Dictionary
Androgyny - the state of
being neither particularly masculine nor feminine, or of being ambiguous.
From the Greek meaning literally man-woman
Ally - person who is accepting
and supportive of the GLBTQ community
Bi or bisexual - someone
who is attracted to both males and females
Closet - where one hides
with one's clothes. Gays who are not public about being gay are said
to be "in the closet."
Coming out - to become aware
of and disclose one's homosexual identity. To exit the closet by becoming
openly queer
FTM – Female to Male,
referring to a person who is Trans
Gay – homosexual, particularly
a male. That is, a person whose primary erotic, psychological, emotional,
and social orientation is towards members of the same sex.
GLBTAQ - acronym for Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Allied and Queer
Heterosexism - the belief
that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality or bisexuality, or
the tendency to assume that everyone is heterosexual
Heterosexual - a straight
person sexually oriented to persons of the opposite sex.
Hir - the transgender pronoun
equivalent to him or her and his or hers
Homo - a gay person, short
for homosexual (offensive)
Homophobia - an irrational
hatred or fear of homosexuality, the fear of the possibility of homosexuality
in oneself, or self-loathing toward one's own homosexuality
Homosexual - a gay person
sexually oriented to persons of the same sex. That is, a person whose
primary erotic, psychological, emotional, and social orientation is
towards members of the same sex.
LGBT - an acronym for Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender - At times, a Q will be added for 'Queer'
and/or 'Questioning', an A for 'Ally', and/or a TS for 'Two Spirit'.
Lesbian - a homosexual woman
- The word derives from the Greek island of Lesbos, where the poetess
Sappho ran a school for young women, and wrote often erotic poetry about
love between women. She is considered by many lesbians to have been
a lesbian, although she was married and had children.
Out - 1) publicly known as
queer, sometimes modified with "very" 2) known as queer to
close friends and/or blood family 3) acknowledgement to oneself that
one is queer
Outed - having it announced
publicly that one is queer by someone other than oneself, usually when
one would rather stay in the closet.
Omni sexual - someone who
is sexually attracted to people of all sexes - see also pansexual.
Pansexual - 1) (n) someone who is sexually
attracted to people of all sexes 2) (adj) used to denote an event at
which people of all sexes are welcome
Partner - term for one's
husband, wife, or companion - used in describing straight or gay relationships.
Passing - term for one's
husband, wife, or companion. Used in describing straight or gay–appearing
to be straight and avoiding presenting oneself as gay.
Queer - gay, lesbian, bisexual,
omni sexual, pansexual, transgender, or transsexual; Originally a derogatory
slur, it has recently been reclaimed by some to be an inclusive word
for all of those within the sexual minority community. Because of the
original derogatory nature of the word, it is not necessarily accepted
by all.
Trans - a catch-all term
for anyone crossing gender or sex boundaries (transgender, transsexual,
transvestite, etc.). Capitalized when referring to the community in
general by those who view it as an ethnic designation similar to African
American or Jewish
Transfag - a gay FTM
Transgender(ed) or TG - 1)
anyone who crosses gender boundaries, including, but not limited to,
transsexuals and transvestites 2) a person who lives mostly or completely
in the gender not associated with their birth sex, but who does not
identify as a transsexual.
Transsexual or TS - a person
whose birth sex is viewed by hir as incorrect or incompatible with hir
image of hirself, and who takes steps (including but not limited to
physical and/or hormone therapy, and surgery) to make hir outer self
match hir self-identification.
Transvestite or TV - anyone
who regularly dresses in clothing associated with the opposite gender
or sex. Some people cross-dress for pleasure; others have other reasons.
A Trans person is often considered a transvestite by mainstream culture,
while s/he hirself may find hir clothing perfectly suitable for one
with hir self-image.
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