LGBTQ Definitions Every Ally Should Know For Pride Month (and All Year Long)
Millions are LGBTQ Americans. As such, they can identify as LGBTQ.
The Colorado Springs shooting brought this threat back to the forefront.
It is a good idea to find out about your community and then become an ally.
This is not an exhaustive list. If you’re still unsure about a term or feel that you need to talk to someone from the LGBTQ community, it is possible. It’s important to remember that there are many resources and not just your own education.
Let’s start!
LGBTQ: This stands for “lesbians/gays, bisexuals, transgenders and queers.” People also use Q to signify “questioning,” a term that refers people who are trying out different sexual orientations or gender identities. Other terms that may be used to refer to LGBT+, LGBT* and LGBTx are LGBTIA, LGBTQIA, and LGBT+. I stands for intersex and A for asexual/aromantic/agender.
Intersex is when a person was born with sexual characteristics other than the traditional definitions of male and female.
Sex: A label that you were given at birth based your anatomical characteristics, chromosomes or hormones.
Gender refers to the social constructs that we place on people based upon their sexual characteristics. When people refer to “gender stereotypes”, it means the behavior and expectations we place on people based their sex.
Queer: This term was originally used to denigrate people, but it has since been adopted to refer to the multitude of ways people use queer to reject binary gender or sexual orientations.
What does the letter ‘Q’ in LGBTQ signify? How the word queer’ was redefined
Pride Month happens every month. Here are some ways to support the LGBTQ community all year.
What is one’s sexual orientation?
Sexual orientation: This is how to describe someone’s deep and lasting sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction to others. Do not use “sexual preference,” as this implies that it is an option and can be changed.
Ryan Watson, a University of Connecticut professor of Human Development & Family Studies said that sexual orientation has three distinct components. “It consists of identity (I sex with gay people), behavior, and attraction (I sex with same gender), although all three could not work for everyone.”
Gay: A term that describes someone who is sexually, romantically, and emotionally attracted to other people of the exact same sex. Commonly used to describe males.
Lesbians are women who are emotionally, romantically and sexually attracted by other women.
Bisexual: Someone who is sexually or emotionally attracted to more then one gender.
The B’ in LGBTQ: History, definition, distinction between bisexuality & pansexuality
Pansexual: One who is open to all genders.
“It’s very fluid”: What your pansexual friend wishes that you knew
Asexual: Someone who does not conform to traditional sexual desires and standards. Many LGBTQ community members view sexuality in terms of a spectrum. There are many identities and gray areas between the spectrums. Asexuality is one example. One who is not sexually active may still be masturbating. You may find them attracted to certain people, but they do not want sex.
Graysexuals can be classified as someone who is asexual or sexual, but they may also include those who have only experienced sexual attraction very rarely.
Aromatic: A person who feels little to no romantic attraction towards others.
Gender identity/expression
Gender identity: GLAAD defines gender as “an individual’s inner, deeply held knowledge about their own gender”. You can have a different gender identity than the one you were given at birth.
Gender role is the social behavior that each sexe displays. Examples: Boys and girls play with trucks while girls play with toys; men and women are both nurturing.
Gender expression: The way we identify our gender. It could be hair, clothes, or how we speak.
Pronouns are words that are used in place of nouns to describe a person, but not their name. Pronouns can indicate the gender of a person. The most common pronouns include she/her and he/him.
Neopronouns: These are words which can be used to indicate gender, but they are not pronouns. The following list contains neopronouns.
Transgender person: One who is not the gender they were assigned at their birth.
Gender dysphoria refers to the psychological distress caused by a person’s identity and their sex at birth.
Cisgender is a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were given at birth.
Binary: A way to divide sex into two distinct groups. Sex can be male or female.
Nonbinary: A person who does not identify as either male or female.
Two-spirit (also known as two-spirit): An Indigenous person who has traditionally identified with having both an masculine and feminine spirit. Tribes may differ in their definition.
What does “Two Spirit” mean? Two-Spirit is an Indigenous LGBTQ identity.
Genderqueer: A person who is open to changing their gender identity and rejects traditional gender roles. These people can identify as male or female, male or female, or a mixture of both.
Agender is a person who doesn’t identify with any one gender.
Gender-expansive is a general term that refers to individuals who aren’t identified with traditional gender roles.
Gender fluid: You don’t identify with one gender. Person whose gender identity or expression can change.
Gender non-conforming is a person who doesn’t fit the traditional gender expectations.
Trans: A general term that encompasses all gender identities within the trans community. Sometimes also transgender shorthand.
