gender reassignment meaning in english

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Meaning of gender reassignment in English

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gender reassignment

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A physiological and ultimately surgical procedure, under medical supervision, for the purpose of changing a person's sexual characteristics. The process is undertaken by transsexual persons. A transsexual is a person who firmly believes that he or she belongs to the sex opposite to the sex (or gender) to which he or she was assigned by the anatomical structure of his or her body at birth, a condition known as gender dysphoria. It is important to distinguish a transsexual person from a transvestite, who merely wishes to dress in clothes of the opposite sex. Previously, under English law transsexual persons who had undergone gender reassignment were not recognized in their acquired gender, and although able to obtain some official documents in their new name and gender, they could not obtain a new birth certificate or marry in their acquired gender. Under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, a transsexual person may apply to the Gender Recognition Panel for the issue of a full Gender Recognition Certificate. Before issuing the certificate the Panel must be satisfied that the applicant has, or has had, gender dysphoria, has lived in his or her acquired gender for the past two years, and intends to continue to live in that gender until death. The certificate entitles the applicant to be legally recognized in his or her acquired gender, to a new birth certificate, and to marry in that gender. Transsexual persons who have not acquired a Gender Recognition Certificate will not be entitled to have their birth certificates amended and will still only be able to marry in the sex registered at birth. Important cases in this area include Corbett v Corbett [1971] P 83 (HL), Goodwin v UK (App no 28957/95) (2002) 35 EHRR 18, and Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] UKHL 21, [2003] 2 AC 467.

Initially discrimination in the workplace with respect to a person's sexual orientation or transsexualism was outside the ambit of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (see sex discrimination). The definition of sex within that Act referred to discrimination on grounds of biological gender and hence covered discrimination only between men and women. As a result of a series of cases before both the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, the UK Sex Discrimination Act now includes transsexualism within its definition. As gender reassignment is an ongoing process, regulations have been issued clarifying the protections to be given at the workplace to a transsexual undergoing this process. The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 bring UK law into line with the decision of the European Court of Justice in Case C-13/94 P v S and Cornwall CC [1996] IRLR 347, in which discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment was ruled to be contrary to European Community law.

The Regulations provide protection against discrimination by employers at all stages of the reassignment process, starting when an individual indicates an intention to begin reassignment. The Regulations also cover recruitment procedures, vocational training, and discrimination with respect to pay (see equal pay). The Sex Discrimination Act as amended by the Regulations outlaws direct discrimination and provides for employees who are absent from work to undergo treatment to be treated no less favourably than they would be if the absence was due to sickness or personal injury. The protection is extended to postoperative treatment on a transsexual's return to work. Transsexuals are also protected from harassment. There is a defence to a complaint of less favourable treatment if being a man, or a woman, is a genuine occupational requirement for the employment in question. In addition, there are further supplementary exceptions, some of which apply only temporarily while the process of reassignment is continuing. One exception is where the job is likely to involve the holder of the job being called on to perform intimate body searches pursuant to statutory powers (e.g. a police officer). In that case, however, the employer must take into account whether there are already enough employees who are capable of carrying out those duties whom it would be reasonable to employ on those duties. In no case will less favourable treatment be justified under the exceptions where the individual concerned has acquired a Gender Recognition Certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This allows for legal recognition of the acquired sex, and the person must be treated as being of that sex for all purposes (Goodwin v UK (App no 28957/95) (2002) 35 EHHR 447; Case C-117/01 KB v National Health Service Pensions Agency [2004] IRLR 240 (ECJ).

From: gender reassignment in A Dictionary of Law »

Subjects: Law

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What does it mean for someone to have the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment” under the Equality Act 2010? The government, public bodies, many employers and even employment tribunals are often confused about this.

Having the protected characteristic of gender reassignment does not mean that someone’s sex has changed or give them the right to make other people pretend that it has.

These FAQs cover the definition of the characteristic and who it covers – and what this means for employers and service providers.

Download these gender reassignment FAQs as a PDF.

What is the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment”?

What does it mean to have this characteristic , who can have this characteristic , does having the protected characteristic of gender reassignment mean that a person must be treated as the opposite sex , does the equality act outlaw “misgendering”, is it harassment to “out” a person as transgender , can employers have policies which require people to refer to transgender people in particular situations in a particular way , what should employers and service providers do to avoid the risk of harassment claims , should schools have rules about “misgendering”.

The Equality Act 2010 at Section 7 defines the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment” as relating to a person who is:

“proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.”

The law refers to this as being “transsexual”. But the term more commonly used today is “transgender” or “trans”. This broadly relates to anyone at any stage of a personal process. For example:

A man tells his employer that he is considering “transitioning” and is seeing a therapist with the potential result of being referred for medical treatment.
A man identifies as a “transwoman” without having any surgery or treatment.
A woman identified as a “transman” for several years and took testosterone, but has now stopped and “detransitioned”.

The Equality Act protects people from direct and indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation in situations that are covered by the Equality Act, such as in the workplace or when receiving goods or services.

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is when you are treated worse than another person or other people because:

you have a protected characteristic
someone thinks you have that protected characteristic (known as discrimination by perception)
you are connected to someone with that protected characteristic (known as discrimination by association).

For example: an employee tells their employer that they intend to transition. Their employer alters their role against their wishes to avoid them having contact with clients.

The comparator is a person who is materially similar in other aspects but does not have the protected characteristic (“is not trans”).

Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination happens when a policy applies in the same way for everybody but disadvantages a group of people who share a protected characteristic, and you are disadvantaged as part of this group. This is unlawful unless the person or organisation applying the policy can show that there is a good reason for the policy. This is known as objective justification .

For example: an airport has a general policy of searching passengers according to their sex. Everyone travelling needs to follow the same security procedures and processes, but it makes transgender travellers feel uncomfortable. This could be indirect discrimination, so the airport reviews its policy and changes it so that any passenger may ask to be searched by a staff member of either sex and have a private search, out of view of other passengers.

Harassment is unwanted behaviour connected with a protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating a degrading, humiliating, hostile, intimidating or offensive environment.

For example: a transgender person is having a drink in a pub with friends and is referred to by the bar staff as “it” and mocked for their appearance.

Victimisation

Victimisation is when you are treated badly because you have made a complaint of gender-reassignment discrimination under the Equality Act or are supporting someone who has made a complaint of gender-reassignment discrimination. For example:

For example: a person proposing to undergo gender reassignment is being harassed by a colleague at work. He makes a complaint about the way his colleague is treating him and is sacked.

