Do you know the difference between a transgender and a transexual? Do you find terms like asexual, pansexual or cisgender confusing? So many identities and sexualities are part of the rainbow banner of LGBTQI+. Be a better ally to them by brushing up on your terms and getting their identities straight (no pun intended). We’ve put together a list of important terms in the LGBTIQA+ community to help us be more inclusive and celebrate pride without prejudice.
Illustration: fiverr.com/nataliaoskiera
Ally a (typically straight and/or cisgender) person who supports and respects members of the LGBTQ community.
Asexual
Having little or no sexual attraction to any gender. Some asexual people desire romantic relationships, while others do not. Asexuality can be considered a spectrum, with some asexual people experiencing no desire for sex, and others experiencing low levels, or sexual attraction only under specific conditions. Many of these different places on the spectrum have their own identity labels (see demisexual). Sometimes abbreviated to “ace.”
Bisexual Romantically, emotionally, physically and sexually attracted to both male and female identifying people. Bisexual attraction does not have to be equally split, or indicate a level of interest that is the same across the genders an individual may be attracted to. Often used interchangeably with “pansexual”. Biphobia Any intentional forms of violence, threats and/or hurtful comments, thoughts or beliefs toward people who identify as bisexual or pansexual.
Cisgender One whose gender and personal identification corresponds with the gender assigned at birth. A simple way to think about it is if a person is not transgender, they are cisgender. The word cisgender can also be shortened to “cis.”
Cissexism Viewing cisgender as the norm and superior to other identities outside of this norm, usually through prejudice or discrimination.
Demisexual: Has little to no capacity to experience sexual attraction until a strong romantic connection is formed with someone, often within a romantic relationship.
Drag king
Someone who performs (hyper-) masculinity theatrically.
Drag queen
noun : someone who performs (hyper-) femininity theatrically.
Gay
Primarily used for men attracted to other men, but also used as an umbrella term for people who are attracted to the same gender.
Genderfluid
A gender identity label often used by people whose sense of self in relation to gender changes from time-to-time. The time frame might be over the course of many months, days, shorter, or longer, but the consistent experience is one of change.
Genderqueer
A gender identity label often used by people who do not identify with the binary of man/woman. An umbrella term for many gender non-conforming or non-binary identities (e.g., agender, bigender, genderfluid).
Intersex
Term for a combination of chromosomes, hormones, internal sex organs, and genitals that that does not fit completely into either male or female binary. Formerly known as hermaphrodite (or hermaphroditic), but these terms are now outdated and derogatory.
Lesbian
women who are primarily attracted romantically, erotically, and/or emotionally to other women.
LGBTIQA+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans/transgender, Intersex, Queer/questioning, and Asexual – and is one of many acronyms that represent common sexual and gender identities and bodies in the community. The + symbol is used to show that there are many more ways to be gender, sexually or body diverse. There are many variations of this acronym.
Non-Binary A label that describes someone’s understanding and experience of their gender as being outside of the common belief that there are only two genders, either male or female. Some people also have a legal non-binary sex.
Pansexual (aka omnisexuality) (Often shortened to “pan."). A person whose emotional, romantic, physical and sexual attraction is toward anyone – regardless of sex or gender. Pansexuality is similar to bisexuality, but differs because it rejects the gender binary. Simply put, it means that someone’s sex or gender doesn’t factor into whether you find someone attractive or not. Omnisexual is similar to pansexual, but actively attracted to all genders, rather than gender-blind
Queer Originally meant ‘strange’ or ‘peculiar’ and became an insult against non-heterosexual people in the late 19th century. More recently, the word has been reclaimed by the LGBTIQA+ community as an umbrella term for people who identify as sexually or gender diverse (see LGBTIQA+).
Sapiosexual
A person who is sexually attracted to a person's intellect or mind above and before their physical characteristics or gender.
Skoliosexual
Being primarily sexually, romantically and/or emotionally attracted to some genderqueer, transgender, transsexual, and/or non-binary people.
Trans*
An umbrella term covering a range of identities that transgress socially-defined gender norms. Trans with an asterisk is often used in written forms (not spoken) to indicate that you are referring to the larger group nature of the term, and specifically including non-binary identities, as well as transgender men (transmen) and transgender women (transwomen).
Transgender
A gender description for someone who has transitioned (or is transitioning) from living as one gender to another. 2 adj. : an umbrella term for anyone whose sex assigned at birth and gender identity do not correspond in the expected way (e.g., someone who was assigned male at birth, but does not identify as a man).
Transphobia
The fear of, discrimination against, or hatred of trans* people, the trans* community, or gender ambiguity. Transphobia can be seen within the queer community, as well as in general society. Transphobic – adj. : a word used to describe an individual who harbors some elements of this range of negative attitudes, thoughts, intents, towards trans* people.
Transsexual A person who identifies psychologically as a gender/sex other than the one assigned at birth and transitions via hormones and surgery to match their inner sense of gender/sex
Transvestite
noun : a person who dresses as the binary opposite gender expression (“cross-dresses”) for any one of many reasons, including relaxation, fun, and sexual gratification (often called a “cross-dresser,” and should not be confused with transsexual).
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