Useful Terms
There are lots of terms to describe the identities and experiences of Queer individuals. It can be difficult to know where to begin when learning about the LGBTQIA+ community. Here is a list of terms with brief explanations to give you a starting point. This list is not exhaustive and we recognize that the meaning of some terms change over time.
Gender Terms
Gender: Socially and culturally constructed expectations, typically based on sex assigned at birth, differentiating between masculine and feminine.
Sex: Assigned sex is a label that you’re given at birth by a doctor based on medical factors, including your hormones, chromosomes, and genitals. Most people are assigned male or female, and this is what’s put on their birth certificates.
Sex Assigned at Birth: This term is used to describe the determination of the sex (and often gender) of an individual when they are born. There is a movement toward using “sex assigned at birth” instead of the term “biological sex” since even biological sex can be complicated and this phrase also gives understanding to the fact that society, or another person (such as medical professionals or family) are deciding the sex and gender of the individual before more factors (such as secondary sex characteristics) or gender identity can be known.
AFAB: Assigned female at birth.
AMAB: Assigned male at birth.
Cisgender: A term used to describe when someone’s sex assigned at birth (or biological sex) matches their gender. “Cis” is from the Latin prefix meaning “to be on the same side of.”
Transgender: A term used to describe when someone’s gender differs from their sex assigned at birth (or biological sex). From the Latin prefix meaning “across, on the far side, beyond.”
Intersex: A general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. There are many different intersex conditions, that range from ambiguous genitalia to chromosomal and hormonal disorders to disagreement between visible genitalia and internal organs.
Gender Identity: A person's internal, deeply held sense of their gender.
Gender Expression: External manifestations of gender, expressed through a person's name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, and/or body characteristics, society identifies most of these characteristics and behaviors as either male or female. May be at odds with a person’s gender identity.
Gender Nonconforming: A term used to describe some people whose gender expression is different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity.
Nonbinary: Individuals who do not identify as either male or female, but rather outside of the gender binary. The term is used both as a self-identifier, but also to encompass any other identities that do not fit in the binary genders. Non-binary people may or may not identify as trans and may or may not transition. Sometimes shortened to NB or enby.
Misgender: to intentionally or accidentally refer to a person by a word, especially a pronoun or title, that does not reflect their gender identity.
Gender Dysphoria: The discomfort transgender individuals feel about the mismatch between their assigned sex and their actual gender. It can cause severe distress, depression and anxiety.
Cisnormative: The assumption that all people are cisgender.
Trans man: Transgender man; a man who assigned female at birth. (typically uses pronouns he/him/his)
FTM: Acronym for “female-to-male”; a way trans men sometimes describe themselves.
Trans woman: Transgender woman; a woman who was assigned male at birth. (typically uses pronouns she/her/hers)
MTF: Acronym for “male-to-female”; a way trans women sometimes describe themselves.
Transitioning: The process of changing one’s gender expression and sex characteristics to better align with one’s actual gender. It is the process of bringing one’s gender expression in line with their gender identity.
HRT: hormone replacement therapy, a component of transitioning for many transgender people.
“T”: short for testosterone, a part of HRT for trans men.
Bottom Surgery: The surgical process of reconstructing male genitalia into female, or female genitalia into male. Often includes the removal of some or all sex organs.
Top Surgery: Typically FTM, the surgical process of reconstructing the chest MTF or FTM.
Deadname: The birth name of someone who has changed their name, especially transgender people who have chosen a new name that reflects their gender better than their birth name.
Transmasculine: An individual who was assigned female at birth but identifies with masculinity to a greater extent than with femininity. This can include trans men, but it can also include nonbinary individuals who wish to read as more masculine. They may or may not transition, or transition to a lesser extent than a trans man and may use a variety of pronouns.
Transfeminine: An individual who was assigned male at birth but identifies with femininity to a greater extent than with femininity. This can include trans women, but it can also include nonbinary individuals who wish to read as more masculine. They may or may not transition, or transition to a lesser extent than a trans man and may use a variety of pronouns.
Genderfluid: An individual who is highly flexible about their gender expression and presentation. They may fluctuate between presentations and identities or combine them.
Bigender: An individual who identifies as two or more distinct genders.
Agender: An individual who does not identify with any gender or identifies as genderless.
Genderqueer: Describes a person whose gender identity falls outside the traditional gender binary.
Two Spirit: An umbrella term referring to various forms of gender identity and sexuality specific to the cultures of the indigenous peoples of North America.
A note on inclusive language:
· Use “All genders” instead of “both genders” to recognize the spectrum of gender rather than a gender binary.
