Comprehensive List of LGBTQ+ Term Definitions

Note: some definitions here may include words you aren’t familiar with, or have been taught a flawed or incomplete definition for; I’ve likely defined those words somewhere else in the list, but if I missed one bring it up in the comments below. Also, be sure to correct me in the comments if I misstepped.

LGBPTTQQIIAA+: any combination of letters attempting to represent all the identities in the queer community, this near-exhaustive one (but not exhaustive) represents Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Intergender, Asexual, Ally

Advocate: a person who actively works to end intolerance, educate others, and support social equity for a group

Ally: a straight person who supports queer people

Androgyny: (1) a gender expression that has elements of both masculinity and femininity; (2) occasionally used in place of “intersex” to describe a person with both female and male anatomy

Androsexual/Androphilic: attracted to males, men, and/or masculinity

Asexual: a person who generally does not experience sexual attraction (or very little) to any group of people

Bigender: a person who fluctuates between traditionally “woman” and “man” gender-based behavior and identities, identifying with both genders (and sometimes a third gender)

Binary Gender: a traditional and outdated view of gender, limiting possibilities to “man” and “woman”

Binary Sex: a traditional and outdated view of sex, limiting possibilities to “female” or “male”

Biological sex: the physical anatomy and gendered hormones one is born with, generally described as male, female, or intersex, and often confused with gender

Bisexual: a person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction to people of their own gender as well as another gender; often confused for and used in place of “pansexual”

Cisgender: a description for a person whose gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex all align (e.g., man, masculine, and male)

Cis-man: a person who identifies as a man, presents himself masculinely, and has male biological sex, often referred to as simply “man”

Cis-woman: a person who identifies as a woman, presents herself femininely, and has female biological sex, often referred to as simply “woman”

Closeted: a person who is keeping their sexuality or gender identity a secret from many (or any) people, and has yet to “come out of the closet”

Coming Out: the process of revealing your sexuality or gender identity to individuals in your life; often incorrectly thought to be a one-time event, this is a lifelong and sometimes daily process; not to be confused with “outing”

Cross-dressing: wearing clothing that conflicts with the traditional gender expression of your sex and gender identity (e.g., a man wearing a dress) for any one of many reasons, including relaxation, fun, and sexual gratification; often conflated with transsexuality

Drag King: a person who consciously performs “masculinity,” usually in a show or theatre setting, presenting an exaggerated form of masculine expression, often times done by a woman; often confused with “transsexual” or “transvestite”

Drag Queen: a person who consciously performs “femininity,” usually in a show or theatre setting, presenting an exaggerated form of feminine expression, often times done by a man; often confused with “transsexual” or “transvestite”

Dyke: a derogatory slang term used for lesbian women; reclaimed by many lesbian women as a symbol of pride and used as an in-group term

Faggot: a derogatory slang term used for gay men; reclaimed by many gay men as a symbol of pride and used as an in-group term

Female: a person with a specific set of sexual anatomy (e.g., 46,XX phenotype, vagina, ovaries, uterus, breasts, higher levels of estrogen, fine body hair) pursuant to this label

Fluid(ity): generally with another term attached, like gender-fluid or fluid-sexuality, fluid(ity) describes an identity that is a fluctuating mix of the options available (e.g., man and woman, gay and straight); not to be confused with “transitioning”

FTM/MTF: a person who has undergone medical treatments to change their biological sex (Female To Male, or Male To Female), often times to align it with their gender identity; often confused with “trans-man”/”trans-woman”

Gay: a term used to describe a man who is attracted to men, but often used and embraced by women to describe their same-sex relationships as well

Gender Expression: the external display of gender, through a combination of dress, demeanor, social behavior, and other factors, generally measured on a scale of masculinity and femininity

Gender Identity: the internal perception of an individual’s gender, and how they label themselves

