Gender and identity is on a winning streak; as more people come out ideas of relationships and sex have gone beyond standardised norms, and homosexual relationships have gained some acceptance in the urban living room. While that is a massive victory, imagine what we could achieve by understanding gender identity and its sexy freaky universe.

As much as we abhor the tendency of labels to pigeonhole things this list is our effort to demystify the world of gender and the jargon that’s thrown around quite carelessly.

A State Of ‘Trans’: The difference between transgender, transsexual, and transvestite

All transgenders are not Hijras

While eunuchs come under the umbrella community of transgenders – they can identify themselves as male, female, or the third gender – the recognition of which activists continue to lobby for.

Battle Of The Sexualities

Versus The Phobias

You may want to watch out for the phobes, they are a toxic lot.

And there’s more:

As our societies evolved so have our labels and definitions. Here’s a quick glossary of the various permutations and combinations that comfort people who don’t have it as easy as commonplace heterosexuals.

Bear in mind that gender identity is a sensitive subject and you should wait for people to tell you about their gender (if they choose to) rather than play guessing games.

Design: Aakanksha Gender-Awesome Pushp