What does the 'T' in LGBTQ+ mean? Transgender, nonbinary communities explained.
It's Pride Month, which means it's a good time to brush up on your knowledge of the different Pride flags you may see at parades this year and the identities within the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
The best first step is to learn about the community. Asking your LGBTQ+ friends and family is an option, but be mindful of placing the burden of your education on others when there are so many resources at your disposal.
What does the 'T' in LGBTQ+ stand for?
The T in LGBTQ+ stands for transgender. LGBTQ+ is an acronym of identities related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
What each letter in LGBTQ+ means:
- L: Lesbian
- G: Gay
- B: Bisexual
- T: Transgender
- Q: Queer or questioning
In recent years, many have added I and A (intersex and asexual) to the lineup. The plus sign is another addition to the acronym to represent identities in the community that perhaps don’t fit into the other letters like pansexual, polyamorous, Two-Spirit or others who don’t want to label their sexuality.
What does transgender mean?
Transgender is a term used to describe those whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Cisgender people are individuals whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Before we dive in more, let's take a look at the difference between sex and gender:
- Sex. Infants are assigned "male" or "female" at birth based on the appearance of their external genitalia. It's important to remember that there are people born with sex traits outside of binary male and female anatomy, known as intersex. It's estimated up to 1.7% of the population is born with an intersex trait. The federal government, as of 2025, only recognizes two sexes, male and female.
- Gender. Everyone has a gender identity, and that's an individual knowing of one's gender. We may express our gender through name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, voice or behavior in ways that society has classified as masculine or feminine. But gender identity is not something that you can point out and classify, because there isn't a "right" or "wrong" way when it comes to gender identity. It's important to remember that our idea of masculinity and femininity has changed (and will continue to change) throughout history, and many people's gender identity doesn't fit neatly into masculinity and femininity.
The T in LGBTQ+ differs from some of the other letters in the acronym because it is not related to sexual orientation; Being transgender has everything to do with gender identity and nothing to do with sexuality. A trans person can be straight, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer or any other sexuality.
Trans people may undergo a transition process to more closely align their gender expression and gender identity. This can include telling family and friends to use a different name or pronouns, dressing differently, pursuing sex and name changes on legal documents, starting hormone replacement therapy or undergoing medical procedures. But they also may not, and shouldn't be expected to by family, friends or others.
Because gender identity is about internal understanding, someone who is trans does not need to do anything to their appearance to be trans; They are trans the moment they realize their gender identity is different from their assigned sex at birth.
What are the colors of the trans Pride flag?
The trans flag was created in 1999 by Monica Helms, an American trans woman. The colors are light blue and light pink to represent the traditional colors for baby girls and boys and a white stripe in the middle to represent "intersex, gender neutral or transitioning" members.
What does nonbinary mean?
Nonbinary is an umbrella term used to describe those whose gender identity and expression fall outside the binary categories of "man" and "woman." Like all gender identity, there is no one way to "be" nonbinary. Gender is an entirely individual understanding.
Nonbinary folks may consider themselves part of the transgender community, and may use words like genderqueer, gender fluid, agender, bigender or others. Some also use the shortened word "enby."
Many nonbinary people use they/them pronouns or neopronouns. They also may ask for the gender neutral honorific Mx as opposed to Mr. or Mrs.