Terminology
Here are some definitions of terms:
Transgender: Transgender people have gender identities that differ from the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender identity is a person’s internal and social sense of being a man or a woman (or a boy or girl). The word is an adjective, not a noun; “transgenders” is grammatically incorrect, and the right term would be “transgender people” or “trans people”.
Transgender woman: A transgender woman is someone with a female gender identity who was assigned male at birth.
Transgender man: A transgender man is someone with a male gender identity who was assigned female at birth.
Transsexual: An older term that some trans people still use, particularly the subset of trans people who experience body dysphoria and pursue medical transition.
Non-binary: Non-binary people have gender identities that are neither male nor female. The term is relatively new, and was preceded by terms like genderqueer or genderfluid in older generations. Some use terms like demigirl or demiboy to indicate if they feel more male or female.
Often, non-binary people prefer a third pronoun other than he or she, they being the most common. Some identify as transgender, while others do not. Non-binary people sometimes experience body dysphoria and seek medical transition.
Non-binary identities are often subject to change as personal and social contexts evolve. Some people may adopt non-binary identities as the first step in figuring out their gender identity. Others who initially thought of themselves as trans men or women may come to realise that they are non-binary.
Cisgender: Someone who is not transgender. This includes gay, lesbian and bisexual people whose gender identities match their sex assigned at birth. (‘Cis’ is a Latin prefix that means ‘on the same side of’, while ‘trans’ means ‘across’ or ‘on the other side’.) This is more accurate than calling someone a ‘biological’ or ‘genetic’ man or woman. Transgender people who have undergone medical transition are biologically closer to the sex they have transitioned to. Due to intersex conditions, some people may also be born genetically one sex but anatomically another, or mixes of both.
Intersex: Intersex people are born with bodies that cannot be neatly classified as male or female. They have sexually atypical chromosomal, hormonal, anatomical or genetic features, such as someone with XXY chromosomes, or with both testes and a uterus, or a micropenis and an underdeveloped vagina. An estimated 1.7% of the population has intersex characteristics; those with more visible variations form about 0.5% of the population.
Intersex conditions may be obvious at birth, especially where genitals are affected, or only discovered later in puberty or adulthood. Some people go through life and may even have children without ever learning that they are intersex. Some intersex people consider themselves transgender and may also pursue transition in cases where their gender identities do not match their sex assigned at birth.