Drag queens and drag kings: These are people, some straight and some cisgender who use masculinity or feminine as an art form.
Deadnaming: A name given to a transgender person at birth but not used anymore.
Misgendering: Referring incorrectly to someone’s gender identity, usually by using wrong pronouns.
Gender-affirming Care: The World Health Organization defines “gender-affirming” care as any combination or treatment that supports and affirms an individual’s gender identity.
Gender Transition: There is no single way to make the transition. Gender Transition can include many social (new name and Pronouns), medical, (hormone therapy) and legal (changing driver’s license/birth certificate) steps to affirm one’s identity.
Gender verification surgery: This procedure is used by transgender persons to confirm that their body is compatible with their gender identity.
Bottom surgery is a colloquial term for gender-affirming and genital surgical procedures.
Top surgery is a colloquial name for gender-affirming, chest-based surgery.
Binding is flattening your breasts to make you look more masculine.
An androgynous person is one who exhibits both masculine as well as feminine characteristics. This can also be used to describe someone who appears feminine but adopts a style generally considered masculine.
Movies: Disney’s “Lightyear” features a queer protagonist and an emotional first-sex kiss
‘Out’ vs. ‘closeted’
Coming out is a complex, multi-layered process that allows one to discover and accept one’s sexuality.
Outing is the act of revealing one’s sexual orientation/gender identity publicly without their consent.
Living openly: A person who is comfortable revealing their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Closeted: Someone who is LGBTQ and refuses to disclose their sex or sexual orientation.
It’s not enough to have a rainbow flag hanging at your desk. Here’s how LGBTQ inclusion can impact business.
Attitudes
Ally: Someone who isn’t LGBTQ, but uses their privileges to support LGBTQ people.
Robin McHaelen is the founder and executive director at True Colors, which provides support for LGBTQ youths and their families. Also, this does not mean that Pride parades are the only place to be.
Positive Sex: A belief that sexual expression and pleasure are good things, provided they are consensual and healthy.
Heterosexual privilege is a term that refers specifically to the social benefits that LGBTQ people have over heterosexuals. For example, if you are a straight family moving to a new area, you don’t need to worry about your neighbors accepting you.
Heteronormativity (also known as heterosexuality): This cultural bias considers heterosexuality (being gay) to be the norm. Do you assume that a person is straight when you meet them for the first time? That’s heteronormativity.
Cisnormativity (or cultural bias to assume you are cis): When your gender identity matches the sex assigned at birth, it is considered a cultural bias.
Heterosexism (or heterosexism): A system that oppresses people who are not heterosexual and discriminates against them.
Cissexism (or oppression): The belief that there are two genders. Everyone’s gender will be the same as their sex when they are born.
Homophobia is the discrimination, fear, hatred, or prejudice against people who are attracted by members of the same sexual sex.
Biphobia: Bisexual people are subject to discrimination, fear and hatred.
Transphobia is discrimination, prejudice and fear of trans people.
Transmisogyny (Transphobia and Misogyny): This is discrimination against “trans men and women, and non-conforming genders at the feminine end.
TERF: This acronym stands for “trans exclusionary militant feminists” and refers specifically to transphobic feminists.
Continue reading: What is a TERF? And why is J.K. Rowling referred to as one in Harry Potter?
Transfeminism: This is a movement that is led by and for transgender women. It sees their liberation as being intrinsically linked to all women’s liberation. It is a form feminism that embraces all self-identified women and disregards assigned sex. It is a fundamental tenet that everyone has the right and obligation to define themselves.
Intersectionality: Understanding how people’s multiple identities, including race, class and religion, as well as their disability, impact the way they feel oppression or discrimination.
Symbolic Representations
Pride rainbow banner: A universal symbol representing pride for LGBTQ individuals around the world.
Original rainbow banner: Harvey Milk in the late 70s challenged Gilbert Baker to design the symbol of hope for gay people. Baker’s original design included 8 stripes and the pink color. It flew its first flight in 1978. It flew its first flight in 1978. In the following years, it was reduced from eight to six stripes, and pink was replaced with royal blue.
Post-BLM rainbow. Philadelphia changed the Pride flag to include black and brown colors in 2017. This was done to promote diversity, inclusion, and “honor our lives of black and brown LGBTQ brothers,” the city stated in a statement. Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs collaborated with Tierney, a Philadelphia PR Agency, to redesign the flag in its MoreColorMorePride campaign.
In 2018, Daniel Quasar designed the Progress Rainbow Flag. Five new colors were added to emphasise progress and inclusion. The Transgender Pride Flag uses the same flag, but it has baby blue, pink, or brown stripes.
