I don’t really like those terms because I find them very misleading. “Trans woman” implies we’re talking about a kind of woman, and likewise for “trans man”. The terms “FtM”, “MtF”, “sex reassignment surgery” and “transition” imply that you can change your sex. And “gender affirming surgery” suggest that we should prioritize “gender identity” over sex.

“Sex assigned at birth” is just wrong. Sex is determined at conception and observed at birth. Though, nowadays thanks to medical technology, you can know the sex of the baby before they’re born. Talking about sex assignment only makes sense for a small portion of people with DSD (1, 2) some of which have been subjected to unnecessary surgeries and lied to about their medical history. Considering that most trans identified people are unambiguously 46, XX females or 46, XY males (3) I think it’s pretty insensitive that transactivists have appropriated this term.

As for “medical transition” related terms, I think medical terminology should reflect reality. So, I talk about exogenous hormones and surgeries. A few years ago, I’d not have minded the term cross-sex hormones that much, but given all the prevalent sex denialism, I avoid it. All sex steroids (i.e. androgens, estrogens, and progesterone) are present in both males and females, although in different levels; and you can’t change your sex by taking exogenous hormones. “Chest reconstructive surgery” is really a bilateral mastectomy. “HRT” is also, inaccurate because trans people are not taking hormones because any endocrinological problem. “Vaginoplasty” may be worst offender on the list of inaccurate terms because an inverted penis is not a vagina. Also, for “puberty blockers”, I prefer to use the name of the drug class, gonadotrophin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa), and to explain that they result in a chemical castration.

Lastly, although this is not a term only used by transactivists, I’ve come to dislike “gender” because, I think, it has only makes things more confusing as everyone mean something different by it. For that reason, I try to avoid it and talk about sex stereotypes or sex roles instead.