Genderless: a person who does not identify with any gender

Genderqueer: (1) a blanket term used to describe people whose gender falls outside of the gender binary; (2) a person who identifies as both a man and a woman, or as neither a man nor a woman; often used in exchange with “transgender”

Gynesexual/Gynephilic: attracted to females, women, and/or femininity

Hermaphrodite: an outdated medical term used to describe someone who is intersex; not used today as it is considered to be medically stigmatizing, and also misleading as it means a person who is 100% male and female, a biological impossibility for humans

Heterosexism: behavior that grants preferential treatment to heterosexual people, reinforces the idea that heterosexuality is somehow better or more “right” than queerness, or ignores/doesn’t address queerness as existing

Heterosexual: a medical definition for a person who is attracted to someone with the other gender (or, literally, biological sex) than they have; often referred to as “straight”

Homophobia: fear, anger, intolerance, resentment, or discomfort with queer people, often focused inwardly as one begins to question their own sexuality

Homosexual: a medical definition for a person who is attracted to someone with the same gender (or, literally, biological sex) they have, this is considered an offensive/stigmatizing term by many members of the queer community; often used incorrectly in place of “lesbian” or “gay”

Hypersex(ual/-ity): a sexual attraction with intensity bordering on insatiability or addiction; recently dismissed as a non-medical condition by the American Psychiatric Association when it was proposed to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5.

Intersex: a person with a set of sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit within the labels of female or male (e.g., 47,XXY phenotype, uterus, and penis)

Male: a person with a specific set of sexual anatomy (e.g., 46,XY phenotype, penis, testis, higher levels of testosterone, coarse body hair, facial hair) pursuant to this label

Outing [someone]: when someone reveals another person’s sexuality or gender identity to an individual or group, often without the person’s consent or approval; not to be confused with “coming out”

Pansexual: a person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members of all gender identities/expressions

Queer: (1) historically, this was a derogatory slang term used to identify LGBTQ+ people; (2) a term that has been embraced and reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community as a symbol of pride, representing all individuals who fall out of the gender and sexuality “norms”

Questioning: the process of exploring one’s own sexual orientation, investigating influences that may come from their family, religious upbringing, and internal motivations

Same Gender Loving (SGL): a phrase coined by the African American/Black queer communities used as an alternative for “gay” and “lesbian” by people who may see those as terms of the White queer community

Sexual Orientation: the type of sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction one feels for others, often labeled based on the gender relationship between the person and the people they are attracted to; often mistakenly referred to as “sexual preference”

Sexual Preference: (1) generally when this term is used, it is being mistakenly interchanged with “sexual orientation,” creating an illusion that one has a choice (or “preference”) in who they are attracted to; (2) the types of sexual intercourse, stimulation, and gratification one likes to receive and participate in

Skoliosexual: attracted to genderqueer and transsexual people and expressions (people who aren’t identified as cisgender)

Straight: a man or woman who is attracted to people of the other binary gender than themselves; often referred to as “heterosexual”

Third Gender: (1) a person who does not identify with the traditional genders of “man” or “woman,” but identifies with another gender; (2) the gender category available in societies that recognize three or more genders

Transgender: a blanket term used to describe all people who are not cisgender; occasionally used as “transgendered” but the “ed” is misleading, as it implies something happened to the person to make them transgender, which is not the case

Transitioning: a term used to describe the process of moving from one sex/gender to another, sometimes this is done by hormone or surgical treatments

Transsexual: a person whose gender identity is the binary opposite of their biological sex, who may undergo medical treatments to change their biological sex, often times to align it with their gender identity, or they may live their lives as the opposite sex; often confused with “trans-man”/”trans-woman”

Transvestite: a person who dresses as the binary opposite gender expression (“cross-dresses”) for any one of many reasons, including relaxation, fun, and sexual gratification; often called a “cross-dresser,” and often confused with “transsexual”

Trans-man: a person who was assigned a female sex at birth, but identifies as a man; often confused with “transsexual man” or “FTM”