· Use “Different gender” instead of “opposite gender/opposite sex” to recognize the spectrum of gender and to avoid normalizing the idea of men and women as opposites.
Sexuality Terms
Sexual Orientation / Sexuality: Who a person is attracted to, emotionally, sexually, and/or romantically. Has nothing to do with gender.
Lesbian: A woman who is attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to other women. Trans women can also be lesbians.
Gay: An adjective to describe a man who is attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to other men. Sometimes also used by lesbians and other members of the LGBTQIA community.
Bisexual: A person who is capable of being attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to more than one gender.
Queer: A catch-all umbrella term for gender and sexuality minorities who are either not cis, not straight, or both.
Questioning: An individual who may be trying to understand or questioning their sexuality and/or gender identity.
Pansexual: Has nothing to do with pans! Someone who is capable of being attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to any gender. The difference between this and bisexual is nuanced and some people will use these terms interchangeably. The nuance is that, while bisexual people are capable of attraction to individuals of their own gender and other genders, the gender and gender expression of the other person plays a role in their attraction to that person while pansexual individuals are attracted to people regardless of their gender or gender expression.
Asexual: (Sometimes shortened to “Ace”) A person who does not experience sexual attraction. Or a person who experiences no or little desire for sexual activity.
Allosexual: A person who does experience sexual attraction and/or experiences desire for sexual activity.
Gray Ace: A person who is mostly asexual but sometimes experiences sexual attraction or sexual desire.
Demisexual: A person who does not feel sexual interest towards others unless a strong emotional connection is formed first. Some people consider this a version of gray ace.
Polyamorous: (Often shortened to “poly”) Engaging in multiple romantic and/or sexual relationships with the consent of all people involved. Sometimes also known as consensual non-monogamy.
Romantic Attraction
Romantic Attraction: An emotional response that results in a desire for a deeper bond with that person. This often includes a desire for physical intimacy, typically including sexual behaviors, but not necessarily.
Aromantic: A person who does not experience romantic attraction.
Romantic vs. Sexual Attractions: For most people, sexual and romantic attraction are the same. But for others, there is disagreement between sexual and romantic attraction, especially in the asexual community. Many asexual people still experience romantic attraction and even desire some aspects of physical intimacy. However, romantic and sexual attraction can mix and match (for example: biromantic homosexual, heteromantic bisexual. Etc.)
Other Useful Terms
Heteronormative: A set of lifestyle norms, practices, and institutions that promote binary alignment of biological sex, gender identity, and gender roles; assume heterosexuality and cisgender as a fundamental and natural norms; and privilege monogamous, committed relationships and reproductive sex above all other sexual practices.
Homophobia: The irrational fear, hatred of, or discrimination against people who are attracted to people of the same sex.
Heterosexism: The institutionalized assumption that everyone is heterosexual and that heterosexuality is inherently superior and preferable to homosexuality, bisexuality, etc.
Internalized Homophobia: The experience of shame, aversion, or self-hatred in relation to one’s own attractions to a person of the same sex.
Biphobia: The fear of, discrimination against, or hatred of bisexual people or those who are perceived as such. This includes hatred to pansexual and other sexualities that are not monosexual. This happens within the LGBTQIA community, where there is pressure on bisexual people to identify as gay or lesbian or get out of the community.
Monosexism: The belief that monosexuality (either exclusive heterosexuality and/or homosexuality) is superior to or more legitimate than a bisexual or other non-monosexual orientation.
Corrective Rape: The use of sexual violence against an LGBTQIA person to “convert” them to heterosexual. Lesbians are the most common target of this crime but it also happens to bisexual women, asexual people, transgender people, and LGBQIA men.
“Gay Panic”: A legal strategy used to defend individuals accused of perpetrating violence against members of the LGBTQIA community. Transgender women face some of the highest rates of violence in the country and gay panic is often used as an explanation for their murders, when the murderer learns that a trans woman was “formerly a man,” they “panic.”
Transphobia: The irrational fear, hatred of, or discrimination against people who are trans. Intersex people, nonbinary people and gender nonconforming people can also be victims of transphobia.
Coming out: The act of an LGBTQIA person disclosing their gender identity or sexual orientation. Often thought of the first time a person begins to disclose their gender identity or sexual orientation, but not always.
Being Out / Living Openly: An LGBTQIA person being comfortably open about their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Being out is nuanced, a person “comes out” any time they tell a new person about their gender identity or sexual orientation, even if they are living openly. People may be out at different levels. For example: out to friends but not to family. Out to friends and family but not at work. (etc.)
Outing / Outted: Disclosing someone’s sexuality or gender identity without their consent. May be accidental but is typically an intentional act of violence against an LGBTQIA person to threaten their safety.