LGBTQIA+ Glossary & Terminology
(alphabetical order - updated December 2022)
Agender:
Someone whose gender identity lies completely outside of the gender spectrum, or someone who may not have a gender at all
Allyship:
The action of supporting a group other than one’s own to address oppression or social injustice.
Androgyne:
Someone whose gender identity expression is both masculine and feminine or in between.
Aromantic:
Someone who experiences non-attraction or limited romantic attraction. They may or may not still experience sexual attraction.
Asexual:
Someone who may experience non-attraction or limited sexual attraction. They may or may not still experience romantic attraction.
Attraction:
The action of feeling interested in or liking someone. Romantic attraction is the desire or lack of desire for a romantic connection with another person and sexual attraction is the desire for sexual contact or sexual interest in another person or other people. Romantic attraction and sexual attraction are not always the same. *See Split Attraction Model
BDSM:
Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/Submission, Sado/Masochism. (S&M).
Bear:
A large and hairy queer man that can be characterized as ruggedly masculine, but can also be friendly and affectionate.
Bigender:
Someone who identifies with two or more genders at the same time or intermittently.
Biphobia:
A form of oppression that erases or silences bisexual experiences or voices. Examples of biphobia include the mindset that bisexuality doesn’t exist or the acceptance of bisexual stereotypes.
Biromantic:
Someone who experiences romantic attraction to two or more genders. They may or may not feel sexual attraction to two or more genders.
Bisexual:
Someone who experiences sexual attraction to two or more genders. They may or may not feel romantic attraction to two or more genders.
Butch:
A person whose gender expression is masculine or presents mostly masculine. This term is typically used by lesbians.
Cisgender:
Someone whose gender identity matches the gender they were assigned at birth.
Cissexism:
The dislike or prejudice against transgender people or transness in general.
Chosen Family:
Families formed outside of biological or legal bonds (formed out of choice). Chosen families are often formed for community and safety within the queer community.
Coming Out:
Someone comes out by voluntarily sharing their sexuality or gender identity with others. Coming out is unique to each individual and everyone comes out differently.
Culture:
A learned set of values, beliefs, customs, norms, and perceptions shared by a group of people that can be passed down from generation to generation.
Demisexual:
Someone who needs to develop a romantic attraction to someone before they can experience sexual attraction towards that person
.
Discrimination:
Unjust or prejudicial treatment of a person or group of people based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or other identities.
Drag King:
People, particularly women, who appear as men typically during an act or performance.
Drag Queen:
People, particularly men, who appear as women typically during an act or performance.
Ethnicity:
An identity in correlation to a group or nation with similar characteristics and values that distinguish them from other ethnic groups.
Female:
A person who at birth is identified to have female anatomy and XX chromosomes by a medical professional. These people may or may not be women.
Feminine:
The quality of exhibiting traits or characteristics including but not limited to being soft, nurturing, caring, expressive, strong, etc. Not limited to or reserved for any one gender or gender expression.
Femme:
A person whose gender expression is feminine or presents mostly feminine.
Fetish:
Sexual desire in the form of an abnormal degree/object/body part; linked to gratification/orgasm.
Gay:
A label used to identify homosexual men. Also, an umbrella term used by the queer community at large to refer to overall queerness.
Gender:
A social construct used to classify people as men, women, or another identity. Gender is different than sex-assigned at birth.
Gender dysphoria:
A significant distress related to a strong desire to be a different gender (discomfort in their gender).
Gender expression:
How a person expresses themself in terms of dress, physical characteristics, and behaviors. Individuals may embody their gender in many different ways and have terms beyond those listed.
Genderfluid:
Someone whose gender identity fluctuates between two or more genders.
Gender identity:
An individual’s internal sense of their gender. This identity is fluid, and may or may not correlate with their sex assigned at birth. One’s gender identity does not always equate to one’s gender expression.
Gender non-conforming:
An adjective to describe someone who does not adhere to societal expectations of gender expressions or roles.
Genderqueer:
An adjective to describe someone who does not identify with the gender binary or the assigned gender roles that go along with that binary gender construct
Heteronormativity:
Attitudes and behaviors that conform to the gender binary and ignore gender identities different than cisgender women and cisgender men or attractions different than heterosexuality.
Heteroromantic:
Someone who is
romantically
attracted to the opposite sex. They may or may not be
sexually
attracted to the opposite sex.
Heterosexism:
The presumption that everyone is heterosexual and that hetero attractions and relationships are superior.
Heterosexual:
Someone who is
sexually
attracted to the opposite gender. They may or may not be
romantically
attracted to the opposite gender.
Homophobia:
A form of oppression that erases or silences queer experiences or voices. It operates under the assumption that all people are or should be heterosexual.
Homosexual/Homosexuality:
A term to describe those that experience attraction to people of the same gender. This is an outdated term.
Internalized Homophobia:
The internal struggle gay people experience when they consciously and unconsciously believe the ideals of Heterosexism.
Internalized Cissexism:
The discomfort trans folx experience when they internalize society’s gender norms.