The Equality Act also provides that if a person is absent from work because of gender-reassignment treatment, their employer cannot treat them worse than they would be treated if absent for illness or injury.

Does a person have to be under medical supervision?

No. This was explicitly removed from the definition in 2010. Gender reassignment can be a personal process.

Must they have a gender-recognition certificate or be in the process of applying for one?

No. The protected characteristic is defined without reference to the Gender Recognition Act.

Do they have to have made a firm decision to transition?

No. Protection against discrimination and harassment attaches to a person who is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process).

During the passage of the Equality Act, the Solicitor General stated in Parliament:

“Gender reassignment, as defined, is a personal process, so there is no question of having to do something medical, let alone surgical, to fit the definition. “Someone who was driven by a characteristic would be in the process of gender reassignment, however intermittently it manifested itself. “At what point [proposing to undergo] amounts to ‘considering undergoing’ a gender reassignment is pretty unclear. However, proposing’ suggests a more definite decision point, at which the person’s protected characteristic would immediately come into being. There are lots of ways in which that can be manifested – for instance, by making their intention known. Even if they do not take a single further step, they will be protected straight away. Alternatively, a person might start to dress, or behave, like someone who is changing their gender or is living in an identity of the opposite sex. That too, would mean they were protected. If an employer is notified of that proposal, they will have a clear obligation not to discriminate against them.”

In the case of Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover , a male employee told his employer that he was “gender fluid” and thought of himself as “part of a spectrum, transitioning from the male to the female gender identity”. He said to his line manager: “I have no plans for surgical transition.” He started wearing women’s clothing to work, asked to be referred to by a woman’s name and raised a question about which toilets he should use. The Employment Tribunal concluded that he was covered by the protected characteristic.

Can children have the protected characteristic?

Yes. In the case of AA, AK & Ors v NHS England , NHS England argued that children who are waiting for assessment by the Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) do not have the protected characteristic as they have not yet reached the stage of proposing to transition. The Court of Appeal rejected this argument. It noted that the definition of “gender reassignment” does not require medical intervention and can include actions such as changing “one’s name and/or how one dresses or does one’s hair”.

The court concluded:

“There is no reason of principle why a child could not satisfy the definition in s.7 provided they have taken a settled decision to adopt some aspect of the identity of the other gender.”

It noted that the decision did not have to be permanent.

Is “Gillick competence” relevant to the protected characteristic?

No. “Gillick competence” refers to the set of criteria that are used for establishing whether a child has the capacity to provide consent for medical treatment, based on whether they have sufficient understanding and intelligence to fully understand it.

Having the protected characteristic of gender reassignment (that is, being able to bring a claim for gender-reassignment discrimination) does not depend on having any diagnosis or medical treatment. Therefore Gillick competence is not relevant to the Equality Act criteria.

No. There is nothing in the Equality Act which means that people with the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment” need to be treated in a particular way, or differently from people without the characteristic.

Article 9 and 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights protect the fundamental human rights of freedom of speech and freedom of belief.

In the case of Forstater v CGDE [2021] it was established that the belief that men are male and women are female, and that this cannot change and is important, is protected under Article 9 and in relation to belief discrimination in the Equality Act.

This means that employers and service providers must not harass or discriminate against people because they recognise that “transwomen” are men and “transmen” are women. Employers and service providers cannot require people to believe that someone has changed sex, or impose a blanket constraint on expressing their belief.

No. “Misgendering” is not defined or outlawed by the Equality Act.

In general, people who object to “misgendering” mean any reference to a person who identifies as transgender by words that relate to their sex. This can include using the words woman, female, madam, lady, daughter, wife, mother, she, her and so on about someone who identifies as a “transman”, or man, male, sir, gentleman, son, husband, father, he, him and so on about someone who identifies as a “transwoman”.

Any form of words may be harassment, but this depends on the circumstances and the purpose and effect of the behaviour. Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for a person. An employment tribunal would also consider:

that person’s perception
the other circumstances of the case
whether it is reasonable for the conduct to have that effect.

Tribunals have emphasised that when judging harassment context is everything, and warned against a culture of hypersensitivity to the perception of alleged victims.

Employment tribunal judgments

As Lord Justice Nicholas Underhill found in Dhellwal v Richmond Pharmacology [2009], a case decided under the Race Relations Act:

“What the tribunal is required to consider is whether, if the claimant has experienced those feelings or perceptions, it was reasonable for her to do so. Thus if, for example, the tribunal believes that the claimant was unreasonably prone to take offence, then, even if she did genuinely feel her dignity to have been violated, there will have been no harassment within the meaning of the section.”

In the Forstater case, the employment appeal tribunal said that it was not proportionate to “impose a requirement on the Claimant to refer to a trans woman as a woman to avoid harassment”. It said that:

“ Whilst the Claimant’s belief, and her expression of them by refusing to refer to a trans person by their preferred pronoun, or by refusing to accept that a person is of the acquired gender stated on a GRC, could amount to unlawful harassment in some circumstances, it would not always have that effect. In our judgment, it is not open to the Tribunal to impose in effect a blanket restriction on a person not to express those views irrespective of those circumstances.”

In the case of de Souza v Primark Stores [2017] , a transgender claimant who went by the name of Alexandra, but whose legal name was Alexander, was found to have been harassed by colleagues who made a point of using the male form of name when they knew he did not want them to, but not by being issued with a “new starter” badge that showed his legal name.

In the case of Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover [2020] , a male claimant who wore women’s clothing to work was judged to have been exposed to harassment by colleagues saying “What the hell is that?”, “So what’s going on? Are you going to have your bits chopped off?”, “Is this for Halloween?” and referring to the claimant as “it”.

Not necessarily.

A person can be “outed” as transgender in two different ways:

Their sex is commonly known and recorded, but their transsexualism is not (for example a man who cross-dresses at the weekend and is considering transitioning is “outed” at work by someone who has seen them at a social event).
They are disappointed in the expectation of being treated as one sex when they are actually the other (for example a person who identifies as a “trans woman” is referred to as male by a woman in a changing room).

In Grant v HM Land Registry [2011] , which concerned the unwanted disclosure that an employee was gay, Lord Justice Elias found that this did not amount to harassment:

“Furthermore, even if in fact the disclosure was unwanted, and the claimant was upset by it, the effect cannot amount to a violation of dignity, nor can it properly be described as creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Tribunals must not cheapen the significance of these words. They are an important control to prevent trivial acts causing minor upsets being caught by the concept of harassment.”

The perception (or hope) of transgender people that they “pass” as the opposite sex is often not realistic. Their sex is not in fact hidden, but is politely ignored by some people in some situations. It is not reasonable for them to be offended by other people recognising their sex, particularly if they are seeking access to a single-sex service. Acknowledging someone’s sex, particularly where there is a good reason, is unlikely to be harassment.

In the first-instance case of Chapman v Essex Police , a transgender police officer felt embarrassed and upset when a police control-room operator double-checked his identity over the radio because his male voice did not match the female name that the operator could see. The tribunal did not uphold a complaint of harassment, finding that the claimant was “too sensitive in the circumstances”.

Yes, but those policies must be proportionate. Employers cannot have blanket policies against “misgendering”, but can have specific policies concerning how staff should refer to transgender people in particular situations. Organisations should recognise that these policies constrain the expression of belief, and therefore they should seek to achieve their specific aims in the least intrusive way possible.

When determining whether an objection to a belief being expressed is justified, a court will undertake a balancing exercise. This test is set out in the case of Bank Mellat v HM Treasury :

Is the objective the organisation seeks to achieve sufficiently important to justify the limitation of the right in question?
Is the limitation rationally connected to that objective?
Is a less intrusive limitation possible that does not undermine the achievement of the objective in question?
Does the importance of the objective outweigh the severity of the limitation on the rights of the person concerned?

For example:

A company provides a specialist dress service to transsexual and transvestites. The men who use the service expect to be called “she” and “her” and referred to as Madam. It is justified for the employer to train and require staff to use this language when serving customers.
Staff at a full-service restaurant greet customers as “Sir” and “Madam” as they arrive. The restaurant’s policy is that staff should use the terms which appear most appropriate based on gendered appearance, and to defer to customer preference if one is expressed. This is justified by the aim of creating the service and ambience that the restaurant owners seek to provide.
A public body assesses claimants for medical benefits, including individuals with mental-health conditions. It directs its staff to refer to claimants using the terms which the claimants prefer, including using opposite-sex pronouns when requested, in order to make them feel comfortable. However, it recognises that in recording medical information, assessors must be able to be accurate about claimants’ sex. This is justified by the aim of providing a service that is accessible and effective for vulnerable clients.

The case of David Mackereth v AMP and DWP concerned a doctor who lost his job undertaking claimant health assessments for the Department for Work and Pensions because he refused to comply with its policy on using claimants’ preferred pronouns. The employer’s policy was found not to have amounted to unlawful harassment or discrimination against Dr Mackereth, in the particular circumstances of his job. However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal stated that “misgendering” would not necessarily be harassment:

“Such behaviour may well provide grounds for a complaint of discrimination or harassment but, as the EAT in Forstater made clear, that will be a fact-specific question to be determined in light of all the circumstances of the particular case.”

Relevant considerations

In Higgs v Farmor’s School [2023] Mrs Justice Eady sets out the considerations that are likely to be relevant considering whether constraining the expression of a belief (“manifestation”) in order to avoid harassment or discrimination is justified in the context of employment. These include:

the content of the manifestation
the tone used
the extent of the manifestation
the worker’s understanding of the likely audience
the extent and nature of the intrusion on the rights of others, and any consequential impact on the employer’s ability to run its business
whether the worker has made clear that the views expressed are personal, or whether they might be seen as representing the views of the employer, and whether that might present a reputational risk
whether there is a potential power imbalance given the nature of the worker’s position or role and that of those whose rights are intruded upon;
the nature of the employer’s business, in particular where there is a potential impact on vulnerable service users or clients
whether the limitation imposed is the least intrusive measure open to the employer.

Employers cannot force employees to believe that people can change sex, or prevent them expressing that lack of belief except in limited circumstances. So what should employers do to protect transgender people from harassment, and themselves from liability?

They should have ordinary policies against bullying and harassment, including jokes, name-calling, humiliation, exclusion and singling people out for different treatment.

They should seek to avoid putting people in situations they will reasonably experience as hostile or humiliating.

Ambiguous rules put people in situations where it is reasonable to feel offended. For example, an employer provides “female” toilets, showers and changing rooms, but allows some male staff in because they identify as transgender. This creates a hostile environment:

female staff are surprised, shocked, humiliated and upset to find themselves sharing with a colleague of the opposite sex
male staff members who want people to treat them as women may be challenged or face comments that are intended to intimidate, humiliate or degrade them.

This was the situation faced by the Sheffield Hospital Trust , which had a policy that transgender staff could use opposite-sex facilities. It had to deal with the fall-out when women complained about seeing a half-naked male in their changing room and the male staff member sued for harassment after being questioned about this.

Rather than putting these two groups of people together in a environment where both will reasonably feel harassed, employers should have clear rules about facilities that are single-sex, and also, where possible, provide a unisex alternative for anyone who needs it, including people who feel that they have “transitioned away from their sex” and therefore do not wish to use single-sex facilities shared with members of their own sex. The EHRC last year provided guidance on single-sex services which encouraged clear rules and policies.

It should be made clear to people who have the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment” that having this characteristic does not mean it is reasonable for them to expect others to believe or pretend to believe they have changed sex, or for them to be allowed to break (or expect to be an exception to) rules that aim to protect the dignity and privacy of others.

If a person breaks a clear rule against entering a space provided for the opposite sex, it is not reasonable for them to feel offended when this is pointed out.

No. It would not be lawful for schools to have a policy that forbids, punishes or denigrates pupils who use clear words about the sex of other people (such as pronouns, but also boy/girl, male/female and so on), nor to require pupils to refer to some classmates as if they were the opposite sex.

To do so constrains the freedom of speech of pupils in a way that is unjustified and discriminates against them on the basis of belief.
It is inconsistent with schools’ safeguarding duty of care , and with their record-keeping responsibilities, for staff to misrepresent the sex of pupils in their records or in introducing them to their peers.
In order to explain and enforce sex-based rules designed to keep children safe (such as who is allowed in which showers, toilets, dormitories or sports teams), schools must be able to use clear and unequivocal language.
It is not reasonable to expect that a child at school, or transferring between schools, can avoid being “outed” as the sex that they are .

We do not think that any policy which tells teachers or pupils to lie about the sex of pupils, constrains them from using clear sex-based language or treats them detrimentally if they do would pass the proportionality test. It is an unreasonable constraint on speech that is neither required nor justified in order to avoid discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment.

