All over the country in households and classrooms and workplaces, conversations about gender and transgender identity are happening. Thanks to public figures such as Caitlyn Jenner and Jazz Jennings and increased media attention on the rights of the transgender population, it seems like everyone — from the preschooler to the preschooler’s grandma — is learning that sexuality and gender identity is a spectrum.

For many, however, the language related to gender identity is still unfamiliar. We sat down with our Hatch tweens and gender expert Hennessy Khalili-Winckler to close this knowledge gap and help the conversation around gender issues continue — because if you’re going to talk about it, you should have all the right words. As complicated as the language surrounding gender can seem, the Hatch Kids prove it doesn’t have to be.

• Gender Identity

Noun: The internal perception of one’s gender and how they label themselves.

• Transgender, trans

Adjective: noting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond to that person’s biological sex assigned at birth.

• Sexual orientation

Noun: one’s natural preference in sexual partners; predilection for homosexuality, heterosexuality or bisexuality.

• Ze/Zir

Pronoun: the most popular gender-neutral pronoun. Instead of using “he” or “she”, people who choose gender neutral pronouns identify as “ze.”

• Genderfluid

Adjective: noting or relating to a person whose gender identity or gender expression is not fixed and shifts over time depending on the situation. These individuals may feel like a mix of the two traditional genders, male and female, but may feel more like a man on some days and more like a woman on other days.

• Cisgender

Adjective: noting or relating to a person whose gender identity corresponds with that person’s biological sex assigned at birth.

• Intersex

Noun: an individual having reproductive organs or external sexual characteristics of both male and female.

• Agender

Adjective: noting or relating to a person who does not have a specific gender identity or recognizable gender expression.