Definitions of LGBT Terms

Adapted from the Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans and Lesbian Survivors of Abuse
(formerly AABL), the Survivor Project, and University of Michigan Spectrum Center

Ally: a person who is a member of the dominant or majority group who works to end oppression in
her or his own personal and professional life through support of and as an advocate with and for the
oppressed population. This definition can be expanded to include TBLG-identified people who are
allies within their community. Although all of the different identities within “TBLG” are often
lumped together, and share sexism as a common root of oppression, there are specific needs and
concerns related to each individual identity.

Androgyny (also androgynous, bi-gendered, no-gendered): A person who identifies as a member of

both or neither of the two culturally-defined genders, female/male, or a person who expresses
merged culturally/stereotypically feminine and masculine characteristics or mainly neutral
characteristics.

Asexual: A person who does not experience sexual attraction. See www.asexuality.org.

BDSM or S/M: Bondage, Domination and Sadomasochism.

Biocentrism: when used in reference to the trans community, it is the widely-held belief that a
person who was born as a male or a female is more “real” and more valid than the individual who
has become man or woman through hormonal, surgical, and cosmetic means.
Biphobia: the systematic oppression of bisexual people specifically because they are neither gay nor
straight. For example, many bisexual people feel that they are forced to choose between two
identities which do not fit.

Bisexual: a person whose sexual and romantic feelings may be for people of any sex

Butch/Stud: a person (usually a woman) who has traditionally-understood masculine traits or

behavior

Closet(ed): A term used to describe LBGTIQQ (QQ for queer or questioning) who are not out to
themselves and/or others.

Cross-dresser (n): While gender identity and gender assignment match, cross-dresser indicates
someone who wears clothes that social custom dictates belong to a different gender role. May/may
not take on a separate name and/or set of mannerisms appropriate to the role matching current
clothing. Frequently interested in matching others’ gender attribution of the cross-dresser to current
clothing.

Drag King/Queen (n): As a cross-dresser, but usually cross-dressing for performances and not as
often interested in having gender attributed on the basis of clothing.

Fag/dyke/etc.: these are terms which some people have also chosen to reclaim for themselves,
although they have a history of being used in hurtful ways. While many people may use these terms
to refer to themselves and their communities, most people still find these terms oppressive if they
are used by people outside of the community.

Femme: a person (usually a woman) who has stereotypically and traditionally understood feminine
traits or behavior. Lesbians who are femme are sometimes called “lipstick lesbians.”

FTM/F2M (Female to male): Term used variously to identify a person who was female-bodied at
birth and who identifies as masculine, identifies as male, lives as a man, or (most often) may be
contemplating sex-reassignment surgery.
Gay: a man or boy whose primary sexual and romantic feelings are for people of the same sex.
While many people use this term only to refer to gay men, others use it as a general term to include
both men and women; for example, “the gay community.”

Gay Bashing/hate crimes: violence, or the threat of violence, that is used against queers either
because they are queer, or because they do not fit society’s expectations of how men and women are
supposed to look and act. While hate crimes can be used to reinforce and support homophobia, they
can also be used to reinforce and support other kinds of oppression, such as racism, anti-Semitism,
sexism, etc.

Gender Assignment: Medical personnel assign newborns to a gender, boy or girl, at birth based on
a visual inspection of their genitalia, if they do not appear to be intersex, otherwise after further
testing.

Gender Attribution: What someone assumes a person’s gender to be when observing that person.

Gender Expression: Refers to the ways in which people communicate their gender identity to
others through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, voice and emphasizing, de-emphasizing or changing
their body’s characteristics. Gender expression is not necessarily an indication of sexual orientation.

Gender Identity: The sense of “being” female or “being” male. For some people, gender identity is
in accord with physical anatomy. For transgender people, gender identity may differ from physical
anatomy or expected social roles. It is important to note that gender identity, biological sex, and
sexual orientation are not necessarily linked.

Gender Role: The socially-constructed and culturally-specific expectations of behavior and

appearance imposed on women (“femininity”) and men (“masculinity”).

Genderqueer: Genderqueers possess identities that fall outside of the widely-accepted sexual
binary (female/male) system. Individuals who challenge both gender and sexual-orientation norms
and see gender identity and sexual orientation as overlapping and interconnected.
Heterosexism: the belief that heterosexual (straight) relationships and people are ideal, and that
they are better or more normal than queer relationships and people. Heterosexism also includes the
denial that queer people even exist, and the assumption that everyone is straight unless they tell you
otherwise.

Heterosexual privilege: unearned privileges that go to heterosexual people simply because they are
part of the majority. The ability to legally marry a partner, to take a date to the prom, and to talk
publicly about crushes and intimate relationships are examples of heterosexual privilege.

Homophobia: the systematic oppression of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals because of their
sexuality. Some people also define homophobia as the fear and hatred of queers.

Homosexual: refers to any person, male or female, whose sexual and romantic feelings are for
people of the same sex. While this term was once widely used, it is generally not preferred today.
The term “homosexual” also has negative impact for a lot of people because “homosexuality” was
once defined as a mental illness. Although the medical and psychiatric professions have since said
that being queer is not an illness, the term still feels oppressive to many people.

“In the life”/”family”: a term that refers primarily to lesbians and gay men, but may refer to
anyone who identifies as living outside of heterosexual and/or gender norms.

