Home Explore Topics LGBTQ+ Identities What’s in a name?

What’s in a name?

First we had lesbian and gay, then LGBT. Now most people are adding the Q for queer / questioning to make the acronym LGBTQ. Some are using even more letters, such as LGBTQIAA ---Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and Ally. And there are even longer versions of this “shorthand” out there. Little wonder that some have called the LGBTQ+ community an “alphabet soup” of identities, terms and labels.

Why do we need so many terms? It’s important for people to have language to define themselves in ways that feel authentic. Researchers also need to have concepts and terminology that describe what they are learning about the full spectrum of gender and sexual identities.

Learn more about the spectrum of gender and sexual identities, including some of the LGBTQ+ terms that are new to many of us. This video provides a straightforward explanation of key LGBTQ+ terminology and concepts.

Dee

Who is Dee?

What’s in a name?

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Dee

Gender Identity Our core sense of who we are as a man, a woman, a mixture of both, or neither.

Gender Expression How we show up in the world through choices like clothing, hair style, mannerisms or tone of voice.

Attraction How we feel toward others sexually, romantically and/or emotionally.

Biological Sex Physical attributes such as reproductive organs and genitalia, chromosomes, genes and hormone levels.

What’s in a name?

Featured Content

References:

Dee

Gender Identity Our core sense of who we are as a man, a woman, a mixture of both, or neither.

Gender Expression How we show up in the world through choices like clothing, hair style, mannerisms or tone of voice.

Attraction How we feel toward others sexually, romantically and/or emotionally.

Biological Sex Physical attributes such as reproductive organs and genitalia, chromosomes, genes and hormone levels.

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