10 LGBTQ Terms That You Need To Know

(The queer, bisexual, transgender, asexual, and pansexual flags all

in a GIF)
This year, LGBTQ issues have become pertinent ones377A is still in effect, the NLB has
banned childrens books featuring different types of families, and the #WearWhite
movement was started to protest against the annual Pink Dot event.
While we aim to be inclusive, there are lots of terms that the LGBTQ community use to
describe themselves, and more have been added to their lexicon in recent years. If youre
not too sure what they are, heres a list that will help you understand their struggles.

1. Queer

Many of us are familiar with the acronym LGBT, but there has been a new letter added to
this term, which describes a community of people. The Q stands for queer, referring to
people who are not straight but feel like other labels like lesbian or gay dont quite fit
them.
For example, a gay man could incidentally be attracted to one girl. Although he is mostly
attracted to men, he may feel like his friends who are also gay may think less of him. So he
can identify as queer, a more general label to include people who do not identify as straight.
Bonus: LGBTQ isnt the only acronym used to describe the community. QUILTBAG comes to
mind, and stands for Queer/Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian,
Transgender/Transsexual, Bisexual, Allied/Asexual, Gay/Genderqueer. Its more inclusive and
easier to say, too.

2. (Non) Gender Binary

When we think about gender, we think about two genders, namely, male and female. This is
called the gender binary, and it describes the idea that there are only two types of genders
in the world, but thats not true. Gender comes in a spectrum. There are lots of people who
dont fit into these categories, and there are proper names for them too.

When we think about gender, we think about two genders, namely, male and female. This is
called the gender binary, and it describes the idea that there are only two types of genders
in the world, but thats not true. Gender comes in a spectrum. There are lots of people who
dont fit into these categories, and there are proper names for them too.

3. Agender

While most of us consider ourselves to be male or female, there are people who do not
identify as either, and consider themselves to be genderless. Yes, thats right. They cant see
themselves as male or female, and were totally cool with it.

4. Asexual

It is natural to desire people sexually, but there are some people who do not feel sexual
attraction to any people, whatsoever. Thats totally okay! Asexual people may or may not be
interested in romantic relationships, but they certainly dont want to have sex. There are
also aromantic people, which means that these individuals do not feel romantically attracted
to others.

5. Intersex

Sometimes, people are born with two kinds of genitalia, or are born women and have male
DNA, and vice versa. Because of this, it can be pretty difficult to tell who is intersex at birth,
and people only realise this much later. The term hermaphrodite is also used, but intersex
is a lot more sex positive and less demeaning.

6. Pansexual

No, pansexual doesnt mean that youre attracted to frying pans. Lame joke aside, if you are
pansexual, it means youre romantically or sexually attracted to people of any sex and
gender identity. Awesome.

7. Outing

Weve all heard of coming out of the closet, but the word outing means that someone has
chosen to tell of another persons gender identity and sexual orientation without consent.
This happens a lot in the public eye, where famous CEOs are outed and forced to resign
because of who they are. This is not cool, and violates a persons right to privacy. Someone
who has a different gender and sexual orientation should be able to come out when he or
she feels ready.

8. Transgender

Transgender is a general term that is used to describe people whose identity is different
from the one they are born with. More precise terms under this umbrella include
transsexuals, androgynes, as well as some cross dressers who choose to identify as
transgender. A transgender woman is someone who used to be male, and a transgender
man is someone who used to be female.

9. Heterosexism

Woo, this is a loaded term, and it happens a lot on our society. This term refers to the
discrimination against the LGBTQ community, because it assumes that heterosexuality is the
normal sexual orientation. Any other sexuality that deviates from this norm isnt given a
say or any rights. Thats really sad. LGBTQ people are people, too.

10. Cis-gender

This one is for all you straight folks out there. With all this talk about alternative sexualities,
there is a term to describe people who identify with the gender that they are born with.
Thats what cis-gender means.

Now I Know All These Terms, But So What?

People are complex creatures, and they dont always fit into neat little labels, which is
probably why more and more are being created to suit different identities. Whatever our
friends may identify with, we should respect what they would like to be called. This list can
also be used as a jumping point to learn more about these issues, and hopefully clear up
some of the questions youve been having.