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4 Transgender Terminology The words transgender or trans, and the concepts that they attempt to convey, are quite new in historical terms, really only becoming widely used in the 1990s. Two-Spirit was a term cre- ated by Indigenous people in the early 1990s (“The term is a translation of the Anishinaabemowin term niizh manidoowag, two spirits.” Researching for LGBTQ2S+ Health, https:// lgbtqhealth.ca/community/two-spirit.php). Two-Spirit is an umbrella term meant to convey an openness to gender diversity and sexual orientation outside of heterosexuality and serve as a contrast to earlier European terms that were not respectful. The term non-binary is even newer, coming into common usage in the early 2000s. Earlier in the twentieth century, the words transvestite and transsexual were more commonly used in West- ern societies to describe people who cross-dressed periodically, or who pursued complete hormonal and surgical transitions. Prior to the beginning of the twentieth century, there were no words in the English language specifically to describe those whom we now think of as trans or non-binary people. How- ever, evidence of people who were gender diverse is as old as are our historical records, and many Indigenous peoples around the world have long had language to describe gender diversity as it has been understood in their cultures. Today, the term Two-Spirit is used in English among North American Indige- nous people. The contemporary language used to describe gender-diverse people is rapidly changing and a subject of much debate. Mem- bers of various gender-diverse communities have their own preferences for how they want, and do not want, to be under- stood. Scientific and medical communities often use terminol- ogy that is quite different from that used by gender-diverse people themselves. Journalists and social media authors may use still other language. Those cisgender people (not trans) who wish to be seen as allies will often use quite different language from those who are hostile to gender-diverse people.