What is “gender expression or identity”?
Gender identity or expression is defined in state law as “having or being perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth.” An interchangeable term you may hear is “transgender.” This term is a common umbrella one for a broad range of people who experience and/or express their gender differently from what most people expect – either in terms of expressing a gender that does not match the sex listed on one’s original birth certificate, or physically changing one’s sex (transsexuals). It also includes people who are cross-dressers or otherwise gender non-conforming. Gender identity and expression also includes males and females who do not express their gender in stereotypically masculine or feminine ways – e.g. through dress or behavior.
