LGBTQ+ Terminology

Please note that each person who uses any or all of these terms does so in a unique way (especially terms that are used in the context of an identity label).  If you do not understand the context in which a person is using one of these terms, you may want to ask for further understanding. This is not an exhaustive list of terms.

Agender

Individuals who do not identify with a gender or who may identify as gender neutral

Androgynous
Being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, as in dress, appearance, or behavior.  Of indeterminate sex.

ASAB / AFAB / AMAB:

Assigned sex at birth, assigned female at birth, assigned male at birth, respectively. 

Asexual
Individuals whogenerallylacksexual attractionor desire sex.Asexuality exists on a spectrumand those who identify as asexual may be romantically or emotionally involved with others.

Bisexual
Type of sexual orientation in which a person is emotionally and/or sexually attracted to more than one gender.

Coming Out
The process by which a person begins to self-identify as a sexual and/or gender minority. Coming out is a continual and life-long process that may occur to varying degrees (e.g., a person may be out to their friends, but not to their family).

Cisgender
A person whose gender identity is congruent with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Drag
A form of performance art in which a person explores and subverts socially constructed boundaries related to gender expression.  Drag involves performing in clothes, makeup, song, and dance that is associated with a different sex or gender than that of the performer, but does not have to be. Drag is usually done for entertainment purposes. There are Drag Queens (men dressing up as women) and Drag Kings (women dressing up as men).  Individuals that do drag may identify anywhere on the spectrum of gender and sexual orientation.

Gay
A person whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attractions are to others of the same sex and/or gender.Some individuals who have sex with those of the same gender and/or sex do not identify as gay.

Gender Confirmation Surgery

Refers to surgical procedures some transgender individuals pursue as part of their transition (see transition below). Avoid the phrase "sex change operation." Do not refer to someone as being "pre-op" or "post-op." Not all transgender people choose to, or can afford to, undergo medical surgeries.

Gender Fluid

A person whose gender identification and presentation shifts, whether within or outside of societal, gender-based expectations. There is no definite amount of time in which these shifts take place (e.g., weekly, over many years, etc.).

Gender Identity

An individual's internal emotional, psycholgocial, and/or spiritual sense of self related to social norms involving masculinity and femininity, and/or a lack thereof. Unlike gender expression (see below), gender identity is not visible to others. 

Gender Expression
Refers to the way in which people externally communicate their internal, personal sense of gender (e.g., one's name, pronouns, clothing, haircut, behavior, voice, or body characteristics) to others through behavior and appearance. 

Gender Non-conforming                                                                                                    

A person who doesn't conform to society's expectations of gender expression based on the gender binary, expectations of masculinity and femininity, or how they should identify their gender. It’s important to note that not all gender non-conforming people identify as transgender; likewise, not all transgender people are gender non-conforming.

Gender Queer                                                                                                                                            

A person whose gender identity is neither man nor woman, is between or beyond genders, or is some combination of genders. This identity is usually related to or in reaction to the social construction of gender, gender stereotypes and the gender binary system. 

Heterosexism
A system of oppression based on the belief that heterosexuality is superior or more valid than other sexual orientations. 

Heterosexual
People whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attractions are to people of a different sex and/or gender that is societally normalized (males attracted to females, females attracted to males). 

Homosexual
People whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex (males attracted to males, females attracted to females). A term originally used by the medical community to "diagnose" people who were not heterosexual. Considered pejorative to many people who prefer the terms "gay," "lesbian," or "queer."

Intersex
Individualsborn with variations in theirexternal genitals, internal reproductive organs, sex chromosomes or sex-related hormonesthat do not fully conform to social and medicalstandards.People who identify as intersex may or may not identifyas transgender.

Lesbian
A woman whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay or queer.

LGBTQ+
Common abbreviation for (L)esbian,(G)ay, (B)isexual, (T)ransgender (Q)ueer, (+) any identity not mentioned, such asasexual, intersex, pansexual,or others.

Non-binary

Its own umbrella term used for words such as genderqueer or genderfluid. Nonbinary people have a gender identity that doesn’t fit into the either/or of the male/female gender binary. Each nonbinary person will describe their gender identity in a way that is unique to them. Some will say they are both male and female; others will say they are neither male nor female; and still others will use terms that don’t reference male or female at all. Some people who are nonbinary also call themselves trans, others do not. Many nonbinary people use they/them pronouns (instead of he/him or she/her) as a way to make their identity more apparent.

Pansexual

People whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction can be inclusive of all gender identities, attraction may not be determined or delineated by gender identity.

Pronouns

One’s way of referring to themselves in the third person. While the most commonly used are she/her, he/him, and they/them, pronouns are unique to each individual and their gender identity.

Queer

Queer is an umbrella term used by some LGBTQ+ people to describe their sexuality, gender identity, or both.

Questioning

Refers to people who may feel uncertain regarding their gender and/or sexual identity and are in the process of exploring how they identify.

Sex
The classification of people as male, female, or intersex. At birth infants are assigned a sex, usually based on the visual assessment of their external anatomy.  However, a person's sex is actually a combination of bodily characteristics including: chromosomes, hormones, internal and external reproductive organs, and secondary sex characteristics.

Sexual Orientation
Refers to an individual's enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to another person, or a lack thereof. Includes heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, and pansexual. *Transgender is not an indicator of a person's sexual orientation.

Transgender
An umbrella term for people whose anatomy, appearance, self-identification, and/or expression differs from what is stereotypically associated with their assigned sex at birth. Can also be the preferred self-identifier for people who feel their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth; they may or may not transition.

Transition
The process by which a person who identifies as transgender changes to align sex with their gender identity. Transitioning can include some or all of the following: changing name and/or sex on legal documents, using different pronouns, dressing differently, hormone therapy, and/or one or more types of surgery. Not all transgender people choose to transition; those that do may choose some but not all of the options related to transition.

Transsexual
An older term that originated in the medical and psychological communities that still may be preferred by some people who have permanently changed their bodies through medical interventions (including but not limited to hormones and/or surgeries). Unlike transgender, transsexual is not an umbrella term. Many transgender people do not identify as transsexual, may find the term offensive, and prefer the word transgender. It is best to ask which term an individual prefers.

Two-Spirit

A term usedby some Native American, First Nations, and indigenous tribes to describe individualswithattributes of both genderwhohave distinct gender and social roles in their tribes andwhooftenfulfilla spiritual role.Their dress is usuallyamixture of male and femalearticlesand they are seen as a separate or third gender.Most tribes have their own term for Two-Spirit in their original language.

Terminology adapted from the following sources: apa.org; glaad.org, geneq.berkeley.edu/, homosaurus.org.