Learning the Lingo

"The good life is inspired and guided by knowledge." --- Bertrand Russell

Part of practicing critical awareness of being aware is the appropriate terminology pertinent to the issues, and the community of which you are speaking. Please be mindful of what you say, and how you say it.

Bi-phobia: Individual or social ignorance or fear of bisexual people. Bi-phobic actions can include prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and acts of violence or hatred.

Bisexual (Bi): Those whose sexual and romantic feelings are for both men and women.

Closeted: GLBT individuals that have not disclosed their sexual orientation.

Coming Out: This can have different meanings to everyone. It has to do with developing awareness that you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender – which often leads to a desire to be more open with others about sexual or gender identity. People can be ‘out’ in some parts of their lives but not others. Some people choose to come out and others don’t.

Drag Queen: Men who assume the character or appearance of women.

Gay: People whose sexual and romantic feelings are primarily for the same sex. Depending on the country you are in this can mean men or women, although it tends to be used mainly for men.

Gender: The way a person is seen as ‘male’ or ‘female’.

Gender Identity: A person’s internal feeling of being female, male, both or neither.

GLBT and GLBTI: Abbreviations for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender ; and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex.

Hate Crimes: Crimes towards persons or groups motivated by the victim's race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Heterosexism: discrimination or prejudice by heterosexuals toward homosexuals.

Heterosexual: People whose sexual and romantic feelings are primarily for the opposite sex.

Homophobia: Individual or social ignorance or fear of gay and / or lesbian people. Homophobic actions can include prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and acts of violence and hatred.

Homosexual: People whose sexual and romantic feelings are primarily for the same sex. Those who feel this way often identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

Intersex: A biological condition where a person is born with physical characteristics and/or sex chromosomes that aren’t exclusively male or female. An earlier term for intersex was ‘hermaphrodite’.

Lesbian: Women whose sexual and romantic feelings are primarily for women.

Metro-sexual: A straight man perceived to have the style, culture, and personal grooming practices usually associated with gay men.

Sexual Orientation: The direction of sexual and romantic attractions. Some people’s sexual orientation is mainly towards people of the opposite sex; for others it is mainly towards people of the same sex, and for some it is towards either sex.

Sexuality: The quality of state of being sexual.

Straight: Another word for heterosexual.

Suicide: In addition to the general risk factors for suicide, such as depression and substance abuse, GLBTQ people also face stressors such as discrimination and harassment, which put them at an increased risk for suicidal behavior.

Transgender (Trans): Those whose gender identity or behavior falls outside the usual expectations of their gender. This includes people who feel that their anatomical gender is at odds with their inner sense of being ‘male’ or ‘female’. Some transgendered people feel bi-gendered or ‘neither-gendered’, challenging the idea that there can only be two genders.

Trans-phobia: Individual or social ignorance or fear of transgender or transsexual people. Trans-phobic actions can include prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and act of violence or hatred.

Transsexual: People who are born anatomically male or female but have a profound identification with the opposite gender. Not all transsexual people see themselves as being transgendered.

Queer: An umbrella term that includes a range of non-heterosexual and gender identities.


In addition to "words," there are many signs and symbols that have meaning for the GLBT Community. Follow this link to view some of the relevant signs and symbols and learn about their history and meaning.