Key Terms Used in the LGBT World

From LGBT Aging: What Makes It Different? Courtesy of Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) Gender refers to the socially-determined characteristics of a particular sex. These characteristics are commonly referred to as feminine and masculine. Different societies at different times have different ideas about what it means to be feminine or masculine and how people are expected to act in accordance with their gender. Gender Identity describes how people perceive their own internal sense of maleness or femaleness. Transgender people can be heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual; gender identity is separate from sexual orientation. Sex refers to the designation of the biological differences between females and males. This is the scientific term for what makes males and female different; remember, though, that not everyone fits into these two categories. Sexual Orientation is what determines or guides which people fall in love with and/or are sexually attracted to. Heterosexual people are romantically and/or sexually attracted to someone of the other gender. Homosexual people are romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of the same gender. Homosexual is generally used only in medical terms. People who are homosexual now tend to use gay or lesbian to describe themselves. The communal term in common usage today is the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Community. Each of the letters is described below. Gay men are men who are romantically and/or sexually attracted to men. Gay should always be used as a description, e.g., gay man and not as a noun, e.g., the gays. Lesbians are women who are romantically and/or sexually attracted to women. Some older lesbians prefer the term gay woman. While younger women may use the term dyke, it is generally considered offensive to older people. Bisexual people are attracted to and/or sexually active with people of both genders. Bisexual behavior and bisexual identity may be two different things: a woman who was married for many years and waited until her children are grown before she comes out as a lesbian may have been sexually active with both men and women; however she may identify as a lesbian rather than bisexual.

Transgender is an umbrella term that refers to people who live differently than the gender presentation and roles expected of them by society. There are many kinds of people who fit this term and the rest of the terms below describe some of them. Intersex people have physical characteristics that do not match the typical understandings of male and female; they used to be called hermaphrodites. Hermaphrodite is now considered a more offensive term, so using intersex is better. Some intersex conditions are known at the time of birth while others are

not discovered until later in life, if at all. Some intersex conditions are anatomical, others are chromosomal. Cross-dressers are people who choose to wear the clothing generally associated with the opposite gender. They do so because they find it fulfilling in emotional or sexual ways. The word transvestite is outdated and offensive to most people. The currently used term is cross-dresser. Gender Non-Conforming is a term to describe people who express their genders differently than social expectations. FTM and MTF are abbreviations used by many female-to-male and male-to female transgender persons. Remember, the first letter is the gender assigned to someone at birth, the T stands for to and the last letter is how the person identifies now. So, an MTF refers to someone who is male to female and who now identifies herself as female. Drag Queen is a term historically used by gay men who dress in the clothing usually associated with women for the purpose of entertainment or personal fulfillment. (There are also drag kings, who are biologically female and dress as men, also used to entertain or perform, typically and mostly in gay-affiliated venues.) Transsexual is a term for people who seek to live in a gender different from the one assigned at birth and who may seek or want medical intervention (through hormones and/or surgery) for them to live comfortably in that gender.

Coming Out means to disclose ones gender identity or sexual orientation to someone. Coming-out is a lifelong process, and people may choose to do so at different times in their lives. LGBT older adults may choose to come out only to close family, but often hide their sexual orientation to their health care providers for fear of being treated badly.

Homophobia refers to hatred or fear of lesbian, gay, or bisexual people. Internalized Homophobia refers to people who identify or feel LGBT, but hate themselves for feeling these desires or as a part of this group. Transphobia refers to hatred or fear of people who are gender non-conforming. Heterosexism refers to a system of behaviors that ignores or denies any nonheterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship or community as legitimate, worthy, or authentic. Some colloquial terms are: On the Down Low In the Life Cousins and Roommates Closeted/Out Queer MSM (men who sleep with men) Lifestyle Choice Two-Spirit