender. For instance, many lesbians may refer to themselves as gay.
A lesbian is a woman who dates and is attracted to other women.
“ Queer is another umbrella term that someone might use to describe themselves as not straight, but not comfortable with the gendered limitations of words like gay or lesbian,” says Leigh.
Keep in mind that queer is a word that was once a slur and was reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community though, so you never want to call someone this word unless they give you permission to.
LGBTQ+ is an acronym for the broader queer community. It stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual , trans , queer , and more. Sometimes the “Q” als
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What Does Ts Mean Sexually

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