G: Gay
B: Bisexual
T: Transgender
Q: Queer or Questioning their sexual identity
Key Terms and Definitions:
LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQA, TBLG: These acronyms refer to
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Asexual or Ally.
Although all of the different identities within “LGBT” are often lumped
together (and share sexism as a common root of oppression), there are specific
needs and concerns related to each individual identity.
Asexual: A person
who generally does not feel sexual attraction or desire to any group of people.
Asexuality is not the same as celibacy.
Ally: Typically any non-LGBT person who supports and stands up for the
rights of LGBT people, though LGBT people can be allies, such as a lesbian who
is an ally to a transgender person.
Biphobia: Aversion toward bisexuality and bisexual people as a social group
or as individuals. People of any sexual orientation can experience such
feelings of aversion. Biphobia is a source of discrimination against bisexuals,
and may be based on negative bisexual stereotypes or irrational fear.
Bisexual: A person who is attracted to both people of their own gender and
another gender. Also called “bi”.
Cisgender: Types of gender identity where an
individual's experience of their own gender matches the sex they were assigned
at birth.
Coming Out: The process of acknowledging one’s
sexual orientation and/or gender identity to other people. For most LGBT people
this is a life-long process.
Gay: A person who is attracted primarily to members of the same sex.
Although it can be used for any sex (e.g. gay man, gay woman, gay person), “lesbian”
is sometimes the preferred term for women who are attracted to women.
Gender expression: A term which refers to the ways
in which we each manifest masculinity or femininity. It is usually an extension
of our “gender identity,” our innate sense of being male, female, etc. Each of
us expresses a particular gender every day – by the way we style our hair,
select our clothing, or even the way we stand. Our appearance, speech,
behavior, movement, and other factors signal that we feel – and wish to be understood
– as masculine or feminine, or as a man or a woman.
Gender identity: The sense of “being” male,
female, genderqueer, agender, etc. For some people, gender identity is in
accord with physical anatomy. For transgender people, gender identity may
differ from physical anatomy or expected social roles. It is important to
note that gender identity, biological sex, and sexual orientation are separate
and that you cannot assume how someone identifies in one category based on how
they identify in another category.
Genderqueer: A term which refers to individuals or
groups who “queer” or problematize the hegemonic notions of sex, gender and
desire in a given society. Genderqueer people possess identities which fall
outside of the widely accepted sexual binary (i.e. "men" and
"women"). Genderqueer may also refer to people who identify as both
transgendered AND queer, i.e. individuals who challenge both gender and
sexuality regimes and see gender identity and sexual orientation as overlapping
and interconnected.
Heterosexual: A person who is only attracted to members
of the opposite sex. Also called “straight."
Homophobia: A range of negative attitudes and feelings
toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being
lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). It can be expressed as antipathy,
contempt, prejudice, aversion, or hatred, may be based on irrational fear, and
is sometimes related to religious beliefs.
Homosexual: A clinical term for people who are
attracted to members of the same sex. Some people find this term offensive.
Intersex: A person whose sexual anatomy or
chromosomes do not fit with the traditional markers of "female" and
"male." For example: people born with both "female" and
"male" anatomy (penis, testicles, vagina, uterus); people born with
XXY.
In the closet: Describes a person who keeps
their sexual orientation or gender identity a secret from some or all people.
Lesbian: A woman who is primarily attracted to other women.
Queer: 1) An umbrella term sometimes used by LGBTQA people to refer to
the entire LGBT community. 2) An alternative that some people use to
"queer" the idea of the labels and categories such as lesbian, gay,
bisexual, etc. Similar to the concept of genderqueer. It is important to note
that the word queer is an in-group term, and a word that can be considered
offensive to some people, depending on their generation, geographic location,
and relationship with the word.
Questioning: For some, the process of
exploring and discovering one's own sexual orientation, gender identity, or
gender expression.
Pansexual: A person who experiences
sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members of all
gender identities/expressions, not just people who fit into the standard gender
binary (i.e. men and women).
Sexual orientation: The type of sexual, romantic,
and/or physical attraction someone feels toward others. Often labeled based on
the gender identity/expression of the person and who they are attracted to.
Common labels: lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, etc.
Transgender: This term has many definitions. It is
frequently used as an umbrella term to refer to all people who do not identify
with their assigned gender at birth or the binary gender system. This includes
transsexuals, cross-dressers, genderqueer, drag kings, drag queens, two-spirit
people, and others. Some transgender people feel they exist not within one of
the two standard gender categories, but rather somewhere between, beyond, or
outside of those two genders.
Transphobia: The fear or hatred of transgender people or
gender non-conforming behavior. Like biphobia, transphobia can also exist
among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people as well as among heterosexual people.
Transsexual: A person whose gender identity is different
from their biological sex, who may undergo medical treatments to change their
biological sex, often times to align it with their gender identity, or they may
live their lives as another sex
International Spectrum. (unknown date), International + LGBT, Retrieved from:
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