Intersectionality:
The study of overlapping social identities in relation to power and oppression (
Crenshaw, 1989
).
Intersex:
A person born with variations in sex characteristics: chromosomes, hormones, or physical appearance.
Kink:
Use of non-conventional sexual practices (bend in one’s sexual behavior).
Leather:
Subculture within the queer community in dressing in leather garments; may or may not participate in BDSM.
Lesbian:
Non-men who are attracted exclusively to other non-men. This is the only sexuality that excludes men. All other genders are included in this sexuality. Some lesbians may be on the asexual or aromantic spectrum.
LGBT:
An abbreviation for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender”. It is used as an umbrella term to refer to the queer community as a whole.
Male:
A person who at birth is identified to have male anatomy and XY chromosomes by a medical professional. These people may or may not be women.
Marginalization:
The act of placing a person or group of people at the outer edges of society resulting in lesser power of that group.
Masculine:
The quality of exhibiting traits or characteristics including but not limited to being strong, rambunctious, firm, steadfast, forward-thinking, and moving, as well as providing. Not reserved for or limited to any one gender or gender expression.
Misgendering:
The act of attributing one gender identity to someone that does not align with their gender identity. Misgendering can occur by using incorrect pronouns, using gendered language, or assuming someone’s gender without knowing how they identify.
MLM:
An abbreviation for “men loving men”.
Monogamy:
Having one sexual or romantic partner at a time.
Neutrois:
A person who has a neutral gender identity or does not identify with any specific gender. There is no one definition for neutrois as every neutrois person develops their own understanding of the identity.
Nonbinary:
A person that does not identify with the binary genders of man and woman. Their identity can manifest between, above of, or outside of man and woman.
Omnigender:
A person that possesses all genders.
Oppression
: Cruel or unjust treatment of a group of people without societal power. Oppression occurs with the combination of prejudice and power. A group without societal power cannot oppress a group with power.
Pansexual:
A person that experiences romantic, sexual, or emotional attraction to another person regardless of their gender identity.
Polyamory:
Being in or wanting to be in multiple sexual or romantic relationships at the same time.
Polygender:
Identifying with and showing characteristics of multiple genders and in doing so challenging the concept of the gender binary.
Pronouns:
Parts of speech used in place of a person’s name in discourse or conversation. Examples include they/them/theirs, she/her/hers, he/him/his. Using incorrect pronouns is a form of misgendering.
Queer:
A term historically used to marginalize those without heteronormative identities. Currently used as an umbrella term for the LGBTQIA community as a whole.
Queer Coding:
The subtextual coding of a character in the media, usually film and television, as queer. Using traits and behaviors stereotypically associated with queer people, representation in this way often portrayed people as either the butt of the joke or villainous.
Questioning:
The process of developing one’s sexuality, gender identity, and gender expression. This term can also be used to name an identity.
Romantic Attraction:
A desire or lack of desire for a romantic connection with another person or other people.
Sapphic:
An adjective to describe the attraction of non-men to other non-men.
Sex-assigned at birth:
Medically constructed categorization based on the appearance of the genitalia, hormones, chromosomes, and other anatomical characteristics.
Sexism:
Prejudice, discrimination, or oppression of a person or group or people based on sex or gender.
Sexuality:
The way people express their attraction or non-attraction. This attraction can be sexual, romantic, or emotional. Sexuality is fluid and a person can use a variety of labels beyond those listed.
Sexual Attraction:
A desire for sexual contact or sexual interest in another person or other people.
Sexual Orientation:
Sexual orientation is an enduring attraction or non-attraction to others. This attraction can be sexual, romantic, or emotional. Sexual orientation is fluid and a person can use a variety of labels beyond those listed.
Socialization:
The process of internalizing the beliefs and values of one’s community.
Split Attraction Model:
A model explaining that there can be a difference between a person’s sexual orientation and romantic orientation.
Stem/Futch:
Terms used to express gender expression that lies between the spectrum of masculinity and femininity. The term “stem” originates from the word “stud” and the use of it by non-Black folx is considered cultural appropriation.
Stereotype:
A generalization applied to an entire population in an identity group.
Stud/AG:
A masculine form of gender expression rooted in the Black Lesbian Community. The use of these terms by non-Black folx is considered cultural appropriation.
TERF:
An acronym for “Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists.”
Transgender:
A person whose gender identity and/or gender expression does not match their sex assigned at birth.
Trans feminine:
A term to describe a trans individual with a predominately feminine gender identity and/or gender expression.
Transition:
The process of changing one’s gender presentation to match their gender identity.
Trans masculine:
A term to describe a trans individual with a predominately masculine gender identity and/or gender expression.
Transphobia:
The dislike or prejudice against transgender people or transness in general.
Two Spirit:
A person that possesses both a feminine and masculine spirit. It is used as an umbrella term for the queerness of Indigenous people.
Umbrella terms:
A broad term to cover a wide range of words that fit under one categorization. For example, the term “queer” can be used as an umbrella term for many LGBTQIA identities.
Educational Resources