LGBTIQ+: Glossary

Ally: A term used to describe someone who is actively supportive of LGBTQ+ people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as those within the LGBTQ+ community who support each other (e.g., a lesbian who is an ally to the bisexual community).

eg."My dad was so understanding when I came out as a lesbian, he's a great ally!"

 

Asexual: Often called “ace” for short, asexual refers to a complete or partial lack of sexual attraction or lack of interest in sexual activity with others. 

eg. "Nowadays, more and more people are coming out as asexual."

 

Bisexual: A person emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one sex, gender or gender identity. Sometimes used interchangeably with pansexual.

eg. "My boyfriend is bisexual; he's dated other men before I became his girlfriend."

 

Cisgender: A term used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with those typically associated with the sex assigned to them at birth. Often shortened to "cis". 

eg. "My sister is transgender, but I'm cisgender"

 

Coming Out: The process in which a person first acknowledges, accepts and appreciates their sexual orientation or gender identity and begins to share that with others.

eg. "I came out to my family when I was 17. They were confused at first, but after I explained it, they understood."

 

Gay: A person who is romantically or sexually attracted to members of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.

eg. "I am a gay man; I'm attracted to other men."

 

Gender expression: External appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, body characteristics or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine.

eg. "My gender expression is what people would see as very traditionally feminine. I like to wear dresses and makeup."

 

Gender identity: One’s innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One's gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.

eg. "The film deals with discrimination, sexuality and gender identity."

 

Gender non-conforming:  A broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that conforms to the traditional expectations of their gender, or whose gender expression does not fit neatly into a category. While many also identify as transgender, not all gender non-conforming people do.

eg. "Even though I'm a boy, I like to wear skirts. My fashion sense is very gender non-conforming."

Genderqueer: Genderqueer people typically reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People who identify as "genderqueer" may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.

eg. "Some people identify as genderqueer because their gender identity is androgynous."

 

Homophobia: The fear and hatred of or discomfort with people who are attracted to members of the same sex.

eg. "Her mother was very homophobic."

 

Intersex: Intersex people are born with a variety of differences in their sex traits and reproductive anatomy. There is a wide variety of difference among intersex variations, including differences in genitalia, chromosomes, gonads, internal sex organs, hormone production, hormone response, and/or secondary sex traits.

eg. "Many intersex babies are forced to undergo nonconsensual genital surgery at birth."

 

Lesbian: A woman who is romantically or sexually attracted to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.

eg. "This TV show has this great lesbian character, it's so nice to have good representation!"

 

LGBTIQ+: An acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer” with a "+" sign to recognize the many sexual orientations and gender identities used by members of our community.

eg. "They dedicated the award to the LGBTIQ+ community."

 

Non-binary: An adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. While many also identify as transgender, not all non-binary people do. Non-binary can also be used as an umbrella term encompassing identities such as agender, bigender, genderqueer or gender-fluid.

eg. "Many pre-colonial cultures had non-binary social roles, or a third gender, such as Native American Two-spirit people."

 

Outing: Exposing someone’s lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender or gender non-binary identity to others without their permission. Outing someone can have serious repercussions on employment, economic stability, personal safety or religious or family situations.

eg. "Sadly, they had been outed over social media. They weren't ready to tell their classmates about their identity yet, but someone else made a post exposing them."

Pansexual: Describes someone who has the potential for romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender. Sometimes used interchangeably with bisexual.

eg. "The singer came out as pansexual in 2018."

 

Queer: A term people often use to express a spectrum of identities and orientations that are counter to the mainstream. Queer is often used as a catch-all to include many people, including those who do not identify as exclusively straight and/or folks who have non-binary or gender-expansive identities. This term was previously used as a slur and some LGBTIQ+ people aren't comfortable being called queer, but the word has been reclaimed by many parts of the movement.

eg. "The school has had a club to help include and support their queer students for many years now."

 

Questioning: A term used to describe people who are in the process of exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.

eg. "I used to think I was straight, but recently I've been questioning."

 

Sex assigned at birth: The sex, male, female or intersex, that a doctor or midwife uses to describe a child at birth based on their external anatomy.

eg. "I'm a man now, but I was assigned female at birth."

 

Sexual orientation: An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to other people. Note: an individual’s sexual orientation is independent of their gender identity.

eg. "Coming to terms with your sexual orientation can be difficult for a teenager."

 

Transgender: An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. "Transsexual" is an older and outdated term, and isn't widely used anymore. 

eg. "They decided to go to a Pride Club meeting, in the hopes of meeting other transgender students."

 

Transitioning: A series of processes that some transgender people may undergo in order to live more fully as their true gender. This typically includes social transition, such as changing name and pronouns, medical transition, which may include hormone therapy or gender affirming surgeries, and legal transition, which may include changing legal name and sex on government identity documents. Transgender people may choose to undergo some, all or none of these processes.

eg. "As part of her transition, she would go on to legally change her name."

 

 

Human Rights Campaign (2011). Glossary of Terms | Human Rights Campaign. [online] Human Rights Campaign. Available at: https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms.

‌Edited to include example sentences.