LGBTQ Vocabulary

Ally

describes a straight or cisgender person who supports queer communities and actively confronts heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and cisgender privilege in themselves and in others

Coming Out

he process of recognizing and accepting one's sexuality or gender identity; may
also refer to the process of sharing one's own identity with others

GSA

abbreviation for Gender and Sexuality Alliance; group that empowers youth activists to
fight homophobia and transphobia in schools

Heteronormativity

cultural or personal assumptions that everyone is heterosexual,
marginalizing queer individuals and resulting in heterosexism

heterosexism

negatively biased attitudes and behaviors against people who are not heterosexual, perpetuated by heteronormativity, and prioritizing heterosexual norms

outing

when someone publicly reveals another person's sexual orientation or gender
identity, usually without the person's consent and often before they are ready to come out

pride flag

the rainbow pride flag created in 1978 by artist Gilbert Baker serves as a symbol for
diversity within the LGBTQ+ community, with each line of color having an additional literal
meaning. The flag is often used by businesses and organizations to establish them as safe
spaces for everyone in the community

queer

an umbrella term for people who fall outside the gender and sexuality "norms";
historically a negative term, it has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ community; although some
still consider it derogatory

Ze/Xe/Hir

additional pronouns sometimes used by the Transgender and Non-Binary communities

agender

describes a person whose gender identity does not correlate with conventional
gender categories

cisgender

describes a person who identities with their gender assigned at birth

gender

complex relationship between physical traits and one's internal sense of self as male
or female, both, or neither, as well as one's outward presentation and behaviors that exist
within a spectrum

gender assignment

gender assigned at birth based on physical anatomy; if infant is born
with a vulva and vagina they are typically assigned female (girl) and if infant is born with and
penis and testicals, they are typically assigned male (boy) by parents and doctors

gender binary

the system in which society divides people into two distinct genders (male
and female) and their associated roles, identities, and characteristics; a social construct that
does not adequately describe the full spectrum of gender experiences

gender dysphoria

a term used within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders to explain clinically significant distress caused when a person's assigned birth
gender is not the same as the one with which they identify

gender expression

a person's gender related appearance and behavior whether or not
stereotypically associated with the persons aligned set at birth; gender expression refers to
the external characteristics that are socially defined as masculine and feminine, including
clothing, hairstyles, activities, mannerisms, speech patterns, and social interactions

gender identity

a person's genuine, internal, deeply rooted identification as man, woman,
both, or neither; all people have a gender identity, not just transgender people

gender non-conforming/variant

appearance or other characteristics that differ
from those stereotypically associated with being masculine or feminine; this term can be
used to describe people whose gender expression differs from stereotypical expectations
about how boys and girls are "suppose to" look or act. Also referred to as gender expansive or
gender transcendent

genderqueer

gender identities that fall along the gender spectrum or outside the gender
binary; a person may identify as both a man and a woman, as neither, or beyond genders;
sometimes used as an umbrella term for gender non-conforming/variant identities

gender transition

the process that some transgender and gender non-conforming people
undergo to match their gender identity with their outward appearance. This may include
clothing, hairstyles, changing names and/or pronouns to fit their gender identity, and
healthcare needs such as hormones and surgeries

intersex

a person who is born with sex chromosomes, external genitalia, or an internal
reproductive system that is not considered typical for a male or female

non-binary

a term used by the community of people whose gender identity exists outside of
the gender binary of male/female; for example, sometimes accompanied by the usage of the
pronoun they/them pronouns, the honorific of Mx. instead of Mrs. or Mr.

transgender

describes a person whose gender identity is different from what is generally
considered typical for their sex assigned at birth

aromantic

describes a person who can but tends not to have romantic attraction to other
people

asexual

describes a person who is generally not sexually attracted to any person regardless
of gender

bisexual

used to describe a person who can be sexually attracted to both men
and women

demisexual

used to describe a person who generally only feels sexual attraction to another
person after developing an emotional bond with that person

gay

often used to describe men who are generally sexually attracted to other men;
sometimes used by women who are sexually attracted to other women, or as an umbrella
term to describe same-sex relationships

heterosexual

clinical term for straight; describes a person who is physically and emotionally
attracted to members of the other binary gender different from their own

homosexual

outdated clinical term used to describe a person who is physically and
emotionally attracted to members of the same gender; may be considered derogatory or
pathologizing

lesbian

describes a woman who can be generally sexually attracted to other women or soley
attracted to women

pansexual

describes a woman who can be generally sexually attracted to other women or soley
attracted to women

questioning

uncertainty and exploration of one's sexuality and/or gender identity

sexuality

how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings

sexual orientation

a person's romantic or sexual attraction to people of the other and/or
same gender; common terms used to describe sexual orientation include, but are not limited
to, heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual; sexual orientation and gender identity are
different

racism

belief that one race is superior than others leading to prejudice and discrimination

racist

one who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or inaction or expressing a racist idea

antiracist

one who is supporting an antiracist policy through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea

prejudice

prejudgement of an individual or a group without sufficient information to support judgement, belief that the individual or group is inherently inferior to oneself or one's social group

discrimination

practice of treating individuals and groups differently

institutional discrimination

major social institutions reinforce prejudice and discrimination through policies and practice

sexism

belief one sex is superior to the other, idea men and women have inherently different actions, thoughts, feelings and behavior, with male being superior

ethnocentrism

belief one's ethnic group is inherently superior to other groups

xenophobia

fear of all things foreign including people originating from other countries, foundation of anti-immigration movement

classism

belief everyone has ban equal shot at being in the middle class, if people are poor and working class, then they are lazy and not trying

ageism

belief that youth is superior to age, old people have outlived their usefulness and are of little vaule

Audism

belief one is superior based on one's ability to hear or to behave in the manner of one who
hears; belief deafness is comparable to inferiority; in the deaf community however, audism is easily
recognized and can be seen as a threat to deaf culture

ableism

view that individuals with disabilities are people with problems to be fixed, persuasive and systematic discrimination towards people with disabilities

homophobia

fear and/or hatred of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people

transphobia

fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against people who identify as transgender

white supremacy

belief that they white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races, it is also the social, economic, and political systems that collectively enable white people to maintain power over people of other races

reverse racism

move conversation to a more comfortable and eventually a totally new conversation

institutional oppression

established laws and practices that a dominate group uses against a subordinate group, maintained even if not consciously acted upon