LGBTQIA+ Resource Guide

AFAB: an acronym that stands for “assigned female at birth.” Describes a person who, when they were born, had their sex labeled as “female” by a doctor.

Agender: not having a gender. May identify as gender-neutral or genderless.

AMAB: an acronym that stands for “assigned male at birth.” Describes a person who, when they were born, had their sex labeled as “male” by a doctor.

Androgyne: a gender that is between man and woman or both masculine and feminine.

Bigender: having two genders. These could be static or fluid, and a bigender person might feel that their genders overlap, that they are both genders at the same time, or that they switch back and forth between the two. These could be any two genders: male and female, female and nonbinary, or two different nonbinary genders like androgyne and maverique, etc.

Cisgender: Not transgender. Describes someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth. For example, a cisgender woman had their sex labeled as female at birth, and still identifies as a woman, while a cisgender man had their sex labeled as male at birth and still identifies as a man.

Demigender: being partially, but not entirely, a given gender. The “other” part may or may not be identified or known, and could be anything. Examples of demigenders include demiboy and demigirl.

• Demiboy: being partially, but not entirely, a boy or a man. The “other” part may or may not be identified or known, and could be anything. Also known as “demiguy.”
• Demigirl: being partially, but not entirely, girl or a woman. The “other” part may or may not be identified or known, and could be anything.

Dyadic: not intersex, someone whose sex from birth fits into the category of either male or female. Also known as “perisex.”

FTM: an acronym that stands for “female to male,” a transgender person who was assigned a woman at birth, but now identifies as, has transitioned, or is transitioning towards a masculine gender or sex. Generally used in a medical context, but also sometimes as an identity term in the transmasculine community.

FTX: an acronym that stands for “female to X,” describes a transgender person who was assigned female at birth but now identifies as, has transitioned, or is transitioning towards a neutral or androgynous gender or sex. Generally used in a medical context, and shouldn’t be used to refer to someone unless you know they identify that way. Another acronym that is sometimes used is FTN, which stands for “female to neutral” or “female to nonbinary.”

Gender (Gender identity): an identity that describes how masculine, feminine, both, neutral, other, and/or genderless a person feels. This identity may be related to the physical sex characteristics a person desires, the role they want to play in society, and the categories and rules that a given society has created for how people interact with those roles, but in the end, gender comes down to how a person individually feels about themself, and how they choose to identify. Gender is a “social construct,” meaning that it is a set of categories created by humans, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important to many people. A person’s gender identity is their “real” gender, and should be respected as such, and only a person themself can tell you how they identify their gender.

Gender expression: how a person outwardly communicates gender, including through hairstyles, clothes, mannerisms, personal grooming choices, and other external markers, behavior, and decisions. A person’s gender expression and gender identity are not necessarily the same, so it’s best never to assume that you can know what a person’s gender is based on their gender expression.

Gender-neutral: describes something that is not associated with any particular gender, or something that is not gendered (or not gendered as man or woman). For example, gender-neutral bathrooms are open to people of all genders, and gender-neutral titles like Dr. or Mx. do not contain (binary) gendered information about the person to whom they refer.

May also describe having a gender that is neutral: neither masculine nor feminine, nor anything else. When used in this way, “gender-neutral” may overlap with the term “agender,” or may refer to having a gender that is specifically neutral in nature. (See also: neutrois.)

Gender-nonconforming (GNC): describes any person who performs or expresses their identity in a way that goes against societal norms and expectations for their gender.

Genderfluid: switching between two or more genders over time, or having a gender that changes. These could be any genders—including male, female, nonbinary, and others—and could take place over any amount of time, from minutes to days to months or years, and might change depending on certain circumstances, or might change at random. (Being genderfluid between agender and another gender, or having a gender that changes in intensity, is sometimes called “genderflux.”)

Genderqueer: a gender outside the gender binary, a queer gender. May be used as a synonym for nonbinary, or may be used as an umbrella term for anyone who experiences or expresses gender in a non-conforming way, including binary cis and trans people who feel that they have queer or non-normative gender experiences, or all those who express gender non-normatively. “Genderqueer” can also be a political identity, describing those who transgress gender norms and expectations.

