| A-Spec |
Umbrella for anyone on the asexual or aromantic spectrums |
| Ace |
Shorthand for asexual |
| Aesthetic attraction |
Appreciating appearance without desire for sexual/romantic contact |
| Affectional orientation |
Attraction based on emotional bonds |
| Allonormative |
Assumption that everyone experiences sexual and romantic attraction |
| Alloromantic |
Experiences romantic attraction in typical ways (non-aromantic) |
| Allosexual |
Experiences sexual attraction in typical ways (non-asexual) |
| AMAB / AFAB / AISAB |
Assigned Male / Female / Intersex At Birth |
| Amatonormativity |
The assumption that a central, exclusive romantic relationship is a normal goal for everyone and is more valuable than other kinds of relationship. Coined by philosopher Elizabeth Brake in Minimizing Marriage (Oxford University Press, 2012). |
| Aro |
Shorthand for aromantic |
| Ballroom culture |
A cultural tradition, primarily among Black and Latino LGBTQIA+ people, organized around houses, balls, and voguing; originating in NYC in the 1970s |
| Binding |
Flattening chest tissue using a binder garment; practiced by many transmasculine and GNC people |
| Celibacy |
Behavioral choice to abstain from sexual activity - not an orientation |
| Chosen family |
A network of close relationships, usually including non-biological people, that functions as family; particularly important in LGBTQIA+ communities where biological family may have rejected someone |
| Cisgender |
Gender identity matches sex assigned at birth |
| Comphet |
Compulsory heterosexuality - social pressure to be heterosexual |
| Conversion therapy |
Any attempt to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity; widely condemned and banned in many jurisdictions |
| Deadname, deadnaming |
A deadname is the birth name a trans person no longer uses. Deadnaming is calling someone by it after they have changed it. It is hurtful, and in some situations it also outs the person. |
| Detransition |
Stopping or reversing a gender transition. Reasons vary. In the largest US sample, 82.5% of people who had detransitioned reported at least one external driver such as family pressure, harassment or job loss, and 15.9% reported at least one internal driver such as a change in how they understood their gender (Turban et al., 2021, analysing the 2015 US Transgender Survey). Other studies of smaller, self-selected groups report higher rates of identity change, so treat any single figure with care. |
| Dyadic |
Having sex characteristics that fit clearly within the male or female binary (non-intersex) |
| Enby |
Informal pronunciation of "NB" (non-binary); used as a noun |
| Gender binary |
The social system that recognises only two genders, male and female, and treats them as opposites. Also written binary gender. |
| Gender dysphoria |
Distress from mismatch between gender identity and assigned sex |
| Gender euphoria |
Positive feelings from alignment of identity and expression |
| Gender expansive |
Umbrella for anyone whose gender goes beyond typical expectations |
| Gender nonconforming (GNC) |
Gender expression that doesn't conform to norms for assigned sex |
| Gender outlaw |
Person who refuses to be defined by society's gender categories |
| Gender-affirming care |
Medical and/or social interventions that support a person's gender identity, including HRT, surgery, and pronoun/name changes |
| Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) |
Surgical procedures that align a person's body with their gender identity; also called gender confirmation surgery |
| Gray-asexual (graysexual) |
Rarely or only weakly experiences sexual attraction. Sits between asexual and allosexual on the ace spectrum. Also spelled grey-asexual and greysexual. |
| Heteronormativity |
Assumption that heterosexuality is the default |
| HRT |
Hormone replacement therapy - the use of hormones (estrogen, testosterone, or hormone blockers) to feminize or masculinize the body as part of gender transition |
| Informed consent |
Healthcare model providing gender-affirming care (especially HRT) to adults without requiring psychiatric evaluation or gatekeeping |
| Internalized homophobia / transphobia |
Absorbing and directing negative societal messages about one's own identity against oneself |
| Intersectionality |
Framework for understanding how overlapping identities create distinct experiences |
| M-Spec / Plurisexual |
Attracted to more than one gender; umbrella for bi, pan, omni, poly, etc. |
| Microlabel |
A highly specific identity term, often coined in online communities, describing a nuanced variation of orientation or gender |
| Minority stress |
Chronic, excess stress arising from a stigmatized social status |
| Misgender |
Using incorrect gendered terms or pronouns for someone |
| Monosexual |
Attracted to only one gender |
| Neopronouns |
Gender-neutral pronouns beyond they/them (ze/zir, xe/xem, fae/faer, etc.) |
| Outing |
Disclosing another person's LGBTQIA+ identity without consent |
| Passing |
Being read by others as a particular gender, usually the one a person identifies as. The word is also used for being read as straight or as cisgender. Many people find it a loaded term, because it frames other people as the judges. |
| Queerplatonic relationship (QPR) |
A deeply committed relationship that is not romantic, with a closeness that ordinary friendship language does not capture. Usually shortened to QPR. |
| Rainbow washing |
Adopting LGBTQIA+ symbols without meaningful action or structural support |
| Retransition |
Resuming a gender transition after a period of detransition |
| SAAB |
Sex Assigned At Birth |
| SAM |
Split Attraction Model - framework separating sexual from romantic orientation |
| Singular they |
Use of "they/them" pronouns for a single person; grammatically standard in English for centuries; designated Word of the Year by American Dialect Society in 2015 |
| Stealth |
A trans person who does not disclose their trans identity in daily life |
| Tucking |
Concealing male-assigned genitalia using underwear or tape; practiced by some trans women and femme-presenting AMAB people |
| Two-Spirit |
Indigenous North American third gender / spiritual identity (not for non-Indigenous people) |
