SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY / EXPRESSION

sexual orientation

describes to whom a person is sexually attracted.

asexual

not sexually attracted to anyone and/or desire to act on attraction to anyone

bisexual

attracted to people on one’s own gender and people of other gender(s).

bisexual people are attracted to everyone and anyone, or that hey just haven’t “decided”

bisexual two common misconception

gay

generally refers to a man who is attracted to men.

gay

Sometimes refers to all people who are attracted to people of the same sex;

lesbian

a woman who is attracted to women.

“same- gender-loving woman” or “woman loving woman.”

other term for lesbian that used sometimes

queer

It is an umbrella term which embraces a matrix of sexual preferences, gender expressions, and habits that are not of the heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary majority.

queer

Traditionally a derogatory term, yet reclaimed and appropriated by some LGBTQ individuals as a term of self -identification.

queer

It is not a universally accepted term by all members of the LGBT community, and it is often considered offensive when used by heterosexual

Pansexual/Fluid

attracted to people regardless of gender.

“omnisexual” or “polysexual”

pansexual sometimes or alternately called ______ or ______

Questioning

one who may be unsure of, reconsidering, or chooses to hold off identifying their sexual identity or gender expression or identity.

straight

attracted to people of the “opposite” sex, also sometimes generally used to refer to people whose sexualities are societally normative.

heterosexual

straight alternately referred to as ______

gender identity

refers to each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth

androgyny

The mixing of masculine and feminine gender expression or the lack of gender identification.

adrogyne, agender, and neutrois

the terms ______, ______, and _______ are sometimes used by people who identify as genderless, non-gendered, beyond or between genders, or some combination thereof.

cisgender

a gender identify that society considers to “match: the biological assigned at birth

“on the side of” or “not across from”

cis means:

cisgender

a term used to call attention to the privilege of people who are not transgender

crossdresser

refers to occasionally wearing clothing to the “opposite” gender, and someone who considers this an integral part of their identity

Genderqueer / Third Gender / Gender Fluid

these terms are used by people who identify as being between and/or other than male or female. They may feel they are neither, a little bit of both, or they may simply feel restricted by gender labels

Intersex

general term used for a variety of genetic hormonal, or anatomical conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.

hermaphrodite

an obsolete term for intersex that is not currently considered appropriate

transgender

first coined to distinguish gender benders with no desire for surgery or hormones from transsexuals

transsexual

has historically been used to refer to individuals who have medically and legally changed their sex, or who wish to do so.

two-spirit

a person who identified with Native American tradition of characterizing certain members of the community as having the spirit of both the make and female genders

coming out

process of acknowledging one’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression to oneself or other people

LGBTQ

currently one of the most popular ways in U.S. society to refer to all people who are marginalized due to sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

gender binary

a system classifying sex and gender into two distinct and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine

gender binary

referred to as a social construct or a social boundary that discourages people from crossing or mixing gender roles, or from creating other third (or more) forms of gender expression

heterosexism

presumption that everyone is straight and/or the belief that heterosexuality is a superior expression of sexuality

Biphobia

aversion of and/or prejudice toward the idea that people can be attracted to more than one gender, and/or bisexuals as a group or as individuals, often based on negative stereotypes of bisexuality and the invisibility of bisexual people

transphobia

negative attitudes and feelings toward transgender individuals

Homophobia

negative attitudes and feelings toward people with non=heterosexual sexualities

internalized oppression

belief that straight and non-transgender people are “normal” or better than LGBTQ people, as well as the often-unconscious belief that negative stereotypes about LGBTQ people are true