Happy LGBTQIA+ Pride Month!
/Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month is celebrated each year in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Over the course of the month, there are numerous events to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have had and continue to have in the world.
LGBTQIA+ Explained
The language and terms used to talk to the LGBTQIA+ community is constantly evolving. To help you understand what the acronyms and words stand for, we have explained them below.
● Lesbian: Usually, someone who identifies as a woman, whose primary sexual and affectional orientation is toward people of the same gender. However, some nonbinary people also identify as lesbians, often because they have some connection to womanhood and are primarily attracted to women.
● Gay: A man who is physically and/or emotionally attracted to another man. Also a term used to describe sexual and affectional orientation toward people of the same gender.
● Bisexual: Someone who is physically and/or emotionally attracted to more than one gender.
● Transgender: Identifying as transgender, or trans, means that one’s internal knowledge of gender is different from conventional or cultural expectations based on the sex that person was assigned at birth. While transgender may refer to a woman who was assigned male at birth or a man who was assigned female at birth, transgender is an umbrella term that can also describe someone who identifies as a gender other than woman or man, such as non binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, no gender or multiple genders, or some other gender identity.
● Queer: Someone whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual. Typically, for those who identify as queer, the terms lesbian, gay, and bisexual are too limiting. Queer is an umbrella term used to describe gender/sexual/romantic orientations or identities that fall outside of societal norms.
● Questioning: The process of exploring one’s own gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation. Some people may also use this term to name their identity within the LGBTQIA+ community.
● Intersex: Someone who is born with anatomy that can be classified as male or female. Intersex variations may include, but are not limited to, variations in chromosome compositions, hormone concentrations, and external and internal characteristics.
● Asexual: Someone who does not experience sexual or romantic attraction.
● Plus (+): The ‘plus’ is used to signify all of the gender identities and sexual orientations that letters and words cannot yet fully describe.
More terminology explained
● Ally: Someone who is heterosexual or cisgender who supports the LGBTQIA+ community and social movements.
● Gender Expression: Expressions of gender visible to others through a person’s name, pronouns, clothing, behavior, etc.
● Gender Identity: How someone perceives their gender and how they label themselves. Gender identity is a deeply personal choice of what best fits the person.
● Intersectionality: Intersectionality, a term coined by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, describes the way that multiple systems of oppression interact in the lives of those with multiple marginalized identities. Intersectionality looks at the relationships between multiple marginalized identities and allows us to analyze social problems more fully, shape more effective interventions, and promote more inclusive advocacy amongst communities.
● Misgendering: Attributing a gender to someone that is incorrect/does not align with their gender identity. Can occur when using pronouns, gendered language (i.e. “Hello ladies!” “Hey guys”), or assigning genders to people without knowing how they identify (i.e. “Well, since we’re all women in this room, we understand…”).
● Non-Binary: A gender identity and experience that embraces a full universe of expressions and ways of being that resonate for an individual, moving beyond the male/female gender binary. Someone who does not identify solely as a man or woman. It may be an active resistance to binary gender expectations and/or an intentional creation of new unbounded ideas of self within the world.
● Pansexual - Pansexual (Pan), Omnisexual (Omni): Terms used to describe people who have romantic, sexual or affectional desire for people of all genders and sexes. Has some overlap with bisexuality.
● QPOC/QTPOC/QTBIPOC: Queer People of Color; Queer Trans People of Color; Queer Trans Black Indigenous People of Color. Often used to discuss the ways in which intersectional identities can result in multifaceted systems and experiences of oppression.
● Sex/Sex Assigned at Birth: A medically constructed categorization. Sex is often assigned based on the appearance of the genitalia, either in ultrasound or at birth. Sex assigned at birth is different from gender identity, and sex is not always binary, such as for Intersex individuals.
● Two Spirit: An umbrella term encompassing sexuality and gender in Indigenous Native American communities. Two Spirit people often serve integral and important roles in their communities, such as leaders and healers. It may refer to an embodiment of masculinity and femininity but this is not the only significance of the term. Two Spirit is a cultural term reserved for those who identify as Indigenous Native American. Although the term itself became more commonly used around 1990, Two Spirit people have existed for centuries.
● Womxn: Some womxn spell the word with an “x” as a form of empowerment to move away from the “men” in the “traditional” spelling of women.
Happy Pride Month to all of our patients and families who celebrate!
Sources:
LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary - UC Davis
The People Ops Society Big Book of Inclusion, 2022
Resources for being an Ally:
