Common Terminologies Associated With Gender and Sexuality (Part of Module 5)

Common terminologies associated with gender and sexuality(continuation of
Module 5)
Learning Objectives:
1. To familiarize with some terminologies associated with Gender and Sexuality.
2. To identify the differences with the different terminologies related to Gender and
Sexuality.
This was written to help give people the words and meanings to help make conversations easier
and more comfortable. LGBTQ people use a variety of terms to identify themselves, not all of
which are included in this list. Always listen for and respect a person’s self-identified
terminology.
Ally | A term used to describe someone who is actively supportive of LGBTQ people. It
encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as those within the LGBTQ community who
support each other (e.g., a lesbian who is an ally to the bisexual community).
Asexual | The lack of a sexual attraction or desire for other people.
Biphobia | The fear and hatred of, or discomfort with, people who love and are sexually
attracted to more than one gender.
Bisexual | A person emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one sex,
gender or gender identity though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the
same degree. Sometimes used interchangeably with pansexual.
Cisgender | A term used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with those typically
associated with the sex assigned to them at birth.
Coming Out | The process in which a person first acknowledges, accepts and appreciates their
sexual orientation or gender identity and begins to share that with others.
Gay | A person who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to members of the same
gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.
Gender binary | A system in which gender is constructed into two strict categories of male or
female. Gender identity is expected to align with the sex assigned at birth and gender
expressions and roles fit traditional expectations.
Gender dysphoria | Clinically significant distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender
is not the same as the one with which they identify.
Gender-expansive | A person with a wider, more flexible range of gender identity and/or
expression than typically associated with the binary gender system. Often used as an umbrella
term when referring to young people still exploring the possibilities of their gender expression
and/or gender identity.
Gender expression | External appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through
behavior, clothing, body characteristics or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially
defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or
feminine.
Gender-fluid | A person who does not identify with a single fixed gender or has a fluid or
unfixed gender identity.
Gender identity | One’s innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither –
how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One's gender identity can
be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.
Gender non-conforming | A broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that
conforms to the traditional expectations of their gender, or whose gender expression does not
fit neatly into a category. While many also identify as transgender, not all gender non-
conforming people do.
Genderqueer | Genderqueer people typically reject notions of static categories of gender and
embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People
who identify as "genderqueer" may see themselves as being both male and female, neither
male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.
Homophobia | The fear and hatred of or discomfort with people who are attracted to members
of the same sex.
Intersex | Intersex people are born with a variety of differences in their sex traits and
reproductive anatomy. There is a wide variety of difference among intersex variations, including
differences in genitalia, chromosomes, gonads, internal sex organs, hormone production,
hormone response, and/or secondary sex traits.
Lesbian | A woman who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to other women.

Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.
LGBTQ | An acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.”

Non-binary | An adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a
woman. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in
between, or as falling completely outside these categories. While many also identify as
transgender, not all non-binary people do. Non-binary can also be used as an umbrella term
encompassing identities such as agender, bigender, genderqueer or gender-fluid.
Outing | Exposing someone’s lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender or gender non-binary identity
to others without their permission. Outing someone can have serious repercussions on
employment, economic stability, personal safety or religious or family situations.
Pansexual | Describes someone who has the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual
attraction to people of any gender though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to
the same degree. Sometimes used interchangeably with bisexual.
Queer | A term people often use to express a spectrum of identities and orientations that are
counter to the mainstream. Queer is often used as a catch-all to include many people, including
those who do not identify as exclusively straight and/or folks who have non-binary or gender-
expansive identities. This term was previously used as a slur but has been reclaimed by many
parts of the LGBTQ movement.
Questioning | A term used to describe people who are in the process of exploring their sexual
orientation or gender identity.
Same-gender loving | A term some prefer to use instead of lesbian, gay or bisexual to express
attraction to and love of people of the same gender.
Sex assigned at birth | The sex, male, female or intersex, that a doctor or midwife uses to
describe a child at birth based on their external anatomy.
Sexual orientation | An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual

attraction to other people. Note: an individual’s sexual orientation is independent of their
gender identity.
Transgender | An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is
different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being
transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may
identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.
Transitioning | A series of processes that some transgender people may undergo in order to
live more fully as their true gender. This typically includes social transition, such as changing
name and pronouns, medical transition, which may include hormone therapy or gender
affirming surgeries, and legal transition, which may include changing legal name and sex on
government identity documents. Transgender people may choose to undergo some, all or none
of these processes.
References:
https://www.hrc.org/resources/glossary-of-terms
https://www.cityofsalem.net/CityDocuments/basic-sexuality-and-gender-terms-report.pdf

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Common terminologies associated with gender and sexuality(continuation of

Asexual | The lack of a sexual attraction or desire for other people.

Lesbian | A woman who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to other women.

LGBTQ | An acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.”

Sexual orientation | An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual

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