Terminology
*This terminology comes from the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD with some slight changes. Not all terms are listed below, and some listed below are not on the list from the Human Rights Campaign or GLAAD.*
 

• Asexual - Often called “ace” for short, asexual describes a person who experiences little to no sexual attraction. Asexuality exists on a spectrum, and asexual people may experience no, little, or conditional sexual attraction.
   
  
• Aromantic – Often called “aro” for short, aromantic describes a person who experiences little to no romantic attraction. Aromantic exists on a spectrum, and aromantic people may experience no, little, or conditional romantic attraction.
   
  
• Bisexual - A person emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to more than one sex, gender, or gender identity though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree. While bisexual is sometimes used interchangeably with pansexual, the two are not the same.
   
  
• Cis-Gender - A term used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with those typically associated with the sex assigned to them at birth.
   
  
• Deadname – A term used to describe a name that someone no longer used. Often, a person’s deadname was given to them at birth. While the term is most often used to describe transgender individuals who have changed their name, cisgender people can also have a deadname.
   
  
• Demisexual/Demiromantic – A person who experiences romantic/sexual attraction, but only on certain occasions. Often, demisexuals/demiromantics need to form a strong emotional bond before being with a partner. Some people identify as both demisexual and demiromantic, but some people only identify with one or the other. Demi can be used with any sexuality or gender identity.
   
  
• Demi-Gender – A person who identifies closely with a binary gender but not completely. Used under the nonbinary umbrella.
   
  
• Gay - A person who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to members of the same gender. Men, women, and non-binary people use this term to describe themselves.
   
  
• Gender Identity - One’s innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One's gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.
   
  
• Gender Non-Conforming - A broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that conforms to the traditional expectations of their gender, or whose gender expression does not fit neatly into a category. While many also identify as transgender, not all gender non-conforming people do.
   
  
• Gender-Queer - Genderqueer people typically reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People who identify as "genderqueer" may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female, or as falling completely outside these categories.
   
  
• Gender Binary - A system in which gender is constructed into two strict categories of male or female. Gender identity is expected to align with the sex assigned at birth and gender expressions and roles fit traditional expectations.
   
  
• Gender Dysphoria - Clinically significant distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify.
   
  
• Gender-Fluid - A person who does not identify with a single fixed gender or has a fluid or unfixed gender identity.
• Homophobia – The hatred of or discomfort with people who are attracted to members of the same sex.
• Lesbian - A person who identifies as female or non-binary who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to other women.
• Non-Binary - An adjective describing a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. While many also identify as transgender, not all non-binary people do. Non-binary can also be used as an umbrella term encompassing identities such as agender, bigender, genderqueer, or gender-fluid.
• Pansexual - Describes someone who has the potential for emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to people of any gender though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree. While pansexual is sometimes used interchangeably with bisexual, the two are not the same
• Queer - A term people often use to express a spectrum of identities and orientations that are counter to the mainstream. Queer is often used as a catch-all to include many people, including those who do not identify as exclusively straight and/or folks who have non-binary identities. This term was previously used as a slur but has been reclaimed by many parts of the LGBTQ+ movement.
• Transgender - An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc.