Glossary

Legal gender (juriidiline sugu / sootähis) Legal gender refers to the gender marker assigned at birth based on visible sex characteristics and recorded in the national population register. It also appears on identity documents. In Estonia, only two legal gender categories exist: female (naine) and male (mees).
Social gender (sotsiaalne sugu) Social gender (often corresponding to the English gender) refers to the cultural and societal understanding of what is considered feminine or masculine. These expectations vary across cultures, nations, and even social classes. For example, in some cultural contexts, masculinity is associated with physical strength, dominance, and emotional restraint, while femininity is linked to sensitivity, care, and passivity.
Gender binary (sookahesus / binaarne soosüsteem) The gender binary is a system that classifies all people strictly as either men or women. In such systems, gender is typically assigned at birth based on external sex characteristics, although in some cases it may be determined by gender identity. The binary model also creates expectations that trans and intersex people conform to this two-category division—meaning their gender identity, and often even their gender expression, is expected to fit within “man” or “woman.”
Gender identity (sooline identiteet / sooidentiteet) Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of gender — how they experience, perceive, and define their own gender in relation to categories such as man, woman, or non-binary. A person’s gender identity may, but does not have to, align with the gender assigned to them at birth. Gender identity cannot be assumed from appearance, voice, gestures, or behaviour.
Sexual orientation (seksuaalne orientatsioon) Sexual orientation refers to a person’s capacity for affection, romantic and sexual attraction, and their inclination or disinclination to form intimate or sexual relationships with people of the same gender, a different gender, more than one gender, or regardless of gender.
Right to gender self-determination (soolise enesemääramise õigus) Every person has the right to gender self-determination — the freedom to describe, define, and express their own experience of gender and sense of self. A person’s gender identity cannot be questioned or defined by another person, nor can it be diagnosed by a medical professional. A diagnosis must never be a prerequisite for accessing gender-affirming healthcare services.
Transgender person (transsooline inimene / transinimene) A transgender person is someone whose gender identity differs from the gender they were assigned at birth. While the adjective transgender relates to gender identity, it is not itself a gender identity category—it describes the relationship between a person’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth. Trans people may have any gender identity. The difference between gender identity and assigned sex is not a medical condition, though many trans people may wish to access various forms of healthcare as part of their gender transition.
Transsexual (transseksuaal) Historically, transsexual referred to what is now more broadly described as a transgender person. The term has largely fallen out of general use due to confusion caused by the suffix “-sexual,” since sexual orientation and gender identity are distinct concepts. Some trans people may use the term transsexual to describe themselves, but unless a person has explicitly indicated this preference or the term is used in a historical context, the appropriate terms are trans person or transgender person.
Trans woman (transsooline naine / transnaine) A trans woman is a person whose gender identity is female but whose sex assigned at birth was not female. By contrast, a cisgender woman (paiksooline naine / cis-naine) is someone whose gender identity is female and whose assigned sex at birth was also female. A trans woman and a cis woman share the same gender identity but have different sexes assigned at birth.
Transfeminine person (transnaiselik inimene; transfeminine, transfem, transfemme) A transfeminine person is a trans person whose gender identity or gender expression is feminine. In addition to trans women, non-binary and queer people who feel a meaningful connection to femininity may also identify as transfeminine.
Trans man (transsooline mees / transmees) A trans man is a person whose gender identity is male but whose sex assigned at birth was not male. By contrast, a cisgender man (paiksooline mees / cis-mees) is someone whose gender identity is male and whose sex assigned at birth was also male. A trans man and a cis man share the same gender identity but have different sexes assigned at birth.
Transmasculine person (transmehelik inimene; transmasculine, transmasc) A transmasculine person is a trans person whose gender identity or gender expression is masculine. In addition to trans men, non-binary and queer people who feel a meaningful connection to masculinity may also identify as transmasculine.
Nonbinary (mittebinaarsus) Nonbinary is an umbrella term for all gender identities that exist outside the binary categories of man and woman. Nonbinary people may identify with multiple genders (e.g. mitmiksooline – multigender), with no gender (e.g. asooline – agender), or with a gender that changes over time (e.g. vulasooline – gender-fluid). In Estonian, the word mittebinaarne can refer both to this umbrella concept and to a specific gender identity.
Nonbinary person (mittebinaarne inimene) A nonbinary person is someone whose gender identity does not fit within the binary system of “man” and “woman.” Such an identity may exist between, beyond, or outside these categories — for example, combining aspects of both, identifying with none, or shifting over time. A nonbinary person may describe themselves as trans if their gender identity differs from their assigned sex at birth, but not all choose to do so.
Gender-fluid (vulasooline / soovoolav) A gender-fluid person experiences a gender identity that changes over time, moving between or across different gender identities.
Genderqueer (sookväär) Genderqueer refers to a gender identity or expression that intentionally challenges or rejects social norms about gender. It can signify resistance to binary definitions and may overlap with nonbinary identities.
Sex assigned at birth (AGAB) (sünnil määratud sugu) Sex assigned at birth refers to the gender designation given to a person before, during, or immediately after birth — in Estonia, this is recorded as either male (mees) or female (naine). The designation is based primarily on external sex characteristics and determines both a person’s legal gender (juriidiline sugu) and the gendered expectations placed on them while growing up. The sex assigned at birth may not correspond to a person’s internal or unexpressed sex characteristics, nor to the gender they later identify with.
Gender transition (transitioning) (sooline üleminek) Gender transition is the process through which a transgender person begins to live in accordance with their internal or experienced gender (their gender identity). A transition may—but does not have to—include emotional or psychological changes (shifts in personal sense of gender or identity), social changes (name, gendered pronouns, gender expression, clothing), bodily changes (physical training or various healthcare services), and legal changes (name, personal identification code, or gender marker). Unlike the older Estonian term soovahetus (“sex change”), which is now considered stigmatising and pathologising, sooline üleminek does not refer to any specific action or single event. Instead, it encompasses an open-ended process that may take many forms and durations.
Gender recognition (gender reclassification)(soo tunnustamine) Gender recognition refers to the legal procedure through which the state acknowledges a transgender person’s gender identity. In practice, this means an administrative change to personal data in the national population register — including updates to one’s personal identification code, legal gender marker, and often also their name.
Gender-affirming surgery/healthcare services (soolist üleminekut toetav kirurgia / tervishoiuteenused) This term refers to healthcare services that trans people may seek or need in connection with gender transition. Examples include puberty suppression, hormone therapy, various surgical procedures, and voice therapy. These services are designed to support a person’s wellbeing and alignment with their gender identity, not to “cure” or “fix” anything.
Gender expression (sooline eneseväljendus) Gender expression is how a person outwardly expresses their gender — for example, through clothing, body language, hairstyle, social behaviour, voice, or use of makeup. Because gender expression is far more diverse than the simple feminine/masculine divide, and a person’s gender identity may not align with such a binary, one cannot assume someone’s gender identity based on appearance.
Sex characteristics (sootunnused) Sex characteristics are the physiological traits associated with sex, typically divided into primary (reproductive organs) and secondary (traits that emerge during puberty, such as facial hair, deep voice, or breasts), as well as external (e.g., penis, vulva) and internal (e.g., ovaries) features. At birth, sex is usually assigned based on primary and external sex characteristics.
Variation in sex characteristics (sootunnuste varieeruvus) Variation in sex characteristics describes the bimodal distribution of sex traits in biology. Humans are often categorised into two groups based on sex characteristics — “biological males” and “biological females” — but this division is an oversimplification. Sex characteristics occur on a bimodal, not binary, spectrum. Chromosomes XX and XY do not guarantee the development of what is culturally defined as a “female” or “male” body. There are people with XX chromosomes who are men, and people with XY chromosomes who are women. Some individuals have more than two sex chromosomes, such as combinations XXX, XXY, or XYY. Certain combinations produce visible physical differences, while others do not. In some cases, a person’s body lacks functioning receptors to detect sex hormones, meaning that the body cannot process the presence of those hormones. Regardless of sex, every body produces both estrogen and testosterone; their levels fluctuate throughout life and vary from person to person. Anatomical traits such as breast size, genital appearance, or body hair also differ widely among individuals. There are perfectly “typical” men with so-called female breast tissue, and likewise “typical” women with little or no breast development.

(Note: In Estonian discourse, the term sootunnuste varieeruvus is used to emphasise the natural diversity of sex traits without pathologising difference.)

Endosex person (endosooline inimene) An endosex person is someone born with physical, hormonal, and genetic sex characteristics that align with what society considers typical for male or female bodies. The opposite of endosex is intersex.
Intersex person (intersooline inimene) Intersex is an umbrella term for people whose physical, hormonal, or genetic sex characteristics do not fit typical definitions of male or female bodies. Because the term covers a wide range of variations and experiences, it is difficult to speak of intersex people as a single, uniform group. Intersex traits may be visible at birth, discovered later in life, or remain unknown throughout a person’s lifetime. There are many forms of intersex variation, all of which are part of natural human diversity.
Gender dysphoria (sooline düsfooria) Gender dysphoria refers to a range of uncomfortable or distressing emotions that may arise from dissatisfaction with one’s body or from social situations related to gender. These feelings may include tension, shame, sadness, anxiety, envy, or longing. Not all trans people experience dysphoria, and its intensity, duration, and frequency vary widely between individuals.
Gender euphoria (sooline eufooria) Gender euphoria describes feelings of well-being, joy, or contentment related to one’s gender, body, or identity. Like dysphoria, experiences of gender euphoria differ greatly in intensity, duration, and frequency from person to person.
Gender minorities (soovähemused) Gender minorities include all people whose gender identity does not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth (trans people), as well as those whose sex characteristics fall outside the typical definitions of male or female (intersex people). Members of gender minorities may, but do not necessarily, belong to sexual minorities, and the reverse is also true.
Cisgender person (paiksooline inimene / cis-sooline inimene) A cisgender person is someone whose gender identity matches the sex assigned to them at birth. Cisgender people may identify as either male or female. The alignment of gender identity and assigned sex is not a medical condition, though cisgender people may also wish to access healthcare services related to their gender or body.
Informed consent (informeeritud nõusolek) Informed consent refers to a person’s right to understand their health condition and to be fully informed about the services they receive, including the purpose, risks, and possible alternatives of those services. Once a healthcare provider has given this information, the individual has the right to decide whether to proceed. This principle ensures that medical decisions are made collaboratively between the healthcare provider and the person receiving care.
Drag artist (drag-esineja / dräägiesineja) A drag artist is a performer who embodies a character based on culturally familiar ideas of gender for the purpose of entertainment, spectacle, or performance art. Traditionally, drag involves dressing in clothing associated with a gender different from one’s own and performing male or female characters. However, drag can also express a wide range of genders, self-definitions, or artistic visions.
Drag queen / drag-kuninganna (drääg queen / drag queen / drag-kuninganna) A drag queen is a performer who dresses and performs as a woman for purposes of performance, show, or artistic effect. The performer themself may be of any gender. In Estonian usage, the English term drag queen is used alongside the adapted forms drääg queen and drag-kuninganna.
Drag king / drag-kuningas (drääg king / drag king / drag-kuningas) A drag king is a performer who dresses and performs as a man for the sake of performance, show, or visual impact. The performer themself may be of any gender. Estonian usage parallels that of drag queen, alternating between drääg king and drag-kuningas.

Cultural note: The Estonian form drääg is a localised phonetic adaptation of drag, commonly used in LGBTQ+ nightlife, performance scenes, and community media. It carries the same meaning as the English term but adds a distinctly local identity and sound. Both spellings—drag and drääg—are widely understood, and their usage often depends on the tone or audience of a given publication.

Cross-dresser (ristiriietuja) A cross-dresser is someone who occasionally adopts elements associated with another gender—such as clothing, behaviour, or use of cosmetics—while remaining comfortable with the sex assigned to them at birth. The older term transvestiit (“transvestite”) is now considered outdated and, in some contexts, offensive due to its historical medicalised and judgmental use. The preferred contemporary Estonian term is ristiriietuja.
Deadnaming (vana nime kasutamine) Deadnaming means referring to or addressing a person by a name they no longer use—most often the name given at birth. It can happen intentionally or unintentionally, but in either case it disregards the person’s current identity and can be deeply hurtful.
Misgendering (väärsoostamine) Misgendering refers to addressing or speaking about someone using incorrect names, gendered pronouns, or other gendered language. Like deadnaming, it can occur intentionally or unintentionally, and it invalidates the person’s gender identity and may cause emotional harm.
Birth name (sünnil antud nimi) A birth name is the name given to a child by their parents. Some trans people continue to use their birth name after or during their gender transition, while others choose a new name and do not wish to be referred to by their former one. Respecting a person’s chosen name is a basic act of recognition and dignity.
Gender stereotypes (soostereotüübid) Gender stereotypes are simplified and biased ideas about gender roles and expectations. They limit how people are perceived and treated, reinforcing inequality across society.

Sources used in compiling the glossary: TGEU Trans Media Guide, Transtervishoiu põhitõed. Juhendmaterjal tervishoiutöötajale (Glossary section), Minu tervis, minu õigused. Taskuteatmik LGBTQI+ inimestele, Piret Karro, “Soolisus dünaamilise kultuurisüsteemina: sooline voolavus enesekirjelduses” (Bachelor’s thesis, 2014), Feministeerium glossary, Kadi Viik, “Mis on sugu? 2. osa” (2015), Helgi Saldo, “Kväärid etenduskunstid: drag / spikker” (2023), Eesti LGBT Ühing glossary, Cade Hildreth, “Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender (And Sex) Aren’t Binary” (2024 broken link) (working mirror)