Can we take a second to say THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts, to all of you, for making our first couple of weeks here in the Tumblr-sphere so fun? We’re loving the comments, reblogs, and questions from you guys, so keep ‘em coming! We also appreciate the feedback you’ve been giving us about how to make our Tumblr even better. We’ve heard from a lot of you about the importance of making our Tumblr a safe space for folks across gender and sexual identities. To help make that happen, we’re going to be using some gender inclusive terms here. Here’s a quick rundown:

Gender refers to society’s expectations about how we should look, think, and act as girls and boys, women and men. It’s different from our sex, which is biological, and includes stuff like our genetic makeup, our hormones, and our physical parts (like our genitals). Gender identity is how we feel about our gender and gender expression is how we convey those feelings in the ways we dress, behave, speak, express ourselves, and more. 

Transgender is a gender identity that differs from conventional expectations based on a person’s biological sex. Transgender is a big term that can include lots of different bodies and identities. Some transgender folks have surgery and/or take hormones to alter their physical bodies to match their gender identity, and this process is often called transitioning. Transitioning can also mean changing your gender expression, using different pronouns, etc. 

Cisgender is a gender identity that is consistent with conventional expectations about a person’s sex. Cisgender refers to people who identify and present as the gender they were assigned at birth. 

If you haven’t thought about gender much, some of these ideas might seem really new and maybe a little confusing. We came across The Genderbread Person, a visual tool that helps explain some of these concepts. It’s just one of many gender models, and while it’s probably not perfect (some might say it’s  a little too binary. I mean what if you feel like you don’t fit anywhere on some of the spectrums?), it’s a good starting point in helping folks understand that people aren’t always just male or female. 

Thanks to all of you for making us better and smarter. We know this is just the beginning. 

- Your friends at Planned Parenthood Tumblr