LGBT
2S - Refers to a person who identifies as having both a masculine and a feminine spirit, and is used by some Indigenous people to describe their sexual, gender and/or spiritual identity.
AFAM - or “Assigned Female at Birth”
AMAB - or “Assigned Male at Birth”
Demi – Meaning Demisexual. Often referred to as “Demi”, this is a term used to describe someone who can only experience sexual attraction after an emotional bond has been formed. This bond does not have to be romantic in nature.
DSAB - Designated Sex at Birth. Some time SAAB Sex Assigned at Birth
FtM/F2M – female-to-male; An FtM/F2M transgender person is someone who was assigned female at birth but identifies on the masculine side of the gender spectrum (e.g. identifies as a transman, a man, or as masculine).
GSM – Gender and Sexuality Minority; This is a shorthand or umbrella term for people who are non-straight and/or non-cisgender.
LGBT – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender.
LGBTQ2S - A person with both a feminine and a masculine spirit living in the same body. It's an important term within some Indigenous cultures and some Indigenous people use it to describe their sexual orientation, gender identity and/or spiritual identity.
LGBTQIA+/LGBTQ+ – Adding a “+” to the acronym is an acknowledgement that there are non-cisgender and non-straight identities which are not included in the acronym. This is a shorthand or umbrella term for all people who have non-normative gender identity or sexual orientation.
LGBTIQAPD – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and/or Ally, Pansexual, and Demi-sexual
LGBTQIA – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual and/or Ally
MSM/WSW – men who have sex with men/women who have sex with women. This is used to distinguish sexual behavior from sexual identities. Someone can identify as straight and have sex with people of the same gender. This is a term that is most often used in the field of public health and HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and research.
MtF/M2F – male-to-female. An Mtf/M2F transgender person is someone who was assigned male at birth but identifies on the feminine side of the gender spectrum (e.g. identifies as a transwoman, a woman, or as feminine).
Pan- Meaning Pansexual, Often referred to as “Pan”, this is a term used to describe a person who is sexually, romantically, and/or emotionally attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender identity.
PGPs – Preferred Gender Pronoun; This is often used during introductions to indicate the way someone would like to be referred to (e.g. They/their, he/his, she/hers, ze/zir)
QPOC/QTPOC – Queer People of Color and Queer and/or Trans People of Color. xt)
QUILTBAG – Queer and/or Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Trans*, Asexual, Two-Spirit, Bisexual and/or Allied and Gay and/or Gender Queer
SAAB – Sex Assigned at Birth; this is a phrase used to intentionally recognize a person’s assigned sex at birth. “designated sex at birth” (DSAB) is used instead.
SGL – Same Gender Loving; this term is sometimes used by members of the African-American or Black community to express a non-straight sexual-orientation without relying on terms and symbols of European descent
SOGI – Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity; This is an inclusive acronym used to talk about both sexual orientation (the type of sexual, romantic, and emotional attraction that one has the capacity to feel for others) and gender identity (the internal perception of one’s gender and how they label themselves, based on how they align or do not align with what they understand gender to be). SOGI is most often used in the United Nations and in the context of international human rights.
SOGIESC – Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Sex Characteristics. See SOGI. This is an inclusive acronym like SOGI, which includes Gender Expression (the behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance a person uses to express their gender in a particular cultural context and Sex Characteristics (physical or behavioral traits of a person which are indicative of their sex). The expanded acronym - SOGIESC - is newer and is most often used by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), often in the context of international human rights.
SRS – Sexual Reassignment Surgery; SRS is used by some medical professionals to refer to a group of surgical operations that alter a person’s biological sex. “Gender confirmation surgery” is considered by many to be a more affirming term.
TGNC/TGNCNB – Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming; sometimes “NB” is added for non-binary identities.
Trans - Trans (without the asterisk) is a shortened and more casual version of transgender. Trans (without the asterisk) is also often used to describe people whose gender identity and expression does not match their assigned gender at birth.
Trans* – The asterisk next to trans refers to all of the identities within the gender identity spectrum, other than people who identify with the gender that they were assigned at birth. Including the asterisk after trans denotes a special effort to include all non-binary, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming identities.
*** Sources OutRight Action International