LGBTQIA+ Glossary
There will always be evolving terminology around sexual and gender identities and simple explanations can be useful. Here’s our guide to help us all be better allies.
Sexual Orientation Glossary
+ (plus) The ‘+’ at the end of LGBTQ+ is used to acknowledge the many terms to describe those that have a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity, as not all of these identities are specified in the LGBTQ initialism, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, questioning/queer. There is no universally accepted term for the LGBTQ community. Therefore, you might see variances such as LGBT, LGBTQIA (I for intersex and A for asexual), LGBTQIAP (I for intersex, A for asexual, and P for pansexual).
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Abro (sexual and romantic) This term is used to describe those who have a fluid sexual and/or romantic orientation which can change over time, or during their life. They also may use different terms to describe themselves overtime too.
Ace flux This describes someone whose sexual attraction varies over time. Someone who is ace flux, for example may feel very strongly asexual one day (definitely not feeling any sexual attraction to anyone), but less strongly asexual (maybe feeling weak sexual attraction) another day.
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Akio sexual/Akio romantic This refers to a person who experiences sexual/romantic attraction, but their feelings fade if this is reciprocated.
Allo (sexual and romantic) This term is used when people experience sexual and romantic attraction, and do not identify as on the ace or aro spectrum. It’s essential to use words that explains people’s experiences, so that opposites to ace and aro doesn’t become ‘normal’ which is untrue and stigmatizing to those with ace or aro identities.
Androgynosexual A person who is attracted to those with an androgynous appearance, irrespective of gender.
Aro This is an umbrella term that is used to describe a lack of, varying or occasional experiences of romantic attraction. This includes those who identify as aromantic, demiromantic and grey-romantic. Those with aro identities that experience sexual attraction or varying romantic attraction may describe themselves as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer as well as asexuality to describe their attraction.
Aromantic This term is used to describe a person that does not experience romantic attraction. An aromantic person might still experience sexual attraction or desire and describe their sexual orientation in a particular way, for example, ‘aromantic lesbian’ (see ‘Lesbian’).
Asexual, Asexuality, (Ace) Describes someone who does not experience sexual attraction or desire for either sex.
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Bisexual, Bisexuality (Bi) This term is used when an individual is physically, romantically and/or emotionally attracted to more than one gender. This can mean being attracted to two genders (e.g., men and women) but bisexual attraction is not limited to two genders.
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Bi-Curious It is a label that suggests a person is newly exploring whether or not they’re bisexual.
Demisexual, Demiromantic, Demi People whose only feel sexually attracted to someone when they have an emotional bond with the person. They can be gay, straight, bisexual, or pansexual, and may have any gender identity.
Gay This term is used to describe people whose physical, romantic and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same gender (e.g. a gay man is attracted to men / a gay woman is attracted to women).
Grey-asexual/Grey-romantic This is a term which refers to people who experience limited sexual/romantic attraction. In other words, they experience sexual/romantic attraction very rarely, or with very low intensity.
Heterosexual, Heterosexuality (Straight) This term is used to describe an individual who is physically, romantically and/or emotionally attracted to people of the opposite (binary) gender (e.g. a straight/heterosexual woman is attracted to men).
Lesbian This term is used to describe a woman whose physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians also refer to themselves as gay.
Pansexual, Pansexuality (Pan) This term is used for an individual who is physically, romantically and/or emotionally attracted to people regardless of gender.
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Polysexual Describes people who have relationships that are sexually non-monogamous and not emotionally intimate. Polysexual people often have multiple relationships with people of any gender and sexual orientation.
Reciprosexual/recipromantic A sexual/romantic orientation on the ace spectrum meaning someone who does not experience sexual or romantic attraction unless they know the other person is sexually/romantically into them first.
Romantic orientation This term is used to describe a person’s romantic attraction to others, or lack thereof. This forms a person’s orientation identity alongside with sexual orientation. Some people use the term ‘orientation’ as an umbrella term to cover sexual and romantic orientations.
Sexual orientation This term is used to describe a person’s sexual attraction, or lack thereof. Alongside romantic orientation, this forms a person’s orientation identity. Some people use the term ‘orientation’ as an umbrella term to cover both sexual and romantic orientations.
QTIPOC/ QTIIBIPOC This acronym stands for queer, trans, intersex, person of colour. The acronym QTIBIPOC stands for queer, trans, intersex, black, indigenous people of colour.
