Comprehensive LGBTQ+ Terms and Concepts in Philippine Context

Philippines

Ranked as the first Asian country to be more accepting of LGBTQ+ people in a 2019 global survey covering 34 countries.

Homosexuality Acceptance

73% of adult Filipinos agreed with the statement that 'homosexuality should be accepted by society.'

Sex

Assigned sex at birth/biological identity.

Gender

Cultural identity of a specific person towards themselves.

Sexual Orientation

Person's emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people.

Heterosexual

Opposite sex (F-M, M-F).

Homosexual

Same sex (F-F, M-M).

Bisexual

Attracted to both sexes.

Asexual

Lack of attraction to any sex. (None)

Pansexual

Attracted to any sex/gender. Accommodate all types of gender.

Polysexual

Attracted to multiple types of gender identity.

Gender Identity

Person's innermost concept of self (You define your own identity.)

Lesbian

Female attracted to another female.

Gay

Male attracted to another male.

Drag/Feather Drag

Term applied to clothing and makeup worn on special occasions for entertaining, and drag performance.

Non-binary

Not exclusive to male & female.

Agender

No gender.

Bigender

2 gender.

Pangender

Different genders.

Genderfluid

Gender changes over time.

Cisgender

Biological characteristic aligns to gender.

Transgender

Biological characteristic does NOT align to gender.

Transexual

Undergo medical sexual reassignment.

Types of Transitioning

Internal, Social, Legal, Medical.

Queer

General term for all members of the LGBTQA+ community. (Still questioning & discovering themselves.)

Ally

Term used to describe cisgender or heterosexual people who support LGBTQA+.

Gender Expression

Person's external appearance/traits, such as behavior, clothing, haircut, or voice.

Feminine

Women qualities/traits.

Masculine

Men qualities/traits.

Androgynous

Combination of masculine and feminine characteristics.

Gender-Neutral

Different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity.

Sex Characteristics

Person's physical traits/biological characteristic (Assigned sex at birth.)

Female

XX chromosomes.

Male

XY chromosomes.

Intersex

A combination of both male & female biological characteristics.