Trans-woman: a person who was assigned a male sex at birth, but identifies as a woman; often confused with “transsexual woman” or “MTF”

Two-Spirit: a term traditionally used by Native American people to recognize individuals who possess qualities or fulfill roles of both genders

Tagged as: definitions, list

Written by Sam Killermann

Sam is a writer and performer who uses those skills as an ally to advance progress in the realms of LGBT equality and social justice. He tours the country speaking to college students about stereotypes, prejudice, and oppression, and writes for this site when he's at home in Austin, TX.

http://www.facebook.com/fongay Francisco Leonardo Ongay

While I understand the difference between FTM and Trans-Man and between MTF and Trans-Woman (FTM and MTF have already undergone the transition process), I don’t understand why Transexual Man and Transexual Woman are not to be confused with Trans-man and Trans-woman… What is the difference?
- http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
  
  Hi Francisco! Great question, and these are murky waters, as a lot of individuals will define themselves in ways that don’t necessarily follow the generalities I’m relying on here.
  
  The difference is that “trans-man” generally refers to a “transgender man,” not “transsexual man.”
  - http://www.facebook.com/gbroder Gail Broder
    
    This is the one term that bothered me (your definition, that is). I would argue that MTF and FTM describe people who may be in transition, as well as those who may have completed their transition. Additionally, not all people who transition choose to use biomedical interventions like surgery or hormone therapy. Once upon a time people used to refer to “pre-op” or “post-op”, but there are a growing number of people who are non-op, for a wide range of reasons. Among the trans people I have interacted with, I find that FTM/MTF are used as synonyms with transman and transwoman, and it is really just a matter of people’s own preference for the term they choose to describe themselves. And like your definition for “transition”, the key is to remember that it is true for SOME people.
    - http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
      
      Hi Gail! Thanks for the comment.
      
      That’s the issue with so many of these terms, or any young terminology for that matter. There aren’t any hard-and-fast rules and the language shifts regularly, different cliques of people use different terms, and different regions the same.
      
      Here, I am going with what — from what I’ve been able to glean from my experiences at conferences, reading genderqueer websites, etc. — is true for 51 out of 100 people.
Korena

I don’t understand why you need to specify “cis men and cis women” in the definition of bisexual. Also, bisexuals can be attracted to men and genderqueer people or women and genderqueer people.
- http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
  
  Hi Korena! While that’s certainly possible and is the case for some people who identify as bisexual, generally speaking bisexual = attraction to men or women, while pansexual = equal opportunity attraction to all genders (man, woman, genderqueer, etc.)
  - Korena
    
    The cis thing is bothering me though. Are you not bisexual if you’re attracted to both cis and trans people?
    - http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
      
      You’re welcome to call yourself bisexual if you’re attracted to genderqueer people, and as I mentioned many people do, but typically that’s where the term “pansexual” is used. That’s the difference between pansexual and bisexual.
      - Korena
        
        Not all trans people are genderqueer, though. Many, if not most, identify as a binary gender.
      - http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
        
        Haha — I’m well aware that’s possible, considering I just wrote this list of definitions
      - http://www.facebook.com/kaycheriward Theo Drake Ward
        
        Pansexual has a connotation of being “gender-blind” and for those where gender *does* affect their attraction, they don’t like to use pansexual to describe themself. So that’s why there’s another common definition of bisexual: “attracted to people of the same gender and different genders”.
      - Lw Nott
        
        As far as I’m aware, the concept of ‘gender blind’ is something that not many agree with, since it implies that the gender identity is being ignored, rather than not being a determinant factor in the attraction. The defitnition of pansexuality itself says it, ‘attracted to all genders’, not oblivious to it. And actually, there’s still a chance of a certain preference towards a specific group, just as bisexuals, although that is fluid in most cases, I think.
        
