WookieeProject: Pride — Resources

• Sex is a biological trait. A person is usually assigned as female or male upon birth based on the appearance of their external genitalia. People vary in other bodily characteristics, including reproductive organs, chromosomes, and hormones, and intersex people are often marginalized.
  • Problematic language: "biologically male," "biologically female," "genetically male," "genetically female," "born a man," "born a woman": Focus on a person's gender, not sex. When discussing birth assignment, the preferred language is "assigned female/male at birth," which may be abbreviated as "AFAB" or "AMAB".
• Gender is a social construct. Femininity and masculinity are aspects of gender that have a complex variety of meanings in society that differ from culture to culture, including social roles, personal expression, aesthetics, and identities.
  • Gender identity: A person's internal, deeply held sense of their own gender or lack thereof. Most people have a gender identity of female/woman/girl or male/man/boy, but a person's gender identity may or may not align with their birth assignment. For some people, their gender identity does not fit neatly into one of those two options (see non-binary and/or genderqueer.) Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not visible to others.
  • Gender expression: External manifestations of gender, expressed through a person's name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, cosmetic use, behavior, voice, and/or body characteristics, providing social cues to what may be identified as "feminine" and "masculine." Typically, transgender people seek to align their gender expression with their gender identity, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth. There is no right or wrong way to express gender, but femininity and masculinity are sometimes encouraged to be expressed in toxic, limited, and actively harmful ways while expressions that are neither or other are punished.
  • Gender roles: Cultural expectations for what people of certain genders should do with their lives, including what activities they should enjoy or excel at, how they should behave, and how they should be treated by others. As with gender expression, what's considered a "man's role" and a "woman's role" varies by culture.

• Cisgender: Someone who is not transgender. Cisgender people identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. It is often shortened to cis, which comes from the Latin prefix meaning "on the same side of." Cisgender should be used instead of inaccurate terms like "bio/logical," "genetic," "natal," "real," or "born" when referring to people's genders. "Cis-" is a Latin prefix meaning "on the same side as," and is therefore an antonym of "trans-." A more widely understood way to describe people who are not transgender is simply to say non-transgender people.
• Transgender (adjective): Often shortened to "trans." An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms—including transgender. How people identify with this term depends on the individual and their relationship with their gender. Always use the descriptive term preferred by the person. Wookieepedia has a category for trans characters.
  • Problematic language: "transgenders," "a transgender": Transgender should be used as an adjective, not as a noun. Do not say, "Tony is a transgender," or "The parade included many transgenders."
  • Preferred language: "transgender people", "a transgender person". For example, "Tony is a transgender man," or "The parade included many transgender people."
  • Problematic language: "transgendered": The adjective transgender should never have an extraneous "-ed" tacked onto the end. An "-ed" suffix adds unnecessary length to the word and can cause tense confusion and grammatical errors.
  • Preferred language: "transgender"
• Transition: The process by which people affirm their gender identity. This may include social, physical/medical, and/or mental/emotional transition. Specifically, this may or may not include and is not limited to: changing one's name legally or socially, taking hormones, having surgery, changing legal documents to reflect one's gender, coming out to loved ones, dressing as one chooses, and accepting oneself, among many other things. Transition is an individual process. Not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures.
  • Problematic language: "sex change"/"sex change operation," "pre-op," "post-op"
  • Preferred language: "gender affirmation therapy/surgery" "sex reassignment surgery (SRS)"
  • Deadnaming: To call someone by a name that was assigned to them in the past which is not their current name. This should be avoided, even when you're referring to that person from a time when they were using that name. Not only is it generally considered rude, but it can also contribute to a hostile atmosphere that leads directly to violence against trans people. Wookieepedia policy explicitly prohibits deadnaming within the community and website.
  • Misgendering: The act of attributing the wrong gender to a person, whether intentionally or not. For instance, calling trans women "men" is misgendering. Refusing to use someone's correct pronouns is misgendering and can be dehumanizing. Again, this creates hostility that can lead directly to violence against trans people, and Wookieepedia policy explicitly prohibits misgendering within the community and website.