Schools form part of a system that is regulated at a national level. In England that system is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education. It is the responsibility of the Secretary of State to make this legal situation clear across the English school system by issuing the long-awaited DfE guidance.

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Gender Reassignment

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
ED&I at Cambridge
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Guidance on Gender Reassignment for Staff
Sexual Orientation

Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic and the term refers to someone who is transgender. It includes anyone who has proposed, started or completed a process to change his or her sex. The Equality Act extends pre-existing protections for transsexual people by, for example, prohibiting indirect discrimination and removing the need for a transsexual person to be under medical supervision to benefit from legal protection. In employment, the Act also requires organisations to treat absences from work because someone proposes to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment in the same way or better as absences due to illness or injury.

There is limited data on the number of transgender people working or studying in the University. It is believed that there are likely to be more transgender people in higher education than in the population at large.

A colleague who was born female decides to spend the rest of his life living as a man. He tells his departmental administrator, who makes appropriate arrangements. He then starts life at work and home as a man. After discussion with his doctor and a Gender Identity Clinic, he begins hormone treatment and several years later he has gender reassignment surgery. In this case he would be protected by the gender reassignment provisions of the Equality Act. His departmental administrator should seek guidance from the School's Human Resources Business Manager who will be able to provide support in managing the transition process.
A student who was born physically male decides to spend the rest of her life as a woman. She starts and continues to live as a woman. As she successfully ‘passes’ as a woman, the student decides that she does not want to seek medical advice nor undergo any medical procedure/treatment. She would similarly be protected by the gender reassignment provisions of the Equality Act.

Support is provided to Transgender staff members of the University, College or associated institution through the LGBT Staff Network.

Support for Transgender Students is provided by the CUSU LBGT Campaign .

The University has produced Guidance on Gender Reassignment for Staff which provides information on good practice to support staff and institutions in implementing the University's Equal Opportunity Policy in relation to gender reassignment.

The University has produced Thinking Globally , which provides information for LGB&T staff and students working and studying at home and abroad.

Additional information and guidance is available from the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Section.

The ECU has produced revised guidance on Trans Staff and Students in Higher Education .

The University has produced a glossary to explain terms related to gender reassignment.

Find out about Trans rights in Europe

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Definition of 'gender reassignment'

gender reassignment

gender reassignment in British English

Examples of 'gender reassignment' in a sentence gender reassignment, trends of gender reassignment.

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gender reassignment noun

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What does the noun gender reassignment mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun gender reassignment . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

How common is the noun gender reassignment ?

Where does the noun gender reassignment come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the noun gender reassignment is in the 1960s.

OED's earliest evidence for gender reassignment is from 1969, in Journal Sex Research .

gender reassignment is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: gender n. , reassignment n.

Nearby entries

gendering, adj. a1398–
genderless, adj. 1840–
gender marker, n. 1950–
gender-neutral, adj. 1963–
gender-nonconforming, adj. 1983–
gender nonconformity, n. 1969–
gender politics, n. 1977–
gender presentation, n. 1970–
genderquake, n. 1993–
genderqueer, adj. & n. 1995–
gender reassignment, n. 1969–
gender relations, n. 1976–
gender studies, n. 1973–
gendrure, n. ?a1400–1500
gêne, n.¹ 1787–
gene, n.² 1909–
gêné, adj. 1806–
geneagenesis, n. 1864–
geneagenetic, adj. 1864–
genealoger, n. 1654–1727
genealogial, adj. 1447

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Meaning & use

Entry history for gender reassignment, n..

Originally published as part of the entry for gender, n.

gender reassignment, n. was first published in 2010.

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Gender Reassignment

What is gender reassignment.

In most cases we grow up feeling a sense of comfort or acceptance with our gender but this is not true for all people. Around 1 in 11,500 people will find that as they grow up, they feel less comfortable with the gender prescribed to them at birth, and will instead, find greater comfort and connection to another gender. They may then express the need to live in this different and more appropriate gender. In Scotland, those of us experiencing this are referred to as ‘transgender’ or ‘trans’ people. ‘Trans’ is an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth.

In the Equality Act it is known as gender reassignment*. All transsexual people share the common characteristic of gender reassignment.

To be protected from gender reassignment discrimination, you do not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery to change from your birth sex to your preferred gender. This is because changing your physiological or other gender attributes is a personal process rather than a medical one.You can be at any stage in the transition process – from proposing to reassign your gender, to undergoing a process to reassign your gender, or having completed it.

*’Gender reassignment’ is a term of much contention and is one that Stonewall’s Trans Advisory Group feels should be reviewed.

The Equality Act 2010 says that you must not be discriminated against because you are transsexual, when your gender identity is different from the gender assigned to you when you were born. For example: • a person who was born female decides to spend the rest of his life as a man

In the Equality Act it is known as gender reassignment. All transsexual people share the common characteristic of gender reassignment.

The Equality Act says that you must not be discriminated against because: • of your gender reassignment as a transsexual. You may prefer the description transgender person or trans male or female. A wide range of people are included in the terms ‘trans’ or ‘transgender’ but you are not protected as transgender unless you propose to change your gender or have done so. For example, a group of men on a stag do who put on fancy dress as women are turned away from a restaurant. They are not transsexual so not protected from discrimination • someone thinks you are transsexual, for example because you occasionally cross-dress or are gender variant (this is known as discrimination by perception) • you are connected to a transsexual person, or someone wrongly thought to be transsexual (this is known as discrimination by association)

Intersex people (the term used to describe a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male) are not explicitly protected from discrimination by the Equality Act, but you must not be discriminated against because of your gender or perceived gender. For example: • if a woman with an intersex condition is refused entry to a women-only swimming pool because the attendants think her to be a man, this could be sex discrimination or disability discrimination

Following is a short film by the Equality & Human Rights Commission titled ‘What is gender reassignment discrimination?’.

Trans people are entitled to the same level of quality care as everyone else and should expect to receive it based on their gender identity, gender expression or physical body. However, it is important to appreciate the lived experience of many Trans people to ensure the care health services provide is appropriate and sensitive.

