Language is a powerful tool to connect people. Different communities develop their own vernaculars to express themselves. As a way for us to foster an environment that people can co-exist freely, here are some of the LGBTQIA+ terminologies one should be familiarized with.
Note: This is not an exclusive list. Terms are fluid and subject to change.
Advocate is a person who actively supports a particular cause such as ending bigotry, educating others, and supporting social equity.
Ally is a person, typically straight and/or cisgender, who takes action in supporting members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
LGBTQIA+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/question, intersex, asexual/ally, and more. It stands as a name of a community with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations not limited to those specified in the acronym itself.
Biological Sex refers to the objectively measurable anatomy, hormones, and chromosomes. Often referred to as simply “sex” or specifically as “sex assigned at birth”. A female has vagina, ovaries, and XX chromosomes; a male has penis, testes, XY chromosomes; intersex is a combination of the two.
Sexual Orientation refers to an individual’s emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction to persons of the same and/or different sex.
Asexual refers to a person who has little to no interest in sexual activity with other people yet they may experience romantic (but not sexual) attraction. Often called “ace”.
Bisexual refers to a person who is emotionally, romantically, and sexually attracted to both men and women or some people of their gender or another gender. It may also be identified as romantic or sexual attraction to people of any sex or gender identity, also known as pansexual. Also termed as “bi”.
Pansexual is a person who experiences romantic, physical, or sexual attraction for all members of all gender identities and expression. Also known as “pan”.
Lesbian is a woman who is primarily attracted romantically, physically, sexually, and/or emotionally to another woman.
Gay is a person attracted to members of the same gender. It can be used to refer to men who are attracted to other men or women who are attracted to women. It can also be an umbrella term attributed to the queer community as a whole, or as an individual identity label for anyone who is not straight. According to Human Rights Watch, this term is usually used here in the Philippines to refer to an individual who is assigned male at birth but expresses or identifies themselves as a woman. source
Questioning refers to people who are still unsure and are in the process of exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Queer is a fluidsomeone uses to identify someone who isn’t straight or cisgender. It is used to identify someone as outside of the societal norms concerning sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
Gender identity is how, in one’s head, one thinks about oneself. It is a person’s internal sense of oneself and how one perceives what that means, as man/male, a woman/female, no gender, or another gender, regardless of anatomy. It doesn’t always align with biological sex or sex assigned at birth.
Cisgender a gender description where a person’s gender identity corresponds with the sex assigned at birth. For example, they were assigned male at birth based on being born with penis and testes and know themselves to be male.
Transgender is a gender description for someone who has transitioned or is transitioning from one gender to another. It refers to a person whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, someone who has been assigned a female at birth but does not identify oneself as a woman.
Non-binary is a broad term that refers to someone who does not identify oneself exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary individuals may identify as gender fluid, agender, or something else entirely.
Straight/Heterosexual a person who is emotionally, romantically, and sexually attracted to the opposite sex.
Gender Expression or “gender presentation” is the external appearance of a person’s gender, usually displayed through the ways a person dress, behave and interact.
Gender Pronouns are how people refer to themselves and how they prefer to be referred to. Examples of pronouns include she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/their, and ze/zir.
Gender Neutral a term that describes something that is not segregated by sex or gender. Usually used as an adjective to describe fashion, policies, or even places such as a bathroom.
Mx. , “mix” or “schwa” is a gender-neutral honorific. It is often used by people who do not identify themselves with the gender binary.
Reach out, Be Heard, Be Felt.