Internalized Homophobia: A combination of pressures, fears, and hatred that come from within
and are targeted toward oneself on the basis of one’s sexual orientation. A process of believing
negative messages from society that produces shame about one’s sexuality.

Intersex: A general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a
reproductive or sexual anatomy (including chromosomes and hormones) that does not appear to fit
the typical definitions of female or male. See http://www.isna.org/

LBGTIQ: this is an abbreviation some people use to refer to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,
transgender, intersex, queer, and questioning people collectively. The abbreviation is seen in many
different combinations (such as TBLGQ, LBGT, etc.) in order to challenge power hierarchies, and
also as an indication of which identities are served.

Lesbian: a woman or girl whose primary sexual and romantic feelings are for people of the same
sex.

M2F/MTF (Male to Female): Used to identify a person who was male-bodied at birth and who
identifies as a female, lives as a woman, or identifies as feminine.

MSM: Men who have sex with men. They may or may not identify as gay or bisexual.

Non-op, Post-op, Mid-op, Pre-op (adj.): Referring to transsexual people, non-op indicates a person
having decided against surgeries, post-op indicates a person having completed all intended surgery,
mid-op indicates a person having completed some intended surgeries, and pre-op indicates a person
who has not yet had any intended surgery.

Oppression: The systematic and pervasive mistreatment of individuals on the basis of their
membership in a disadvantaged group. Institutional and interpersonal imbalances in power
contribute to this mistreatment. Also, an abuse of power by a dominant group. Violence is a tactic of
all forms of this term; where all forms of this intersect.

Pangender: a term for people who feel that they cannot be labeled as male or female in gender.
Pangender people feel that they are: mixed gender, identify equally with “both” genders, are both
male and female, feel that they are genderless or feel that they are some other gender all together.
The term is meant by the queer community to be one that is inclusive and means “all genders.”

Pansexuality (sometimes referred to as omnisexuality): a sexual orientation characterized by a

potential aesthetic attraction, romantic love and/or sexual desire for anybody, including people who
do not fit into the gender binary of male/female implied by bisexual attraction. Pansexuality is
sometimes described as the capacity to love a person romantically irrespective of gender. Some
pansexuals also assert that gender and sex are meaningless to them. The word pansexual is derived
from the Greek prefix pan-, meaning “all.”
Passing: The act of LBGTIQ people appearing as heterosexual. This may happen intentionally or
unintentionally. It could be an adaptive or self-protective mechanism given that LBGTIQ people
often experience emotional and physical threats to their safety as a result of their sexual orientation
or gender identity.

Polyamory: The general term used to describe all forms of multi-partner relating. For example, an
open/non-monogamous relationship or marriage.

Queer: an inclusive term which many use to collectively refer to bisexual, lesbian, gay, and
transgender communities, and others who may not identify with any of these categories but use it to
describe a sexual orientation and/or gender identity or gender expression that does not conform to
heteronormative society. While “queer” has often been used as a hurtful, oppressive term, many
people have reclaimed it as an expression of power and pride. It is also preferred by many because
of its inclusiveness. However, there are others who do not identify with this term, and still
experience it as insulting.

Same-Gender-Loving (SGL): A term used often by the African-American LGBT community as an

alternative to the terms “gay” or “lesbian.” It helps provide an identity not marginalized by racism
within the gay community or heterosexism in society.

Sex: The genetic or anatomical categories of male and female. Biological categories based on sperm
or egg production.

Sexual fluidity: This term refers to the continuum of attractions that a person may experience in
their lifetime. A person who does not feel they identify with the more rigid definitions of
heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual, or that their attractions have changed over time, may describe
themselves as sexually fluid.

Sexual Orientation: This term describes one’s sexual, physical, emotional, and intimate attractions
to other people. Individuals may choose to describe this by identifying labels such as lesbian,
bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, heterosexual, or questioning. 15
Trans: This term is used as an umbrella term and can include anyone who identifies as transgender,
transgenderist, or transsexual.

Transgender: This term has many definitions. It is frequently used as an “umbrella” term to refer to
all people who deviate from their assigned gender at birth or from the binary gender system. This
includes transsexuals, genderqueers, two-spirit people, and others. Some transgender people feel
they exist not within one of the two binary-gender categories, but rather somewhere between,
beyond or outside of those two genders.

Transgenderist (n): Gender identity and gender assignment do not match, but the person seeks no
medical intervention to change characteristics of physical sex. A transgenderist lives a gender
identity using clothing and other means to influence gender attributions.

Transphobia: the systematic oppression of transgender people because they do not fit society’s
expectations of how men and women are supposed to appear and act.

Transsexual (adj): Having a gender identity of man/boy or woman/girl not matching gender
assignment. In the United States, transsexual people may obtain medical intervention to bring
physical sex into congruence with gender identity.

Two-Spirit: A Native American person who embodies both feminine and masculine genders.
Native Americans who are queer or transgender may self-identify as two-spirit. Historically,
different tribes have specific titles for different kinds of two-spirit people. For example, the
Lakota tribe includes Wintke, the Navajo tribe refers to some individuals as Nedleeh, and in the
Cheyenne tribe some two-spirit people are known as Hee-man-eh.

Women who have Sex with Women (WSW): The term is often used when discussing sexual
behavior. It is inclusive of all women who participate in this behavior regardless of how they
identify their sexual orientation. The acronym WSW is conventionally used in professional
literature.