Findings from the recent INCLUSION Project research showed significant issues for Trans people include:

Mental health problems including suicide, self harm, anxiety and depression
Lack of primary care facilities as many GPs have no or little knowledge of Trans people’s needs
Lack of access to essential medical treatment for gender identity issues, i.e. electrolysis for Trans women
Lack of awareness and understanding of care providers so that Trans people are in appropriately treated in single gender out patient and in patient services.
Inconsistent funding and access to transitioning services throughout Scotland
Lack of social work service to support children, young people, adults and families with gender identity issues.
Social exclusion, violence and abuse and the resulting negative impact on health and well-being

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were the first NHS Board in Scotland to publish a Gender Reassignment Policy which sets out our commitment to ensure equality of access to services that are both appropriate and sensitive. We have the busiest trans services in Scotland at the Sandyford Initiative and provide a number of specialist services that are recognised as being amongst the best in the UK. However, there are still barriers experienced by Trans people using mainstream NHS services. It is essential that frontline NHS staff do all they can to remove the stigma of transitioning and play their part in delivering services of the highest standard to Trans people. To this end, guidance has been issued to support staff in responding to queries from Trans service users.Add info here…

Fran’s Story

Fran transitioned from male to female 10 years ago. She has spent her life experiencing bullying and harassment because of her gender identity and has been the victim of several hate crime incidents.

Fran was experiencing pain in her right thigh and attended an outpatient appointment. When Fran entered the waiting area she gave her name and confirmed her appointment time. The receptionist explained there wasn’t an appointment for a Fran Walker but there was one for a Mr Frank Walker. Fran explained that she should now be referred to as Fran as she had requested all records be updated to reflect her gender reassignment. The receptionist explained she was unable to do that until the medical records were updated. Fran was asked to take a seat in the waiting area. Fran was in discomfort but before taking a seat explained again it was Fran or Ms Walker, not Frank or Mr Walker.

While Fran was waiting for her appointment she heard a member of staff calling for a Mr Frank Walker. Fran sat where she was, angry, frustrated and embarrassed that she was still being referred to in the wrong gender. Eventually after a repeat call she stood and walked into the treatment room. She was still very upset and asked why, despite explaining she wished to be called by her new name, staff insisted on calling her by her previous name. The member of staff explained the name on her record was Frank Walker, not Fran, and until they heard otherwise, she would continue to be addressed as Frank or Mr Walker. Fran tried to remain calm and explained that if she was referred to as Frank again she would make a formal complaint. The member of staff reiterated the position so Fran explained that staff were in breach of legislation protecting trans people. They were deliberately disclosing her previous birth gender and so could be held liable and receive a significant financial penalty under UK law. Fran stated that if it happened again she would take formal action. The equality Act protects trans people in a number of ways, one of which is to ensure previous birth gender is only disclosed to another party when necessary with appropriate controls in place and then only with the expressed permission of the trans person.

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Equal Rights

Gender Reassignment discrimination

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The Equality Act 2010 says that you must not be discriminated against because you are transsexual - that is your gender identity differs from the gender assigned to you at birth.

For example a person who was born female decides to spend the rest of his life as a man.

In the Equality Act it is known as gender reassignment. All transsexual people share the common characteristic of gender reassignment.

To be protected from gender reassignment discrimination, you do not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery to change from your birth sex to your preferred gender. This is because changing your physiological or other gender attributes is a personal process rather than a medical one. You can be at any stage in the transition process – from proposing to reassign your gender, to undergoing a process to reassign your gender, or having completed it.

The Equality Act says that you must not be discriminated against because:

Of your gender reassignment as a transsexual. You may prefer the description transgender person or trans male or female. A wide range of people are included in the terms ‘trans’ or ‘transgender’ but you are not protected as transgender unless you propose to change your gender or have done so. For example, a group of men on a stag do who put on fancy dress as women are turned away from a restaurant. They are not transsexual so not protected from discrimination.
Someone thinks you are transsexual, for example because you occasionally cross-dress or are gender variant. This is known as discrimination by perception.
You are connected to a transsexual person, or someone wrongly thought to be transsexual. This is known as discrimination by association.

Inter-sex people are not explicitly protected from discrimination by the Act, but you must not be discriminated against because of your gender or perceived gender.

For example, if a woman with an intersex condition is refused entry to a women-only swimming pool because the attendants think her to be a man, this could be sex discrimination or disability discrimination .

What is gender reassignment discrimination?

This is when you are treated differently because you are transsexual, in one of the situations that are covered by the Equality Act . The treatment could be a one-off action or as a result of a rule or policy. It doesn’t have to be intentional to be unlawful.

There are some circumstances when being treated differently due to gender reassignment is lawful, explained below.

Different types of gender reassignment discrimination

There are four types of gender reassignment discrimination.

Direct discrimination

This happens when someone treats you worse than another person in a similar situation because you are transsexual.

For example, you inform employer that you intend to spend the rest of your life living as a different gender. Your employer transfers you off your role against your wishes because they don’t want you to have client contact.

Absences from work

If you are absent from work because of gender reassignment, your employer cannot treat you worse than you would be treated if you were off:

due to an illness or injury. For example your employer cannot pay you less than you would have received if you were off sick.
due to some other reason.However in this case it is only discrimination if your employer is acting unreasonably. For example, if your employer would agree to a request for time off for someone to attend their child’s graduation ceremony, then it may be unreasonable to refuse you time off for part of a gender reassignment process. This would include, for example, time off for counselling.

Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination happens when an organisation has a particular policy or way of working that puts transsexual people at a disadvantage.

Sometimes indirect gender assignment discrimination can be permitted if the organisation or employer is able to show that there is a good reason for the discrimination. This is known as objective justification .

For example a local health authority decides that it will not fund breast implants. As a result the health authority refuses to provide this treatment for a woman undergoing gender reassignment even though she considers it essential to make her look more feminine. The same policy is applied to all women but puts transsexuals at a greater disadvantage. The health authority may be able to justify its policy if it can prove that it has legitimate reasons.

Harassment is when someone makes you feel humiliated, offended or degraded because you are transsexual.

For example a transsexual woman is having a drink in a pub with friends. The landlord keeps calling her ‘Sir’ and ‘he’ when serving drinks, despite her complaining about it.

Harassment can never be justified. However, if an organisation or employer can show it did everything it could to prevent people who work for it from behaving like that, you will not be able to make a claim for harassment against it, although you could make a claim against the harasser.

Victimisation

This is when you are treated badly because you have made a complaint of gender reassignment related discrimination under the Equality Act. It can also occur if you are supporting someone who has made a complaint of gender reassignment related discrimination.

For example, a transsexual is being harassed by a colleague at work. He makes a complaint about the way his colleague is treating him and is sacked.

