GLOSSARY OF LGBTQIA+ TERMS
Abrosexual: An individual whose sexuality is fluid and fluctuates over time.
Agender: An individual who does not identify as having a gender.
Androgynous: Having an ambiguous gender or having both masculine and feminine gender characteristics.
Aromantic (Aro): An individual who does not feel romantic attraction to other individuals.
Asexual (Ace): An individual who does not feel sexual attraction to other individuals.
AFAB: An acronym that stands for “Assigned Female at Birth.” Often used in contexts in which a person’s gender identity contrasts with the female sex they were assigned at birth.
Ally: An individual who does not identify as a particular marginalized identity but who actively works to support those who hold that identity and works against the oppression of that identity group.
AMAB: An acronym that stands for “Assigned Male at Birth.”. Often used in contexts in which a person’s gender identity contrasts with the male sex they were assigned at birth.
Bigender: An individual who experiences their gender identity as two genders at the same time or whose gender identity may vary between two genders.
Binding: A form of masculinization where an individual wears a binder, tight sports bra, or trans/KT tape to flatten the chest.
Biromantic: An individual who experiences romantic attraction towards two or more genders.
Bisexual: An individual who experiences sexual attraction towards two or more genders.
Breast Forms: A form of feminization where an individual wears these alone or in a bra to have an outward appearance of having breasts.
Butch: A lesbian whose appearance and behavior are seen as traditionally masculine.
Cis Assumed: Newer language for a trans person who is typically perceived as the gender they identify with & is assumed to be cis.
Cisgender: An individual whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth.
Cis Passing: An outgoing term used when discussing trans people who are typically perceived as the gender they identify with & is assumed to be a cis person.
Deadnaming: The act of referring to a person, especially a trans person, with their birth name or “dead name” instead of their chosen name. Considered a form of transphobia.
Demiboy: An individual whose gender identity is only partly male, regardless of their assigned gender at birth; also called demi-guy, demi-man, and demi-male.
Demigender: An umbrella term for individuals whose gender may only partly one thing or another.
Demigirl: An individual whose gender identity is only partly female, regardless of their assigned gender at birth; also called demi-woman and demi-female.
Demiromantic: An individual who experiences romantic attraction towards another individual but only after forming a deep emotional bond with said individual.
Demisexual: An individual who experiences sexual attraction towards another individual but only after forming a deep emotional bond with said individual.
(Gender) Dysphoria: Discomfort, distress, and unease associated with one’s gender, one’s body, and how those around someone perceive one’s gender.
(Gender) Euphoria: The feeling of significant rightness or comfort experienced when a person’s gender is recognized and respected by others, when their body aligns with their gender, or when they express themselves in accordance with their gender.
Feminine: Having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with women.
Feminization: The act of an individual taking on traditionally feminine qualities or characteristics.
Feminizing Hormone Therapy: An HRT for transgender women or transfeminine people that consists of estrogens and antiandrogens.
Femme: A lesbian whose appearance and behavior are seen as traditionally feminine.
Gay: A man sexually attracted to another man. Also, an umbrella term used to refer to the LGBTQ+ community.
Gender: The range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity that are socially constructed.
Gender Binary: The Western system of categorizing people as one of two genders (male/man, female/woman) which are defined as corresponding to a person’s anatomy.
Gender Expression: How one chooses to express one’s gender identity through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, voice, body characteristics, etc.
Genderfluid: An individual who does not identify as having a single unchanging gender and instead has a gender identity that shifts over time or depending on the situation.
Gender Flux: An individual who experiences a range of intensity within a gender identity.
Gender Identity: An individual’s internal sense of their gender.
Genderless: An individual not having, not suggesting, or not identifying as a particular gender.
Gender Non-Conforming: An individual whose gender expression exists outside the gender binary.
Genderqueer: An individual whose gender identity does not correspond to conventional binary gender distinctions.
Grayromantic: An individual who experiences romantic attraction rarely, only under certain circumstances, or only weakly.
Graysexual: An individual who experiences sexual attraction rarely, only under certain circumstances, or only weakly.
Heteronormativity: The assumption that all people are or should be heterosexual and conform to the normative gender roles of masculine men and feminine women.
Heteroromantic: An individual romantically attracted to the opposite sex.
