Counselor Quick Reference

Glossary

Gender

Learned cultural patterns — norms, behaviors, expected roles — that a society maps onto masculinity and femininity. Not the same thing as biological sex.

Sex

The label assigned at birth from anatomical/biological markers (chromosomes, anatomy, hormones, reproductive organs), historically treated as a strict male/female binary.

Cisgender

A person whose internal sense of gender lines up with the sex category they were assigned at birth.

Trans / TNB

Umbrella covering gender identities and expressions that fall outside the sex-assigned-at-birth binary. Two labels, one population: the textbook says TNB, the lecture says TGNC.

Nonbinary

A subset within the trans umbrella — identities like genderqueer or gender-fluid that don't map onto either pole of the man/woman binary.

Genderqueer

A self-chosen label, common among younger people, for a gender that doesn't sit inside binary categories; often goes with they/them — which are simply that person's pronouns, not a "preference."

Intersex

Describes bodies whose reproductive or sexual anatomy doesn't sort cleanly into standard male (XY) or female (XX) categories.

Sexism

A system of oppression organized around sex, gender identity, and gender expression — the mechanism that keeps patriarchy running (men privileged, women not).

Male privilege

Advantages that accrue to men automatically, purely from the sex category assigned to them at birth — not earned through merit.

Internalized sexism

Absorbing sexist messaging (e.g., about how a body "should" look) as one's own self-belief — one way male privilege reproduces itself.

Ambivalent sexism

Glick & Fiske's term for the combination of hostile and benevolent sexism; its benevolent face is sexism disguised as a compliment or harmless remark — e.g., commenting on a woman's appearance in a work setting.

Objectification theory

Framework for how patriarchy reduces women to "objects," which feeds downstream mental-health harm like depression, anxiety, and disordered eating.

Patriarchy

A structure that channels power and privilege toward men; not static — it hardened over time into something closer to outright ownership of women.

Key models

flowchart TD
    A[Male GRC] --> B[Success, power, competition]
    A --> C[Work/family conflict]
    A --> D[Restricted emotionality]
    A --> E[Restricted affection between men]
        

Clinical checkpoints — TGNC/TNB clients

• Screen for trauma at intake and keep revisiting it — not a one-time checkbox
• Audit your paperwork and physical space for baked-in exclusion (forms with no TGNC/TNB option, no safe bathroom)
• Don't walk in assuming what being TGNC/TNB means to this particular client
• Keep a referral list of TGNC/TNB-affirming medical providers ready to go
• Coach self-advocacy with altercasting prompts — "what would you say if...?" — built before the client needs it
• Treat grief over lost cisgender privilege during transition as real, not as something to pathologize

Table 5.1 — resources (link-checked 2026-07-20)