Circumstances when being treated differently due to gender reassignment is lawful

A difference in treatment may be lawful if:

An organisation is taking positive action to encourage or develop transsexuals to participate in a role or activity in which they are under-represented or disadvantaged.
The circumstances fall under one of the exceptions to the Act that allow organisations to provide different treatment or services.
Competitive sports: A sports organisation restricts participation because of gender reassignment. For example, the organisers of a women’s triathlon event decide to exclude a trans woman. They think her strength gives her an unfair advantage. However, the organisers would need to be able to show this was the only way it could make the event fair for everyone.
A service provider provides single-sex services . If you are accessing a service provided for men-only or women-only, the organisation providing it should treat you according to your acquired gender. In very restricted circumstances it is lawful for an organisation to provide a different service or to refuse the service to someone who is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment.

Further information

If you think you might have been treated unfairly and want further advice you can contact the Equality Advisory Support Service

Freephone 0808 800 0082

Textphone 0808 800 0084

Or write to them at

Freepost Equality Advisory Support Service FPN4431

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has also produced a range of legal guidance on the Equality Act which you can find here .

Last Updated: 28 Sep 2015

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gender reassignment

1.1.1 Translations
1.2 See also

English [ edit ]

Noun [ edit ].

gender reassignment ( countable and uncountable , plural gender reassignments )

The process of changing one's sex, usually by a combination of medicinal and surgical means; sex change .

Translations [ edit ]

Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms

crowd of people seen from above crossing a street

Formerly a term you’d only hear in English classes, the word pronoun is everywhere these days. When we talk about someone’s pronouns, we are referring specifically to the little words that replace the person’s name in sentences like “Noah wrote that definition. He did a good job, and I’m going to tell him so.” He and him are Noah’s pronouns. These are, technically, only a particular kind of pronoun: third person personal pronouns .

In the current century, it’s become increasingly common for people for whom neither he/him nor she/her accurately apply to go by they and them . The fact that they and them function in the language as plural personal pronouns (“I asked the attendees if they wanted coffee, and many of them did”) can make using these as singular personal pronouns seem tricky. Remember that just as we say “you are” whether we’re talking to one person or multiple people (“You, Miriam, are my friend; you, Miriam and Noah, are my friends”), “they are” is correct for both a single person and multiple people.

Gender & Sex

When referring to either of the two major biological forms of individuals, sex tends to be the preferred term, especially in medical, technical, and academic contexts. It's common in phrases like “the baby’s sex” and “able to quickly determine the sex of the chick.” We define this meaning of sex as “either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures.”

Gender is sometimes used in exactly the same way, as in “a party to announce the baby’s gender.”

Gender is also used to refer to the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Gender by itself can also refer to gender identity , which is a person’s internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female. More on that below.

Some people assert that gender should only be used to refer to either the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex, or to a person’s internal sense of self, but gender is frequently used more broadly than that, as in phrases about differences between male and female people. It's likely that the tendency to apply gender in such contexts as “gender bias” and “gender gap” is specifically because of the word's psychological and sociocultural meanings, the word's duality making it dually useful. The fact remains that these uses are against the prescribed use.

Because of the overlap in meaning, sometimes gender and sex are used together, as in “gender/sex bias” and “sex/gender discrimination.” For more on this pair, see the note at the entries .

Gender Identity & Gender Expression

Someone’s gender identity is their internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female.

Someone’s gender expression is the physical and behavioral manifestations of their gender identity. It’s what someone dresses like, talks like, etc., as those choices reflect the person's sense of their own gender.

You can’t see someone’s gender identity; you only see the ways they choose to express their gender identity—that is, you can only see their gender expression.

Sexual Orientation & Sexual Preference

Someone’s sexual orientation describes who that person is romantically and/or sexually attracted to. The person may be attracted to people of the opposite sex (i.e, be straight), attracted to people of their same sex (i.e., be gay), or they may identify as another sexual orientation—there are many.

Note that sexual orientation is completely distinct from gender identity. Gender identity is someone’s internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female; who they’re attracted to is their sexual orientation.

You can think of gender identity as being who you see when you look inside yourself, and sexual orientation as describing who your attraction is oriented toward.

The term sexual preference shares the meaning of sexual orientation , but it is now considered offensive in its implied suggestion that a person can choose who they are sexually or romantically attracted to.

LGBT, LGBTI, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, LGBTQI, LGBTQIA, LGBTQQ, LGBTQQIA

These abbreviations all refer to groups of people, which each letter representing a single or multiple group.

Some letters refer to sexual orientation—who someone is sexually and/or romantically attracted to—and some letters refer to gender identity—a person’s internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither.

All of the abbreviations refer to groups of people who in some way fall outside the most common norms of gender and sexual identity.

The L means “lesbian,” a lesbian being a woman who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to other women.

The G means “gay.” Gay can describe anyone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their same sex, or it can be used narrowly to describe a man who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to other men.

The B means “bisexual,” which can have two distinct meanings. Bisexual can describe someone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their own sex as well as people of the opposite sex, or it can describe people who are romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their same gender identity as well as people of other gender identities. [Reminder: someone’s gender identity is their internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female.] In this second meaning, bisexual covers the same semantic territory as the word pansexual , but there are people who identify as one but not the other, and people who identify as both.

The T means “transgender,” which describes someone whose gender identity is different from the sex the person had or were identified as having at birth. Often, transgender means specifically that the person’s gender identity—their internal sense of their gender—is opposite the sex they had or were identified as having at birth.

The I means “intersex,” and describes someone born with intersexuality , a condition in which someone has both male and female gonadal tissue, or has the gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is either ambiguous or is of the other sex.

The Q can mean either “queer” or “questioning (one’s sexual or gender identity).” The second meaning is transparent: someone who is actively working to figure out what their internal sense of self is, or what kinds of people they’re romantically and/or sexually attracted to, falls under the Q of LGBTQ in its “ questioning ” meaning. The “queer” meaning of Q is broad: it can describe someone whose gender identity doesn’t match the sex they were identified as having at birth, or whose gender identity is not accurately characterized as being solely male or solely female; it can describe someone whose sexual and/or romantic attraction is not limited to members of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation; it can describe someone whose sexual orientation is not straight/heterosexual. Note that in LGBTQQ and LGBTQQIA there is a Q for each meaning. More on queer below.

