LGBTQ+ Resources

These are not absolute definitions. People put different connotations to terms and phrases that aren’t always textbook definitions, this is just meant to be a starting point or a reference to the terms definition. The definitions are taken from Trans What?, the LGBT National Help Center, and my own personal experiences.

Agender: Someone who does not identify as having a gender, i.e. the lack of a gender

Ally: A non-LGBTQ person who supports and stands up for the LGBTQ community

Androgyny: The lack of a distinct gender expression of femininity or masculinity

Aromantic: Someone who does not experience emotional or romantic attraction

Asexual: Someone who has no (or low) sexual attraction or desire for sexual activity

ASAB: An abbreviation referring to someone’s Assigned Sex at Birth, typically Assigned Male at Birth (AMAB) or Assigned Female at Birth (AFAB)

Assignment: Refers to the way we assume someone’s gender based on their bodies

Bigender: A non-binary identity used by those who identify with two or more genders

Binding: The act of binding down one’s breasts. This is primarily used by trans masculine people, typically to both relieve dysphoria and avoid being misgendered

Bisexual: Someone who is attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to more than one gender

Cisgender: Someone who is not transgender, someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth. Often shortened to cis

Coming Out: The act of disclosing to someone else that you do not identify with the gender you were assigned at birth and/or that you are not heterosexual

Crossdressing: The act of wearing clothing tailored towards the wearer’s opposite gender

Dead Name: The name a person, usually a trans person, was given at birth which they no longer use. This is extremely personal and private information, and it is typically unacceptable to use or ask about

Demisexual: Someone who doesn’t feel sexual attraction towards others unless a strong emotional connection is formed first

Drag: A type of performance that features crossdressed people; women who preform drag are called drag kings, and men who preform drag are called drag queens

Dysphoria: A variety of negative feelings that are related or connected to someone’s gender or sex. Trans people who experience dysphoria may be profoundly uncomfortable with certain aspects of their bodies, particularly sex characteristics. They may also have strong aversive reactions upon being called by incorrect pronouns or by being dead-named

FTM/MTF: Female to Male and Male to Female, referring to trans men and women respectively

Gay: A man who is attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to other men

Gender: Refers to the sociological set of boundaries and signifiers that define people as being feminine, masculine, or androgynous

Gender Binary: The incorrect system of thought that there are only two genders (male or female)

Gender Expansive: Someone who doesn’t identify with normative gender but instead broadens it so as to not be confined to one particular narrative or experience. This is most often used for young children

Gender Expression/Presentation: How someone looks, dresses, or acts to represent their gender identity based on the gender signifiers made by their society

Gender Identity: Someone’s internal sense of what their gender is which may or may not align with their gender assigned at birth. This has nothing to do with sexual orientation

Genderfluid: Someone who is highly flexible about their gender expression and presentation. They may fluctuate between presentations and identities, or combine them

Gender-Neutral Pronouns: Pronouns that are used in place of he/him or she/her. Most common are they/them, sie/hir, and zie/zim

Gender Nonconforming: Someone who doesn’t conform to society’s expectation of their gender role. For example, this could apply to men who wear make-up or women who present as butch

Gender Neutral: This refers to making objects, names, terms, etc. applicable to all genders. For example, firefighter is a gender neutral term as it does not imply the gender of the person

Genderqueer: An identity taken on people who feel their gender lies outside the labels of male and female

Homophobia: The irrational fear, hatred of, and/or discrimination against people who are attracted to those of their same sex

Intersex: A term that includes people born with ambiguous genitalia, chromosomal combinations other than XY and XX, or certain hormonal conditions that cause differences in sex development. Those with ambiguous genitalia are often surgically altered at birth, a practice that is increasingly being spoken out against. Intersex people may choose to identify as trans, but not everyone does

Lesbian: A woman who is attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to other women

Misgendering: Referring to someone with terms and pronouns that do not match their gender identity. This is particularly distressing for trans people and is often a form of harassment

MLM: Man loving man/men. Used to refer to men of all sexualities who are attracted in some way to men

Non-binary: Someone who does not identify as male or female, but rather outside the gender binary. The term is used as a self-identifier and also to encompass other identities outside the gender binary

Non-labeling: Someone who doesn’t identify with existing labels

Pangender: A non-binary identity where someone identifies with two or more genders, with any/all genders, or as a separate third gender

Pansexual: Someone who is attracted emotionally, romantically, and/or sexually to any gender

Passing: Being perceived by cisgender people as one of them. This is mostly used in the trans community as being recognized as one’s gender by others. For example, a trans woman being recognized as a woman would be her “passing”

Poly: Short for polyamorous, describes someone who is open to the idea of being in a relationship with multiple partners

Queer: A catch-all umbrella term for people in the LGBTQ+ community. The word is a reclaimed slur, and is still used as such, so check with people before using it

Questioning: Someone who is trying to understand or questioning their sexuality and/or gender

Sex: Refers to the qualities displayed on the human body that, medically speaking, define people as being male, female, or intersex. This is judged by genitalia, hormone levels, chromosomes, internal sex organs, and secondary sex characteristics. Sex and gender are not determined by each other

Sexual Orientation: Defined by whom you are attracted to emotionally, sexually, and/or romantically. This has nothing to do with gender

Stealth: When a trans person chooses to not be openly trans in their social lives and doesn’t readily reveal they are trans to the people around them

Straight: Men who are attracted emotionally, physically, and/or sexually exclusively to women and women who are attracted emotionally, physically, and/or sexually exclusively to men. Attraction between men and women is heterosexual (straight) regardless of if either person is trans

Trans feminine: Someone assigned male at birth whose identity has moved away from masculinity. Used for trans women and AMAB non-binary people

Transgender: An umbrella term for those who don’t identify with the gender assigned to them at birth

Transition: Refers to the process of changing one’s living situation to suit the individual’s gender identity more accurately. Typically, during this process, one may get surgeries, hormones, or a name change to reflect their gender identity and lessen their dysphoria

Trans man: A man who was assigned female at birth

Trans Masculine: Someone assigned female at birth whose identity has moved away from femininity. Used for trans men and AFAB non-binary people

Transphobia: The irrational fear, hatred of, or discrimination against people who are trans

Trans Woman: A woman who was assigned male at birth

WLW: Woman loving woman/women. Used to refer to women of all sexualities who are attracted in some way to women.