• Non-binary: Term used by some people who experience their gender identity and/or gender expression as falling outside the categories of "man" and "woman." They may define their gender as falling somewhere in between man and woman, or they may define it as wholly different from these terms. The term is not a synonym for transgender and should only be used if someone self-identifies with the term. Wookieepedia has a category for non-binary characters.
  • Agender and Genderless: These terms include people who define their gender as being neither a man nor a woman, while others understand themselves as not having any gender at all. Wookieepedia has a category for genderless characters.
  • Genderfluid: Can be used as a specific identity or as a way of articulating the changing nature of one's gender or expression. Genderfluid people may have genders that shift in a pattern, shift constantly, or flip like a switch. Wookieepedia has a category for genderfluid characters.
  • Generally, these various genders listed above are considered under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas, but a person may or may not identify as transgender or nonbinary specifically. People of these genders may or may not transition physically, legally, or socially. This is based on their understanding of their relationship with gender and their access to transitioning within their culture.

• Intersex: An umbrella term describing people born with any manner of supposed "ambiguity" in terms of gendered physical characteristics. This can include reproductive organs, genitals, hormones, chromosomes, or any combination thereof. Since these characteristics can't be classified as typically male or female, intersex newborns are often medically assigned a cisgender role, sometimes through surgical intervention. Variations are sometimes referred to as Differences of Sex Development (DSD). Intersex people may or may not transition physically, legally, or socially. Many other folks are assumed to have a particular sex at birth due to a lack of visible apparent intersexuality, and therefore don't know their status until later, if ever. While some people can have an intersex condition and also identify as transgender, the two are separate and should not be conflated. Generally, intersex people are not immediately considered transgender, and may or may not identify as transgender and/or nonbinary specifically, despite there being significant overlap between the two communities. Avoid the outdated and derogatory term "hermaphrodite."

• Aromantic ("aro"): An adjective describing people experiencing little-to-no romantic attraction. Wookieepedia has a category for aromantic characters. This is distinct from asexuality:
• Asexual ("ace"): An adjective describing people who do not experience sexual attraction (e.g., asexual person)—not to be confused with asexual reproduction. Asexuality is a sexual orientation and is different from celibacy, in that celibacy is the choice to refrain from engaging in sexual behaviors and does not comment on one's sexual attractions. An asexual individual may choose to engage in sexual behaviors for various reasons even while not experiencing sexual attraction. Asexuality is an identity and sexual orientation; it is not a medical condition. Sexual attraction is not necessary for a person to thrive. Wookieepedia has a category for asexual characters.

• Pronouns: Words that can substitute for a noun. Personal pronouns refer to a person when not using their name and are the type meant when discussing what pronouns a particular person uses. Although the topic has been associated with the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly with people who are transgender or non-binary,^[2][3][4] everyone has personal pronouns, not just certain types of people.^[5] Pronouns should not be assumed or guessed.^[4][5][6] In English, some pronouns have strong social associations with a specific gender identity (typically she/her with women and he/him with men),^[6] but pronouns do not necessarily indicate an individual's gender identity.^[2][5][7] For instance, someone whose pronouns are she/her may be genderfluid^[6] or agender instead of a woman.^[2]

Wookieepedia's Sourcing policy specifies that an individual's gender should not be assumed based on pronouns, and and individual's pronouns must be cited to a source that explicitly mentions those pronouns. If no source specifies the individual's pronouns, then the article may use non-assumptive singular "they/them" pronouns.^[1] In everyday conversation, when you don't know someone's pronouns and are addressing them, it is also respectful and grammatical to use singular they/them pronouns.^[3][6][8] Another gender neutral personal pronoun also seen in Star Wars is zhe/zher.