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There's no easy way to start a discussion about the lgbtq+ community, so we'll start with sexual orientation. Maybe you have heard of someone having a gay uncle, or maybe you have a cousin who has two moms.
Sexual orientations include: gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, heterosexual, etc.
Sexual Orientation
Sexual Orientation
The scientifically accurate term for an individual's enduring physical, romantic and/ or emotional attraction to members of the same and/or opposite sex, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual (straight) orientations. Avoid the offensive term "sexual preference," which is used to suggest that being gay, lesbian, or bisexual is voluntary and therefore "curable."
-GLAAD.org
Lesbian
Lesbian
A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay (adjective.) or as gay women. Avoid identifying lesbians as "homosexuals," a derogatory term.
Gay
Gay
The adjective used to describe people who endure physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to people of the same sex (e.g., gay man, gay people). Sometimes lesbian (n. or adj.) is the preferred term for women. Avoid identifying gay people as "homosexuals" because it's an outdated term considered derogatory and offensive to many lesbian and gay people.
Bisexual, Bi
Bisexual, Bi
A person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of another gender. People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees over their lifetime. Do not use a hyphen in the word "bisexual," and only capitalize bisexual when used at the beginning of a sentence.
Transgender, Trans
Transgender, Trans
TRANSGENDER A wide-ranging term for people whose gender identity or gender expression differs from the biological sex they were assigned at birth.
TRANS* OR TRANS+ Two umbrella terms for non-cisgender identities.
To learn more click here.
Queer
Queer
An adjective used by some people, particularly younger people, whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual (e.g. queer person, queer woman). Typically, for those who identify as queer, the terms lesbian, gay, and bisexual are perceived to be too limiting and/or fraught with cultural connotations they feel don't apply to them. Some people may use queer, or more commonly genderqueer, to describe their gender identity and/or gender expression. Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some LGBT people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBT community. When Q is seen at the end of LGBT, it typically means queer and, less often, questioning.
+ Pansexual
+ Pansexual
Someone who is attracted to people of all gender identities. Or someone who is attracted to a person’s qualities regardless of their gender identity. The singer Miley Cyrus identified as pansexual in 2015. The singer Janelle Monàe came out as pansexual in a “Rolling Stone” article.
+ Asexual
+ Asexual
Or “ace.” Someone who experiences little to no sexual attraction. They are not to be confused with “aromantic people,” who experience little or no romantic attraction. Asexual people do not always identify as aromantic; aromantic people do not always identify as asexual.
+ Nonbinary
+ Nonbinary
A person who identifies as neither male nor female and sees themselves outside the gender binary. This is sometimes shortened to N.B. or enby. One notable example: Taylor Mason, a financial analyst on the show “Billions,” who is believed to be the first gender nonbinary character on television and is played by the nonbinary actor Asia Kate Dillon.
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