Intersex: an umbrella term for those whose bodies fall outside the categories of male or female. Not all intersex people consider themselves part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Maverique: having a gender that is neither masculine, nor feminine, nor anything in between, nor neutral, yet still having a strong gendered feeling. May be characterized by a strong autonomy and inner conviction regarding a sense of self and gender.

MTF: an acronym that stands for “male to female,” a transgender person who was assigned male at birth, but now identifies as, has transitioned, or is transitioning towards a feminine gender or sex. Generally used in a medical context, and shouldn’t be used to refer to someone unless you know they identify that way.

MTX: an acronym that stands for “male to X,” describes a transgender person who was assigned male at birth but now identifies as, has transitioned, or is transitioning towards a neutral or androgynous gender or sex. Generally used in a medical context, and shouldn’t be used to refer to someone unless you know they identify that way. Another acronym that is sometimes used is MTN, which stands for “male to neutral” or “male to nonbinary.”

Neutrois: having a neutral or null gender. May include the experience of feeling neither masculine, feminine, nor anything in between, but still feeling strongly gendered, or may include the experience of feeling genderless, overlapping with agender. May include a desire to transition, but may not.

Nonbinary: any gender that is not strictly man or woman all the time. Nonbinary identity may include being a gender that is somewhere on the spectrum between masculinity and femininity, being a neutral gender or a gender separate from masculinity and femininity, being genderless, having multiple genders, having a gender that changes over time, and more. “Nonbinary” may be used as an umbrella term for all gender identities that are anything other than 100% binary man or 100% binary woman, or it may be used as a specific gender identity on its own. Some examples of genders included under the nonbinary umbrella include bigender, agender, genderfluid, demigender, and more! Nonbinary is sometimes shortened to NB (or “enby,” a phonetic pronunciation of the letters N-B).

Some people will also add the word “nonbinary” to a more binary gender label to indicate that they experience masculinity or femininity, but in a way that is distinct from binary gender. For example, someone might identify as a nonbinary woman, or as both transmasculine and nonbinary.

Pangender: identifying as or experiencing many or countless genders, either fluidly between different genders or as one all-encompassing gender identity. May identify as being all genders that are available within a particular person’s culture and life experiences.

Polygender: having more than one gender or expressing characteristics of multiple genders, whether at the same time or switching fluidly between different genders.

Sex: a set of physiological traits including genitalia, reproductive organs, hormones, x and y chromosomes, and secondary sex characteristics. In our society, groupings of these traits are traditionally put into two categories: male and female, though these categories contain a lot of diversity and variation and do not accurately represent all people, and some people fall in-between male and female.

Trans man: a transgender person who identifies as a man, a man who was not assigned male at birth.

Trans woman: a transgender person who identifies as a woman, a woman who was not assigned female at birth.

Transgender (Trans): identifying as any gender different from the sex assigned to one at birth. This term is inclusive of binary trans people, who identify simply as men or women, as well as nonbinary people (though not all nonbinary people choose to identify as trans).

• Note: the language “identifying as” is used here for clarity, but this is not meant to imply that transgender people are not “really” their gender in some way. The gender(s) (or lack of gender) that a person identifies with is their “real” gender.

Transfeminine: a transgender person who identifies with, is transitioning towards, or has transitioned to femininity. This includes both binary trans women and some nonbinary people.

Transmasculine: a transgender person who identifies with, is transitioning towards, or has transitioned to masculinity. This includes both binary trans men and some nonbinary people.

Transneutral: a transgender person who identifies with, is transitioning towards, or has transitioned to a neutral gender identity or gender expression.

Two-spirit: An identity created by indigenous people for indigenous people as a way to challenge colonial ways of understanding native gender and sexual expression. It should not be used as an identity by non-indigenous people. Two-Spirit is an identity label that describes gender identity and/or sexual orientation. Other terms might be used within different tribal communities, so always respect a person’s self-identification. Overall, the term two-spirit is generally preferred to “berdache,” which is a word that European settlers used to describe a third gender person (woman-living-man) who is Native American (Poynter, 2016).