        Also, while the most common use of the term ‘bisexual’ does refer to those attracted to binary genders, it is also used in the strict etymological sense of the word (attracted to ‘two’ genders), refering to any pair of gender identities, which could be cis or not.
      - Korena
        
        I just find it a bit problematic and think it would be better if it said “attracted to men and women”. You said to correct you in the comments if you misstepped. The whole point generally is that thrans men are men and trans women are women and I thought you might want to emphasize that instead of having a separate category. Sorry.
      - http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
        
        I find it a bit problematic, too. Most of this labeling stuff is. I revised it to, hopefully, get a better sentiment across.
Lw Nott

I believe the terms ‘closeted’, ‘coming out’ and ‘outing (someone)’ are used both to refer to sexuality and gender, not just to the former.
Also, I’d like to ask something, is it valid to use ‘queer’ instead of the initials, to refer to any group of people who, as you said, falls out of the gender and identity traditional norms? In other words, is ‘queer’ a proper umbrella term, being more inclusive and exhaustive than say, the LGBPTTQQIIAA+ you mentioned? Thanks C:
- http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
  
  Ah, very good point. I’ll revise that. Thanks!
  
  And I generally use “queer community” or “people who are queer” instead of the initials, as I find it to be most inclusive, and least cumbersome, but there’s plenty of debate about this (a lot of folks who hold my perspective and others who don’t).
Samantha

Sam, nice list. One thing that struck me is whether homo/hetro sexual should refer to being attracted to gender identity/expression rather than sex. For instance a XX-woman who is attracted to a XY-Woman (MTF) would be considered homosexual?
- Lw Nott
  
  I think that that’s the main difference between gay/straight and homo/heterosexual. Since the latter are medical terms, they focus on the biological side of the question, thus talking about sex and not gender.
  I met someone who identified as agender but was attracted to women. They didn’t feel comfortable using the term lesbian to define themself, because it meant ‘woman attracted to woman’, and preferred to label themself as homosexual, because when it came to genitalia, they felt attracted to those who shared their biological sex (regardless of gender).
  - http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
    
    I think this is a great way to spin the use of homo-/heterosexual in modern times, but it’s a bit confusing. This is why I like other-based terms for describing attraction so much. No confusion like this!
- http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
  
  Nope, I did not mean to imply that. I think homosexual or heterosexual are far more commonly understood to be gender terms, regardless of their etymology.
austin

Its a pretty good list and im not trying to be confrontational but i think bisexual is defined here in a kinda binarist, cissexist way. Bisexual means attraction to two genders/sexes regardless of which one…and has nothing to do with attraction being towards cis or trans people specifically…. also some define bisexual as liking your same gender and a different one also….those are good non binarist ways to say it…the only other thing that could be improved is when defining trans women you said they express there gender femininly….not always as there are butch trans women and femme trans men….once again not trying to nit pick just some constructive criticism but besides that good list though!
- http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
  
  AH! So helpful. Both fantastic points, and incredibly easy to implement. Love it. Fixed. Thanks!
Katelyn

So, what is hypersexual? I read it in one of your other articles and chose to come here for a definition first, but there isn’t one. From basic etymology, I can guess at the definition, but I’m not really sure what I think is right.
- http://www.samuelkillermann.com Sam Killermann
  
  Hey Katelyn! Great question, and something I should certainly add to the list.
  
  I’m guessing that you may have already guessed it, but hypersexual simply means an intense, insatiable sexual attraction. It is identity non-specific (can be gyne-, andro-, or even objectophilic), and was recently dismissed by the American Psychiatric Association as a non-medical condition in response to a proposal that it be included in the DSM-V.
  
  I’ll add it in. Also, in answering this I realized that I left out the terms for describing sexual attraction. Double thanks!
- http://samuelkillermann.com/ Samuel Killermann
  
  Hey Katelyn! Great question, and something I should certainly add to the list.
  
