Transgender individuals have been the primary architects of much of the language and aesthetics used in LGBTQ+ culture today.

Non-binary people are frequently told by both cisgender society and traditional LGB culture that they are "confused" or "seeking attention." Yet, the non-binary experience is arguably the logical conclusion of queer theory: rejecting the binary entirely.

One of the purest expressions of trans culture is the . Originating in Harlem in the 1960s, Ballroom provided a refuge for Black and Latino trans women and gay men who were excluded from white gay bars. Categories like "Realness" (the ability to pass as a cisgender person of a specific profession or class) and "Voguing" (dance as a form of war) are distinctly rooted in trans and gender-nonconforming experience.

Understanding the community begins with distinguishing between core identity markers: Gender Identity : A person's internal sense of self. Gender Expression