Heterosexual (Straight): An individual sexually attracted to the opposite sex.
Hijra: A South Asian individual who is often born male or intersex but looks and dresses in traditionally feminine ways. They are a recognized third gender throughout the Indian subcontinent, being considered neither completely male nor female.
Homoromantic: An individual romantically attracted to the same sex.
Homosexual (Gay): An individual sexually attracted to the same sex.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): A form of hormone therapy in which sex hormones and other hormonal medications are administered to transgender or gender nonconforming individuals for the purpose of more closely aligning their secondary sexual characteristics with their gender identity.
Intersex: A label used for people whose sex characteristics do not align with definitions of AFAB or AMAB. Some sex characteristics such as chromosomes and hormones levels are invisible and may never be seen.
LGBTQ+: An acronym that stands for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer.” The “+” is used to indicate that this is not a comprehensive list of people falling under the rainbow banner, and may include different related identities, such as intersex or ace people.
Lesbian: A non-man sexually attracted to another non-man.
Masculine: Having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with men.
Masculinization: The act of an individual taking on traditionally masculine qualities or characteristics.
Masculinizing Hormone Therapy: An HRT for transgender men or transmasculine people that consists of androgens and antiestrogens.
Misgendering: The act of referring to someone, especially a trans person, using a word, especially a pronoun or form of address, which does not correctly reflect the gender with which they identify. Considered a form of transphobia.
Neopronouns: A type of gender-neutral pronoun used outside of the binary “he” and “she” pronouns.
Nonbinary: An individual who has a gender identity that does not conform to traditional binary beliefs about gender. A non-binary individual may choose not to identify as transgender.
Omnisexual: An individual who is sexually attracted to all genders.
Packing: A form of masculinization where an individual uses socks or a packer to have an outward appearance of having a penis.
Pangender: An individual whose gender identity encompasses multiple genders, which may be experienced simultaneously or in a fluid, fluctuating manner.
Pansexual: An individual sexually attracted towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity.
Panromantic: An individual romantically attracted to people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity.
Polyamory: The practice of having more than one relationship at a time with the consent of everyone involved. Not to be confused with polygamy.
Polygender: An individual with multiple gender identities.
Polysexual: An individual sexually attracted to more than one gender.
Polyromantic: An individual romantically attracted to more than one gender.
QTPOC: An acronym that stands for “Queer and Trans People of Color.”
Queer: An umbrella term for an individual who is not heterosexual or cisgender.
Questioning: Describes an individual who is questioning or exploring their sexual orientation, romantic attraction, gender identity, and/or gender expression.
Romantic Orientation: The classification of gender with which an individual experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with.
Self-Noun Pronouns: A type of gender-neutral pronoun in which an individual refers to themselves using nouns instead of “he”, “she”, or “they”.
Sex: A set of biological attributes in humans.
Sex Assignment: The ways in which humans are assigned “male” or “female” at birth. This is done mainly through observation of primary reproductive organs, chromosomes, & hormone levels.
Sexual Orientation: The classification of gender with which an individual experiences sexual attraction towards or is likely to have a sexual relationship with.
Transfeminine: An individual whose gender identity is partially or fully feminine and differs from the sex the individual was assigned at birth.
Transgender: An individual whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender individuals experience dysphoria, but dysphoria is not a requirement to being trans.
Transition: The process by which a transgender individual permanently adopts the outward or physical characteristics that match their gender identity, as opposed to those associated with the sex registered for them at birth. The process may or may not involve measures such as hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. Not all transgender individuals need to transition to identify as transgender.
Transman: A transgender individual who transitioned from female to male.
Transmasculine: An individual whose gender identity is partially or fully masculine and differs from the sex the individual was assigned at birth.
Transwoman: A transgender individual who transitioned from male to female.
Trigender: An individual who experiences exactly three gender identities, either simultaneously or varying between them.
Tucking: A form of feminization where an individual tucks the scrotum and penis to have an outward appearance of a smooth crotch.
Two-Spirit (2S): An Indigenous North American individual whose gender identity is a mixture of male and female, masculine and feminine, or a different gender that is not male or female. Historically, the term has been used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe individuals in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ceremonial and social role in their cultures. This term should be claimed exclusively used by those who identify as indigenous.