  I’m guessing that you may have already guessed it, but hypersexual simply means an intense, insatiable sexual attraction. It is identity non-specific (can be gyne-, andro-, or even objectophilic), and was recently dismissed by the American Psychiatric Association as a non-medical condition in response to a proposal that it be included in the DSM-V.
Estraven

You are the one who invented the “Platinum Rule,” yet you seem to be defining bisexuality without ASKING any actual bisexuals first. I hope you can understand how oppressive that is.

Please read this piece on the true difference between bisexuality and pansexuality, written by someone with actual lived experience as a bsexual: http://radicalbi.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/why-i-identify-as-bisexual-and-not-pansexual/
Estraven

And I like the new GSM for Gender and Sexual Minorities. The researchers have been using this for years, and it is spreading into common usage. It is neutral, short, simple, and does not make people’s brains explode.

Similarly, instead of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, which gets long if you include them all, the researchers just say “sexual prejudice” or sexual prejudice against (particular group). Again, neutral language that make it clear it is a prejudice, not a disease.
Thalida Noel

I feel as if GSM (Gender & Sexual Minorities) or GSMA (Gender/Sexual Minorities & Allies) should go up top with LGBPTTQQIIAA+ – while GSM(A) isn’t a widely used term, I’m advocating that it gets more use so that we have a general umbrella term for the entire community with out excluding anyone, lumping people together in the +, or giving some sort of preference to aspects of the community. Yes, it’s an entirely new acronym for people to get used to – but it’s the most inclusive and general term we have.
Pingback: Introducing LGBT-Logues
http://www.facebook.com/zachary.rapport Zachary Rapport

Hi Sam —

Thank you for the wonderful work you have done and are doing. My professors are handing out the Genderbread Person at my college.

1.) Since Kinsey’s research indicates that most people are bisexual, then bisexuality does not qualify as a minority sexuality. While a 100% heterosexual orientation is the pretended majority orientation, it’s actually a minoroty orientation. Thoughts?

2.) What is the purpose of excluding “heterosexual” from the LGBTQQIAA? I understand those letters are meant to describe identities in the queer community. However, if we add “H” (for heterosexual) or “S” (for straight), we would have a comprehensive list of identities for human beings. Perhaps an inclusive list of all identities would serve a greater purpose than excluding heterosexuals. Then, everyone could find themselves on the list. Thoughts?
Zachary

Hi Sam —

Thank you for the wonderful work you have done and are doing. My professors are handing out the Genderbread Person at my college.

1.) Since Kinsey’s research indicates that most people are bisexual, then bisexuality does not qualify as a minority sexuality. While a 100% heterosexual orientation is the pretended majority orientation, it’s actually a minoroty orientation. Thoughts?

2.) What is the purpose of excluding “heterosexual” from the LGBTQQIAA? I understand those letters are meant to describe identities in the queer community. However, if we add “H” (for heterosexual) or “S” (for straight), we would have a comprehensive list of identities for human beings. Perhaps an inclusive list of all identities would serve a greater purpose than excluding heterosexuals. Then, everyone could find themselves on the list. Thoughts?
g.f.

Just a small thing that needs to be addressed. I think that the word biphobia should be in there because of the amount of it from some sections of the LG community and from (mostly homophobic as well) straight people.
Aiden

What about trigender? I don’t think there’s enough info out there about us, I was hoping that we’d be in here somewhere
Tel

Thanks for making the list! A few suggestions:

* At the top, you could put a note about how, while these are all good and clear definitions, some people use different ones so one should ask them what they mean by a word if one is unsure.

* I think QUILTBAG(PIPE) should get a special mention under the LGBPTTQQIIAA+ section, since it is a different arrangement to the standard LGBTsomethingorother. And it’s fun.

* “Ally” should probably be given a second definition to include cisgenders (of any sexuality) supportive of trans* people.

* How obscure do you want to get with the sexualities? There are some constructed terms I have heard that are very rare but still used by a few people, and understandably not (yet) included on the list.
** Demisexual: A person who is only sexually attracted to people they are romantically attracted to (though they can be romantically attracted to someone without sexual attraction. This one is very obscure.
** Omnisexual: Sometimes the same as pansexual, sometimes meaning attraction to anyone or anything, human or nonhuman.
** Poly-anything: Whilst polyarmourous people may be gay, straight, pan, or of any orientation, issues surrounding them are often linked to LGBT+ items, so definitions about polyarmoury (and how it is distinct from polygyny) may or may not belong on this list.
** Romantic orientation: A more widespread idea, this is a measure of who you are romantically attracted to as being distinct from who you are sexually attracted to. A girl might be homosexual but panromantic, for instance, meaning that they only sleep with girls but they can be in a romantic relationship with someone of any gender.
Maiya78

I haven’t read through this all the way yet, but as a transperson, I feel a need to point out some flaws.
First, “female” does not necessarily require XX. Besides the fact that there are transwomen (and how dare you exclude them from being females), cisgendered women are occaisionally born without XX (instead having XO, XY, XXX, etc). How dare you say none of them are real females?
My next qualm (I stopped reading after this one, though I may continue later) is with your definitions of MtF and FtM. These are not just used for those who have transitioned, but also for those who plan to do so. I am on my phone right now and it’s a bit hard to scroll up to check, so on the off-chance you didn’t consider transpeople to legitimately be of their gender irrespective of their ability to acquire certain surgeries, I must say that you are wrong there as well (if you didn’t make this mistake, then kudos and many thanks to you!)
You don’t seem like you intended to propogate such misinformation, so I just wanted to leave a comment that fixed some things. Please update the article with improved definitions! :3
Thanks, and have a good day!
Dani

Hi, great list! Big fan of everything you do. Also, I’m extremely impressed by you taking up this enormous and tangled web of definitions. This terminology is young and constantly shifting. So, good luck on defeating the Hydra!

One thing I’d like to propose (and a side effect) as an addition is the term “Non-binary” (gender) as well as maybe a mention of pronoun choice? Non-binary is kind of a confusing term and I know it can probably be used for a few different things. The one big underpinning is a connotational opposition to binary genders (thus, sexualities). I’ve personally been using it to refer to myself as a simplification term for genderfluid and to imply the preference of non-gendered pronouns. Not sure exactly how you could implement this, but I think the idea of “simplification of fluidity/queerness with binary edges removed” is a good ticket.

As for pronouns, I’ve seen you write about non-gendered pronouns before (I think? I read too much on the internet. If not, you totally need to!), so they deserve an inclusion in this list I’d say since the idea of a person defining their personal pronoun preference isn’t something that’s widely known. So maybe the terms “preferred gender pronouns (PGP)” and “non-gendered pronouns” (like singular they, ze/hir/etc.) could be added.

One final thing that occurred to me when typing this… we kind of have a lot of ideas coming together when providing queer definitions (gender, sex, sexuality, romantic alignment, gender expression, and more!) so it can get amalgamated, I wonder if a color-coded tagging system or something might help improve understandability of each terms’ domain?

Thanks for all you do. Keep being amazing! Cheers.
Ori

I love this ^_^
Was just kinda hoping information about romantic minorities and people who are demisexual would be in here…
http://www.facebook.com/Deanna.Hallmark Deanna Joy Hallmark

Very comprehensive, thank you, but I think you left out “transphobia” which I believe can include people who are okay with the idea of being transgender and transitioning but are unwilling to see a particular person who they have known before transition in their preferred identity and/or form of expression even with the alteration of identity documents such as driver’s licenses which reflect the way in which the transitioning person wishes to be regarded with respect to gender. That’s a mouth full!
Sunny

Girlfag: a person assigned female at birth who feels a strong attraction to gay and bisexual men. (Different from a fag hag or from the female equivalent to the stereotype of guys liking “lesbian” porn.)