The A means “asexual/aromantic/agender,” which addresses three different categories of people. Someone who is asexual doesn’t experience sexual desire or attraction; the person may experience romantic feelings. Someone who is aromantic (often shortened to aro ) experiences little or no romantic desire or attraction; the person may experience sexual attraction/desire. Someone who is agender has an internal sense of being neither male nor female, nor some combination of male and female; the person’s gender identity is genderless, or neutral. Whether someone is agender has no relationship to who they're attracted to; agender is a term of gender identity, not of sexual orientation.

The + means “others.” It denotes whatever gender identities and sexual orientations aren’t adequately covered by the other letters.

Queer & Genderqueer

Both genderqueer and queer commonly describe someone whose gender identity—their internal sense of self—cannot be categorized as solely male or female; it may be neither, it may be a combination of the two.

Queer is also sometimes used to describe someone whose sexual and/or romantic attraction is not limited to members of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation; for example, a queer woman might be attracted to other women and also to people who can’t be categorized as solely male or female, as well as to bisexual people.

Queer can also describe someone whose sexual orientation is not straight. In this way, a gay man or lesbian woman can also fall under the category of “queer.”

A word of caution: the word queer was in the past commonly used as an insult, and some people still find it offensive. For more information, see the note at the entry .

Gender Nonconforming

Gender nonconforming (also styled as gender-nonconforming ) describes people who look or behave differently from what is traditionally associated with their sex. In other words, they exhibit behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits that don’t conform to gender norms.

Nonbinary (also styled as non-binary ) describes someone who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that is neither entirely male nor entirely female; the word is a synonym of genderqueer . Of the two, nonbinary is the term that’s more often found in technical, medical, and formal contexts, but in personal contexts, many people prefer one over the other, and vice versa.

Gender-fluid

Gender-fluid (also styled as gender fluid and genderfluid ) describes someone whose gender identity—their internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither—is not fixed. Instead, it changes over time, or from day to day.

Cisgender & Cis

Cisgender (often shortened to cis ) describes someone whose gender identity matches the sex they had or were identified as having at birth. Most people can be described as cisgender. If the pronouncement your mom heard at your birth—It's a girl! or It's a boy!—still feels like it was accurate, then you're cisgender.

Cisgendered is also used with the same meaning, but cisgender is preferred.

Transgender & Trans & Transsexual

Transgender (often shortened to trans ) describes someone whose gender identity is different from the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth. Often, transgender means specifically that the person’s gender identity—their internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither—is opposite the sex they had or were identified as having at birth. A transgender woman was likely identified as male at birth; a transgender man was likely identified as female at birth.

The term transgendered used to be used with this same meaning, but it is now considered offensive.

Transsexual (also spelled as transexual ) is a dated term that is now widely considered offensive. Use transgender instead unless the person you’re referring to explicitly says that transsexual is the term they prefer.

Cross-dresser & Transvestite

The term cross-dresser refers to someone who sometimes wears clothes designed for the opposite sex, or who chooses styles traditionally associated with the opposite sex, as a form of self-expression. Cross-dresser is most commonly applied to men who occasionally wear such traditionally feminine clothes as dresses and skirts.

Cross-dressing is not about entertaining an audience, in the way that drag is (see below). And cross-dressing is not what a transgender person is doing when they dress for the day. Cross-dressing is a form of gender expression used by someone who typically dresses according to what is typical for that person’s sex.

Transvestite is a dated term that is now considered offensive. Cross-dresser should be used instead.

Drag, Drag Queen, Drag King

Drag is a kind of entertainment in which performers caricature or challenge gender stereotypes. Drag performers often wear elaborate or outrageous costumes, usually in clothing stereotypical of another gender, and often use exaggeratedly gendered mannerisms. Drag also refers to the costumes worn by drag performers.

A drag queen is an entertainer who performs in female drag; a drag king is an entertainer who performs in male drag.

Transition & Gender Transition

Gender transition and also the word transition by itself refer to a process by which a transgender person or a nonbinary person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity (their internal sense of being male or female, both, or neither) through changes to their appearance and their presentation. Often, but not always, gender transition includes the aid of medical procedures and therapies, but a person’s transition may also involve simpler changes, such as a change in name, pronouns, hairstyle, and clothing.

Transition is also used as a verb to talk about when a transgender person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity through a transition process. A person may transition over a period of years.

AFAB & AMAB

The abbreviation AFAB means “assigned female at birth”; AMAB means “assigned male at birth.” These abbreviations are useful when someone’s gender identity differs from the sex they were identified as having at birth.

Pansexual & Omnisexual

Pansexual and omnisexual are both used to describe those who feel sexual and/or romantic attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity (that is, they can be attracted to people whose gender identity is male, female, both, or neither) or sexual orientation (that is, they can be attracted to people who are gay, lesbian, straight, queer, etc.).

Pansexual is the older word of the pair, and it has an older, now less common use describing people who are neither solely gay nor solely straight—in other words, people who are somewhere between straight and gay.

Omnisexual also has broad use meaning “sexual in many or unlimited ways.”

Despite the shared meanings of these terms, some people identify solely with one or with the other, and other people feel that both are an accurate descriptor for them.

Sapiosexual & Demisexual

Sapiosexual describes someone who is attracted to people who exhibit a high level of intelligence.

The term demisexual describes someone who feels sexual attraction towards another person only after establishing an emotional bond with that person.

Straight & Heterosexual, Gay & Homosexual

Straight and heterosexual both describe someone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex—women who are attracted to men, and men who are attracted to women. Gay and homosexual both describe someone who is romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of their own sex—women who are attracted to women, and men who are attracted to men.

The terms heterosexual and homosexual are disliked by many people, and homosexual especially is increasingly considered offensive, as it can be seen as evoking negative stereotypes and outdated clinical understandings of homosexuality as a psychiatric condition. The term’s offensiveness is also apparent in its disparaging use. For more information, see the notes at the entry .

Gender Dysphoria & Gender Identity Disorder

Gender dysphoria is a term that refers to a distressed state that arises from conflict between a person's gender identity —their internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither—and the sex the person has or was identified as having at birth. The condition marked by this kind of distress is also referred to as gender dysphoria.

The term gender identity disorder is sometimes used with the same meaning.

Gender-affirming Surgery & Gender Confirmation Surgery, Gender Reassignment & Gender Reassignment Surgery

Gender-affirming surgery / gender affirmation surgery and gender confirmation surgery refer to any of several surgical procedures that a transgender or nonbinary person may choose to undergo in order to obtain physical characteristics that match their gender identity.

