Gender and sexual orientation symbols on a genogram
This page shows the Hartley family, where Joanna and her wife Marisol, married in 2015, are each drawn with the lesbian symbol and Joanna's brother Dominic with the trans male symbol. In the next generation, Joanna's brother Ian has a son, Jude, with the bisexual male symbol, and a child, Riley, who is non-binary and drawn as a diamond.
Updated October 2026Notation follows McGoldrick, Gerson and Petry, Genograms: Assessment and Treatment (4th ed., 2020)
Cite this diagram
Genogram Pro. (2026, October 20). Gender and sexual orientation symbols on a genogram [Diagram]. https://genogrampro.com/guide/genogram-symbols/gender-orientation
Lesbian
Joanna, the focus person with a yellow outline, and her wife Marisol are each drawn as a circle with a triangle inside, with their 2015 marriage line between them.
Trans male
Dominic is drawn as a square for the gender he identifies with, and the circle inside it is for the sex he was assigned at birth.
Bisexual male
Jude's square has a triangle inside drawn in a dotted line.
Non-binary
Riley, born in 2007, is drawn as a diamond, which is listed as Other in the key.
Tell the gender and orientation symbols apart
The outer shape of a person's symbol is the gender they identify with, and a shape or triangle is drawn inside it for the sex assigned at birth or the sexual orientation.
Male
A square, drawn on the left of a couple.
Female
A circle, drawn on the right of a couple.
Unknown or non-binary
A diamond, also used for a pet.
Trans male
A square with a circle inside, for a man assigned female at birth.
Trans female
A circle with a square inside, for a woman assigned male at birth.
Gay male
A square with a triangle inside, drawn in a solid line.
Lesbian
A circle with a triangle inside, drawn in a solid line.
Bisexual male
A square with a triangle inside, drawn in a dotted line.
Bisexual female
A circle with a triangle inside, drawn in a dotted line.
Primary person
A yellow outline around the person the genogram is drawn for, also called the index person.
Draw gender identity and orientation on the symbol
- Draw the shape of the gender a person identifies with. A square is male, a circle is female and a diamond is non-binary, other or unknown. In the editor, turn on Gender identity under Display options in the Identity & names section of the person panel, then set the Identity field.
- Add the sex assigned at birth inside a trans symbol. In the editor, set Biological and Identity to different values and turn on Show as trans.
- Mark sexual orientation with a triangle. Set the Orientation field to Homosexual for a triangle pointing down inside the symbol in a solid line, or to Bisexual for the same triangle in a dotted line. With Other, the editor adds a question mark to the triangle.
- Pick a preset with Change symbol. Click Change symbol in the person panel and pick Trans male, Trans female, Gay male, Lesbian, Bisexual male or Bisexual female, and the editor sets these fields at once.
- Join a same-sex couple with the usual line. Joanna and Marisol's marriage, from 2015, is drawn with the same solid line as Joanna's parents' marriage.
The person symbols section of the genogram symbols chart shows these symbols next to the life status symbols, and how to list the symbols in a genogram is explained in the genogram key guide.
Avoid two common mistakes with gender and orientation symbols
Put the sex at birth inside a trans symbol
The outer shape is the gender the person identifies with and the inner shape is the sex assigned at birth, so if you swap them, Dominic, a trans man, is drawn as a trans woman.
Draw the bisexual triangle in a dotted line
A triangle drawn in a solid line inside a square is the symbol for a gay man, so a bisexual man drawn with that triangle is read as gay.
Questions people ask
See every genogram symbolWhat is the non-binary symbol on a genogram?
The non-binary symbol is a diamond, which the editor draws for anyone whose Identity is Non-binary, Other or Unknown, and it is listed as Other in the genogram key.
How do you show a transgender person on a genogram?
Draw the shape of the gender the person identifies with and put the shape of the sex assigned at birth inside it, so a trans man is a square with a circle inside and a trans woman is a circle with a square inside. In the editor, set Biological and Identity in the person panel and turn on Show as trans.
What is the symbol for gay or lesbian on a genogram?
Both have a triangle inside the person's symbol, drawn in a solid line, so a gay man is a square with a triangle inside and a lesbian is a circle with a triangle inside. A bisexual person has the same triangle in a dotted line.
How do you show an unknown gender on a genogram?
Draw a diamond. In the editor, open Change symbol in the person panel and choose Other/Pet, and the editor draws the diamond with no orientation triangle.
How do you draw a same-sex couple on a genogram?
Use the same couple line as for any couple, with the year of the union, as in m. 2015 for Joanna and Marisol.
What does a triangle inside a symbol mean on a genogram?
A triangle inside a square or circle is a sexual orientation symbol. A triangle drawn on its own in a child's place is a different symbol, a pregnancy.
Start your genogram from this example
Open it in the editor, swap in your own names and dates, and export it as a PNG or PDF.