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Commonly Used LGBTQ Terms & Definitions
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The acronym LGBTQ is commonly used to represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people. Not using other ‘letters’ in the term is not intended to be exclusive of other individuals. This acronym is often used as a ‘general term’ to save space. The list below1 will help the reader understand the many other brief definitions and terms used:

Ally – A person who, irrespective of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity, supports and stands up for the human and civil rights of LGBTQ people.

Androgynous: Term for someone presenting not male or female. Quite often a state of someone just prior to going full time.

Bisexual – A person who is attracted physically and emotionally to both males and females.

"Coming out of the closet": (very often shortened to "coming out" in winking reference to the public introduction of debutantes) describes the voluntary public announcement of one's (often homosexual or bisexual) sexual orientation or gender identity. The first person we come out to is ourselves. Coming out is a lifelong process; happens over and over again as one moves into new situations, meets new people, forms new relationships

Gay – A person who is physically and emotionally attracted to someone of the same sex. The word gay can refer to both males and females, but is commonly used to identify males only.

Gender Expression – The way a person publicly shows one’s gender identity through clothing, speech, body language, wearing of make-up and/or accessories and other forms of displaying masculinity or femininity.

Gender Identity – A person’s internal sense of being male or female. Gender expression relates to how a person presents his or her sense of gender to society. Gender identity and gender expression are often closely linked with the terms transgender and trans-identified.

GSA – A school-based gay–straight student alliance found in some high schools in North America.

Heterosexism – The assumption that everyone is heterosexual and that this sexual orientation is superior. Heterosexism is often expressed in more subtle forms than homophobia.

Homophobia – Fear and/or hatred of homosexuality in others, often exhibited by name-calling, bullying, exclusion, prejudice, discrimination, or acts of violence. Anyone who is LGBTQ or assumed to be LGBTQ can be the target of homophobia. Homophobia is: Individual Prejudice/Bigotry: verbal/physical harassment on the part of a person or group of persons. Systemic and Institutional: upheld by governments, laws, police, authorities etc. Cultural and Ideological: permeates the values and norms of a society. "Everyday": having to constantly be aware of surroundings out of fear of harassment. Internalized: we live in a homophobic society, are subjected to, and absorb those values constantly, regardless of sexual orientation. We censor ourselves in order to avoid being targets of homophobia

Lesbian – A female who is attracted physically and emotionally attracted to other females.

LGBTQ – is an acronym meaning Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans. It is the currently preferred term to collectively describe people who self-define as one or more of these, although it should be noted that there are many people who "fit" into the LGBTQ community without self-defining as any of "L", "G", "B" or "T", such as those who self-define as "Queer", "Pansexual" or one of many other terms.  The LGBTQ community is very diverse and the term LGBTQ is somewhat controversial in that it encourages the pigeonholing of people into categories with fixed roles, ignoring the wide diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity of people in the LGBTQ community.

Perceived Sexual Orientation – When someone wrongly assumes that you are lesbian, gay, or bisexual without knowing what your true sexual orientation really is (heterosexual).

Queer – Historically, a negative term for homosexuality, but more recently reclaimed by the LGBT movement to refer to itself. Increasingly, the word “queer” is popularly used by LGBT youth as a positive way to refer to themselves.

Questioning– A person who is unsure of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sexual Orientation – A person’s deep-seated feelings of emotional and sexual attraction to another person. This may be with people of the same gender (lesbian or gay), the other gender (heterosexual/straight) or either gender (bisexual).

Straight/Heterosexual– A person who is sexually and emotionally attracted to someone of the “opposite” sex.

Transgender/Trans-identified – A person whose gender identity, outward appearance, expression and/or anatomy do not fit into conventional expectations of male or female. Often used as an umbrella term to represent a wide range of non-conforming gender identities and behaviours.

Transphobia/Lesbophobia/Biphobia– The irrational fear of people who transgress, challenge or break from stereotypical expressions of male and female gender norms. Trans people/lesbians/bisexuals -is often expressed in subtle and overt ways that may include stereotyping, harassment, discrimination and violence.

Transsexual – A person who experiences intense personal and emotional discomfort with their assigned birth gender. Some transsexuals may undergo treatments (i.e. sex reassignment surgery and/or hormone therapy) to physically alter their body and gender expression to correspond with what they feel their true gender is. This term is most commonly used to refer to a person who is transitioning from one gender to another. For example, M2F represents a person born biologically male who is transitioning to female. F2M represents a person born biologically female who is transitioning to male. Transsexuals may be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight. Importantly, a person’s gender identity can be different from a person’s sexual orientation.

Two Spirit – Some Aboriginal people identify themselves as two-spirited rather than as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans-identified. Historically, in many Aboriginal cultures two-spirited persons were respected leaders and medicine people. Two-spirited persons were often accorded special status based upon their unique abilities to understand both male and female perspectives.

A Note about Definitions:

It is important to remember that when trying to refer appropriately to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered/transsexual people, that the use of words is constantly changing and depends entirely on context. For example to refer to a lesbian as a "dyke" can be both an insult - if used insultingly - and recognition of that person's way of acknowledging and identifying themselves and their community. As in many communities, LGBTQ people use the same words to often mean different things. This is partially a reflection that language itself is fluid and evolving.

This includes the use of reclaimed language, which means taking back words that have been used in negative and derogatory ways historically and using them in positive and empowering ways.



[1] Expanded definitions and more terms are available on the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity webpage www.teachers.ab.ca , click on Diversity, Equity & Human Rights (under Issues in Education) and follow the links. See Dan’s Blog link at http://dantrepanier.tigblog.org/post/368797 Submit content for this list at http://dantrepanier.tigblog.org/post/368797#postcomments
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May 9, 2008 | 11:57 AM Comments  0 comments

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