Questioning: the process of exploring sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or a combination thereof.

Amatonormativity: a term coined by Arizona State University professor of Philosophy Elizabeth Brake to describe the common assumption in our society that everyone is better off in an exclusive, romantic, long-term coupled relationship, and that everyone is seeking such a relationship.

Compersion: the opposite of jealousy. A feeling of joy that comes from seeing your partner be happy with another person.

Metamour: your partner’s partner, with whom you are not intimately involved. For example, if your husband had a boyfriend, who you were not also dating, your husband’s boyfriend would be your metamour.

Monogamy: a relationship style characterized by commitment to a single intimate partner.

Polyaffectionate: having or wanting a non-romantic intimate relationship with more than one person at once, a word for a relationship style based on the word “polyamorous” and frequently used by aromantics, as well as others who desire or participate in having multiple intimate but non-romantic partners.

Polyamory: a relationship style characterized by a preference for or practice of having multiple intimate partners, where all participants know about and consent to having multiple partners. All the partners of a given person may or may not be intimately involved with each other. This is distinct from cheating, because all the individuals involved in the relationship know about each other and consent to being in a polyamorous relationship.

Queerplatonic relationship (QPR): a type of relationship distinct from both romance and friendship, a QPR is a non-romantic relationship that is more committed or more intense that what is generally considered acceptable in a platonic relationship, without being considered romantic by its participants. It typically involves emotional closeness and commitment, and might look like close friendship, or might involve things that are common in romantic and sexual relationships, such as cohabitation, hand-holding, cuddling, kissing, or having sex. It is a style of relationship commonly but not exclusively engaged in by aromantic and asexual people, and like romantic relationships, a QPR might or might not be monogamous.

A partner in a queerplatonic relationship can be called a queerplatonic partner (QPP) or a “zucchini.”

Relationship anarchy: the application of anarchist principles to intimate relationships. This can be considered a style of non-monogamy, but it is a relationship style that not only subverts norms around monogamy, but also around hierarchy in relationships (for example, having one primary partner who might be prioritized over other, secondary partners) and amatonormativity (prioritizing romantic relationships over platonic ones). Relationship anarchists’ relationships can vary widely, but might include elements like fostering communication and emotional intimacy with a wider community instead of a single partner, living with a mix of romantic and long-term platonic partners, or having multiple romantic partners, but not prioritizing them over other platonic relationships.

Solo poly: someone who participates in or prefers polyamorous or ethically nonmonogamous relationships, but prefers to have an independent lifestyle or not to have any primary partners.

Privilege: “Unearned access to resources (social power) only readily available to some people as a result of their advantaged social group membership” (Adams, Bell, and Griffin, 2007). People may have privileges based on their race, gender, sexual or romantic orientation, social class, religion, disability status, national origin, or other social markers.

Cisgender privilege: Benefits derived automatically by being cisgender that are denied to transgender and non-binary people.

Heterosexual privilege: Benefits derived automatically by being heterosexual that are denied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people.

Stereotype: “A preconceived or oversimplified generalization about an entire group of people without regard for their individual differences. Some stereotypes can be positive. However, they can have a negative impact, simply because they involve broad generalizations that ignore individual realities” (Green and Peterson, 2015).

Prejudice: “A disposition or attitude (most often negative) toward a particular group” (Martin & Nakayama, 2004).

Discrimination: “Prejudice + power. Discrimination occurs when members of a more powerful social group behave unjustly or cruelly to members of a less powerful social group. Discrimination can take many forms, including individual acts of hatred or injustice and institutional denials of privileges normally afforded to other groups. Ongoing discrimination creates a climate of oppression” (USC LGBT Resource Center, 2017).

Microaggressions: Brief and commonplace verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative [slights and insults towards member(s) of an oppressed group] (Nadal, 2012). Microaggressions are sometimes referred to as “death by paper cuts” to emphasize the way in which these smaller instances of insult accumulate to have significant impacts on members of an oppressed group. (Some) examples of LGBTQ+ microaggressions are:

• Constantly misgendering trans people. It serves to devalue and disrespect their identities and pronouns.
• Saying “you are [some identity], you have a [boyfriend/girlfriend]!” This invalidates people’s right to self-identify regardless of their romantic/sexual behavior.
• Introducing people as “my gay best friend.” People are made up of more than just their sexual orientation, and many people feel that this reference reduces them to just their sexuality.
• Saying “no homo” and “that’s so gay.” These phrases devalue LGBTQ+ identities and serve as a way of “othering” those who are not heterosexual and cisgender.

Oppression: “The systematic and pervasive nature of social inequality woven throughout social institutions as well as embedded within individual consciousness. Oppression fuses institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that saturate most aspects of life in our society” (Racial Equity Tools, 2017).

Institutional oppression: “Arrangements of a society used to benefit one group at the expense of another through the use of language, media, education, religion, economics, etc.” (USC LGBT Resource Center, 2017).

Internalized oppression: “The process by which a member of an oppressed group comes to accept and live out the inaccurate stereotypes applied to the oppressed group” (USC LGBT Resource Center, 2017).

The following are some of the dynamics that describe and/or contribute specifically to the oppression of LGBTQA+ folx:

Cissexism: “Systematic prejudice in the favor of cisgender people” (TSER, 2017); cissexism is a set of individual, societal, cultural, and institutional beliefs and practices that both assume and privilege being cisgender and conforming to traditional binary gender norms.

Heterosexism: “The individual, societal, cultural, and institutional beliefs and practices that favor heterosexuality and assume that heterosexuality is the only natural, normal, or acceptable sexual orientation. This creates an imbalance in power, which leads to systemic, institutional, pervasive, and routine mistreatment of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals” (UT Austin Gender and Sexuality Center).

Cisnormativity: “The assumption, in individuals or in institutions, that everyone is cissexual, and that

cisgender identities are more normal, valid, and worthy of respect than transgender people’s identities” (Williams, 2017).

Heteronormativity: “The assumption, in individuals or in instititions, that everyone is heterosexual, and that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality, bisexuality, and other sexual orientations” (Williams, 2017).

Transphobia: “Systemic violence against trans people, associated with attitudes such as fear, discomfort, distrust, or distain” (TSER, 2017). Transphobia can be seen within the LGBTQA+ community, as well as in general society.

Transmisogyny: “Originally coined by the author Julia Serano, this term designates the intersectionality of transphobia and misogyny and how they are often experienced as a form of oppression by trans women” (TSER, 2017).

Homophobia: “The irrational fear, hatred, or intolerance of people who identify or are perceived as non-heterosexual, including the fear of being read as part of the ‘gay’ community. Homophobic behavior can range from telling gay jokes, to verbal abuse, to acts of physical violence” (Williams, 2017).

Biphobia: “The fear of, discrimination against, or hatred of bisexual, which is often times related to the current binary standard. Biphobia can be seen within the LGBTQIA community, as well as in general society” (Williams, 2017).

HIV-phobia: The irrational fear or hatred of persons living with HIV/AIDS” (Williams, 2017). HIV-phobia can be seen within the LGBTQA+ community, as well as in general society.

Ally: In the most general sense, an ally is “a person who is a member of the dominant or majority group who works to end oppression in their personal and professional life through support of, and as an advocate for, the oppressed population” (Washington and Evans, Becoming an Ally). For LGBTQ+ individuals, allies are people who confront transphobia, biphobia, homophobia, and HIV-phobia alongside among other systems of oppression, such as racism, classism, and xenophobia. Allies challenge heterosexual and cisgender privilege in themselves and in others. Allyship is an action. Saying that you are an ally to a community is not enough and must be coupled with consistent commitment to dismantling systems of oppression.