When gender reassignment was first used in the late 1960s, the term referred to the process of surgically altering the reproductive anatomy of someone with ambiguous genitalia or intersexuality (a condition in which someone has both male and female gonadal tissue, or has the gonads of one sex and external genitalia that is either ambiguous or is of the other sex). Later, the term came to be used to refer to the gender transition process by which a transgender person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity, with or without the aid of medical procedures and therapies. Today gender transition is the preferred term in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities, as gender reassignment implies that someone is taking on a different gender, rather than making changes to align their outward appearance and presentation with their gender identity.

Similarly, gender reassignment surgery , which refers to any of various surgical procedures that a transgender or nonbinary person may choose to undergo in order to obtain physical characteristics that match their gender identity, is avoided because of its implication that a transgender or nonbinary person takes on a different gender through surgery, rather than using surgery to align their outward appearance with their gender identity. Gender confirmation surgery and gender-affirming surgery are the preferred terms in the medical and LGBTQ+ communities, and surgery is seen as one of many possible ways to affirm one's gender identity, rather than as an essential part of transitioning.

Polyamory refers to the practice of having more than one open romantic relationship at a time. Each member of a polyamorous group is willingly part of the open relationship.

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Definition of gender reassignment noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

gender reassignment

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How Gender Reassignment Surgery Works (Infographic)
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What is Gender Identity
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The Gender Identity Terms You Need To Know
Gender and Sexuality; What is Difference Between Them?

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Gender reassignment
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Gender Reassignment is a No
Change the Gender in English Grammar
gender reassignment surgery
Change of gender||gender change

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Gender reassignment Definition & Meaning
The meaning of GENDER REASSIGNMENT is a process by which a transgender or nonbinary person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity through changes to their appearance and presentation often with the aid of medical procedures and therapies : gender transition. How to use gender reassignment in a sentence.
GENDER REASSIGNMENT
GENDER REASSIGNMENT definition: 1. a process, sometimes including medical operations, by which someone's sex is changed from male…. Learn more.
GENDER REASSIGNMENT definition
gender reassignment meaning: 1. a process, sometimes including medical operations, by which someone's sex is changed from male…. Learn more.
GENDER REASSIGNMENT definition and meaning
A process of transition from one gender to another, typically involving surgery and hormone.... Click for English pronunciations, examples sentences, video.
What is gender reassignment
What is gender reassignment A decision to undertake gender reassignment is made when an individual feels that his or her gender at birth does not match their gender identity. This is called 'gender dysphoria' and is a recognised medical condition. Gender reassignment refers to individuals, whether staff, who either: Have undergone, intend ...
Gender reassignment
Search for: 'gender reassignment' in Oxford Reference ». A physiological and ultimately surgical procedure, under medical supervision, for the purpose of changing a person's sexual characteristics. The process is undertaken by transsexual persons. A transsexual is a person who firmly believes that he or she belongs to the sex opposite to the ...
FAQs
The Equality Act 2010 at Section 7 defines the protected characteristic of "gender reassignment" as relating to a person who is: "proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.".
gender reassignment noun
Definition of gender reassignment noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. ... Find out which words work together and produce more natural-sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced ...
gender reassignment noun
Definition of gender reassignment noun in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. ... Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English. See gender reassignment in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
GENDER REASSIGNMENT Definition & Meaning
Gender reassignment definition: male-to-female or female-to-male transformation involving surgery and hormone treatment. See examples of GENDER REASSIGNMENT used in a sentence.
Gender Reassignment
Gender Reassignment Gender reassignment is a protected characteristic and the term refers to someone who is transgender. It includes anyone who has proposed, started or completed a process to change his or her sex. The Equality Act extends pre-existing protections for transsexual people by, for example, prohibiting indirect discrimination and ...
GENDER REASSIGNMENT definition in American English
gender reassignment. ( dʒendər riəsaɪnmənt ) uncountable noun. Gender reassignment is the process of changing a person's physical sexual characteristics from male to female or from female to male with an operation and other medical procedures. Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Gender Affirmation Surgery: What Happens, Benefits & Recovery
Gender reassignment is an outdated term for gender affirmation surgery. The new language, "gender affirmation," is more accurate in terms of what the surgery does (and doesn't) do. No surgery can reassign your gender — who you know yourself to be. Instead, gender-affirming surgery changes your physical body so that it better aligns with ...
Gender reassignment discrimination
What the Equality Act says about gender reassignment discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 says that you must not be discriminated against because of gender reassignment. In the Equality Act, gender reassignment means proposing to undergo, undergoing or having undergone a process to reassign your sex. To be protected from gender reassignment ...
gender reassignment noun
There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun gender reassignment. See 'Meaning & use' for definition, usage, and quotation evidence. See meaning & use. ... gender reassignment is formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: gender n., reassignment n. See etymology. Nearby entries.
Transgender
Simple English; Slovenčina; Slovenščina; ... Additionally, it mentions that transgender individuals, including those who have undergone gender reassignment, can serve as godparents and witnesses in Catholic weddings under appropriate conditions. The document also allows the baptism of children from same-sex couples, provided there is a well ...
Gender Reassignment
*'Gender reassignment' is a term of much contention and is one that Stonewall's Trans Advisory Group feels should be reviewed. Stonewall's glossary of terms. Gender Reassignment and Discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 says that you must not be discriminated against because you are transsexual, when your gender identity is different ...
Gender Reassignment discrimination
All transsexual people share the common characteristic of gender reassignment. To be protected from gender reassignment discrimination, you do not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery to change from your birth sex to your preferred gender. This is because changing your physiological or other gender attributes is a personal ...
Gender reassignment discrimination
On this page we have used plain English to help explain legal terms. This does not change the meaning of the law. The Equality Act 2010 uses the term 'transsexual' for individuals who have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.
gender reassignment
English [edit] Noun [edit] gender reassignment (countable and uncountable, plural gender reassignments) The process of changing one's sex, usually by a combination of medicinal and surgical means; sex change. Translations [edit]
GENDER REASSIGNMENT Definition & Usage Examples
Gender reassignment definition: . See examples of GENDER REASSIGNMENT used in a sentence.
Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms
Gender is also used to refer to the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Gender by itself can also refer to gender identity, which is a person's internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female. More on that below.
gender reassignment noun
Definition of gender reassignment noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. ... English American English. Enter search text. Definition of gender reassignment noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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Merriam-Webster's Short List of Gender and Identity Terms

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