Queer It is an umbrella term that can refer to both sexual and gender identity. Generally, a pejorative term for homosexuality, used to insult LGBTQIA+ people. Although still sued as an insult by some, the term has been reclaimed by some members of LGBTQIA+ communities
Questioning A person, often an adolescent, who may have doubts about their sexuality or gender identity. Some people who are questioning eventually consider themselves LGBTQIA+; others do not.
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Gender Identity Glossary
Agender When a person does not identity with any gender or rejects participation in gender.
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Cisgender, Cis It can be used to describe individuals who possess, from birth and into adulthood, the male or female reproductive organs (sex) typical of the social category of man or woman (gender) to which that individual was assigned at birth.
Gender fluid This term is used to describe someone who moves between genders or has a fluctuating gender identity.
Gender non-confirming This term is used to describe someone who does not conform to socially accepted or stereotypical gender norms.
Gender queer Refers to a person whose gender identity may not correspond with social and societal gender expectations. Individuals who identify as genderqueer may identify with both male and female genders, move between genders, or reject the gender binary all together.
Intersex This term is used when a person has biological attributes of both sexes or whose biological attributes do not fit with societal assumptions about what constitutes male or female. Intersex people may identify as male, female or non-binary.
Non-binary, NB, enby People who do not identify themselves as „male” or „female”, do not conform to gender (do not identify with either gender); or other gender identities that do not fit a binary definition (male/female).
Omnigender A person who experience and possesses all genders.
Person with a trans history This term is used when someone who identifies as male or female or man or woman, but was assigned the opposite sex at birth. This is increasingly used by people to acknowledge a trans past.
Transgender, Trans Describe people who have gender identities that in some cases do not match the sex they were assigned at birth.
Transfeminine This is an umbrella term for describing an individual who was assigned male at birth but identify on the female side of the gender spectrum. A transfeminine individual may identify with many aspects of femininity but not wish to describe themselves as “a woman”
Transgender man This term is used to describe someone who is assigned female at birth but identifies and lives as a man. This may be shortened to trans man, or FTM, an abbreviation for female-to-male.
Transmasculine This is an umbrella term describing individuals who were assigned female at birth but identify on the male side of the gender spectrum. A transmasculine individual may identify with many aspects of masculinity but not wish to describe themselves as “a man.”
Transgender woman This term is used to describe someone who is assigned male at birth but identifies and lives as a woman. This may be shortened to trans woman, or MTF, an abbreviation for male-to-female.
Transitioning The steps a trans person may take to live in the gender with which they identify. Each person’s transition will differ. For some this involves medical intervention, such as hormone therapy and surgeries, but not all trans people want or are able to have this.
Transitioning also might involve telling friends and family, dressing differently and changing official documents.
Transsexual This term was previously used as a medical term (similarly to homosexual) to refer to someone whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth. This term is still used by some although many people prefer the term trans or transgender.
More LGBTQIA+ Terminology
Ally Someone who actively supports and advocates for LGBTQIA+ people.
Assigned gender/sex The gender/sex assigned to someone at birth and recorded on one’s birth certificate, based on their physical characteristics.
Assigned male or female at birth, also written amab or afab This refers to the sex/gender as categorized at birth and recorded on one’s birth certificate.
Binding This is used by some (but not all) trans masculine people to compress their chests and create a more conventionally masculine shape.
Birth name This is the name given to someone at birth, used to distinguish from a ‘chosen’ or ‘preferred’ name that a trans or gender diverse person may choose to ensure their name aligns with their-one’s gender identity. You may also hear ‘dead name’ rather than ‘birth name’.
Biphobia The discrimination, prejudice or bullying of a person because they are bisexual or perceived to be bisexual by others.
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Cisnormativity This is the assumption that all, or almost all, individuals are cisgender.
Cissexism This term is used to describe the belief that transgender people are inherently inferior to cisgender people. Examples of cissexist behaviours include dismissing transgenderism as a phase, mental illness, or cry for attention, or considering transgender people to be “freaks,” delusional, or sexual deviants.
Coming Out The process of telling others (family, friends, peers) about your sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Crossdresser, or transvestite Someone who chooses to wear clothes not conventionally associated with their assigned sex/gender. “Cross dresser” is now used in preference to the term “transvestite”, which is considered to be outdated and can cause offence. Someone who cross dresses is not necessarily transgender.
Deadnaming This term is used when a person calls someone by their birth name after they have changed their name and is considered a micro-aggression. This term is often associated with trans people who have changed their name as part of their transition.
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Exploring This term is used to describe the process an individual goes through as their sexual orientation and/or gender identity is emerging and evolving.
Femme It is a term used in LGBTQIA+ culture to describe someone who expresses themselves in a typically feminine way. There are other identities within the scope of femme, such as ‘low femme’, ‘high femme’, and ‘hard femme’. You shouldn’t use these terms about someone unless you know they identify with them.
FTM or MTF These acronyms stand for ‘female-to-male’ and ‘male to female’, respectively, to indicate people assigned female at birth who transition to be a man, and vice versa. Many trans people still use these terms to describe themselves, although these terms have also been criticized for implying that trans people ‘change’ from one sex into another.
Gender Often expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity, gender is largely culturally determined and is assumed from the sex assigned at birth.
Gillick competence A term used in medical law to decide whether a child (under 16 years of age) is able to consent to their own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or knowledge.
Gender-diverse This term describes anyone with a non-cis gender identity; an inclusive term covering non-binary as well as trans identities.
Gender dysphoria This term is used to describe when a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. This is also the clinical diagnosis for someone who doesn’t feel comfortable with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Gender expression This is how a person chooses to outwardly express their gender, within the context of societal expectations of gender. A person who does not conform to societal expectations of gender may not, however, identify as trans
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Gender identity This is a person’s innate sense of their own gender, whether male, female or something else (see non-binary above), which may or may not align with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Gender reassignment This term is used to describe a person’s transition. To undergo gender reassignment usually means to undergo some sort of medical intervention, but it can also mean changing names, pronouns, dressing differently and living in their self-identified gender.
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Heteronormativity The belief or assumption that all people are heterosexual, or that heterosexuality is the default or “normal” state of human being
Heterosexism The idea that heterosexuality is a normal, natural, or superior state of human sexual orientation, and the system of oppression based on that belief. It is very closely related to homophobia and the two ideas tend to coexist.
Homophobia The discrimination, prejudice or bullying of a person because they are gay or lesbian or perceived to be gay or lesbian by others
Lesbophobia The fear or dislike of someone because they are or are perceived to be a lesbian.
Micro-aggression This term describes comments or actions that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group.
Misgender, or mispronoun This means using a pronoun or other language which is different to someone’s way of describing themselves. Understood to mean someone’s identity has not been recognized.
Outing This is the act of publicly declaring (sometimes based on rumor and/or speculation) or revealing another person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and/or trans status without that person’s consent.
Passing This term is used if someone is regarded, at a glance, to be a cisgender man or cisgender woman. Cisgender refers to someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were ‘assigned’ at birth. This might include physical gender cues (hair or clothing) and/or behavior which is historically or culturally associated with a particular gender.
Platonic partnerships People who are on the ace and/or aro spectrum may have platonic partnerships. These are relationships where there is a high level of mutual commitment which can include shared life decisions, shared living arrangements, and co-parenting of children. These partnerships can include more than two people. Ace and aro spectrum people may be monogamous or polyamorous.
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Polyamory This is the practice of, or desire for, intimate relationships with more than one partner, with the informed consent of all partners involved.
Pronoun Words we use to refer to people’s gender in conversation – for example, ‘he’ or ‘she’. Some people may prefer others to refer to them in gender neutral language and use pronouns such as they/them or ze/zir.
Sexual Orientation The term is used to describe an individual’s physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to others, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual (straight).
Social transition This is the social changes that someone may choose as part of their transition; may include coming out, changing one’s names and pronouns, using differently gendered facilities, changing one’s gender performance and presentation. Does not include physical transition
Spectrum A term used to cover a variety of identities that have a root commonality or shared experience.
Transphobia The fear or dislike of someone based on the fact they are trans, including denying their gender identity or refusing to accept it. Transphobia may be targeted at people who are, or who are perceived to be, trans.
Undetectable HIV medication (antiretroviral treatment, or ART) works by reducing the amount of the virus in the blood to undetectable levels. This means the levels of HIV are so low that the virus cannot be passed on. This is called having an undetectable viral load or being undetectable.
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