LGBTQ+ Terminology

SPARQ title terminology page

SPARQ seeks to provide educational opportunities for all Bates students to learn and grow. Below is a list of terms and identities that are commonly used by the LGBTQ+ community. It is crucial to listen and use the identities and experiences that a person uses to describe themself. This is not a comprehensive list, and there are more identities that you might be aware of and/or use that are not on this list.

If there is an identity or definition that you have suggestions for that is not on this list, please reach out to Anthony Del Real at adelreal@bates.edu

Aromantic (Aro): An identity used by someone who experiences little, conditional or no interest in romantic relationships. Aromanticism exists on a spectrum and serves as an umbrella identity for other aromantic adjacent identities. 

Asexual (Ace): An identity used by someone who experiences little, conditional or no interest in sexual relationships. Asexuality exists on a spectrum and serves as an umbrella identity for other asexual adjacent identities. [Source: HRC.org]

Biromantic: An identity used by an individual who can experience romantic attraction to people of more than one gender. This can, but does not mean it happens simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree.

Bisexual: An identity used by an individual who can experience sexual attraction to people of more than one gender. This can, but does not mean it happens simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree. [Source: HRC.org]

Demiromantic: An identity used by an individual who can experience romantic attraction with others with whom they have developed a strong emotional bond with. Demiromanticism falls under the Aromantic/Aro umbrella.

Demisexual: An identity used by an individual who can experience sexual attraction with others with whom they have developed a strong emotional bond with. Demisexuality falls under the Asexual/Ace umbrella.

Gay: An identity used by an individual who can experience emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attraction to members of the same/similarly perceived gender. It can also serve as an umbrella term to refer to the queer community as a whole. [source: GU LGBTQ RC]

Lesbian: Typically, a term used to refer to a woman who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to other women. Cis women, trans women, and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves. [Source: HRC.org]

Panromantic: An identity used by individuals who can experience romantic attraction to individuals of any/multiple genders, though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree. [Source: HRC.org]

Pansexual: An identity used by individuals who can experience sexual attraction to individuals of any/multiple genders, though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree. [Source: HRC.org]

Queer: An umbrella term often used to refer to a spectrum of identities and orientations that are not heterosexual or cisgender. Queer is often used as a catch-all to include many people, including those who do not identify as exclusively straight and/or folks who have non-binary or gender-expansive identities. 

This term was previously used as a slur, but has been reclaimed by many parts of the LGBTQ+ movement. [Source: HRC.org]

Romantic attraction/orientation: An enduring emotional and romantic attraction or non-attraction to other people. Romantic orientation can be fluid and people use a variety of labels to describe their romantic orientation. An individual’s romantic orientation is independent of their gender and sexual identity.

Sexual attraction/orientation: An enduring emotional, romantic, sexual or affectional attraction or non-attraction to other people. Sexual orientation can be fluid and people use a variety of labels to describe their sexual orientation. An individual’s sexual orientation is independent of their gender identity. [Source: GU LGBTQ RC]

Cisgender (cis): An identity used to describe an individual whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gender Binary: A system in which gender is constructed into two strict categories: male and female. This system makes the assumption that all people abide by these two gender identities and expects them to align with the societal expectations of these identities. [source: HRC.org]

Gender dysphoria: Clinically significant distress caused when a person’s assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify. [Source: HRC.org]

Gender-expansive: A term used to refer to an individual(s) with a wider and more flexible range of gender identity and/or expression than is typically associated with the gender binary. Is also often seeing being used as an umbrella term when referring to young people still exploring the possibilities of their gender expression and/or gender identity. [Source: HRC.org]

Gender expression: The external appearance of one’s gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, body characteristics, voice. One’s gender expression may or may not conform to socially perceived behaviors and characteristics often associated with the masculine or feminine. [source: HRC.org]

Genderfluid: A gender identity where an individual does not identify with a single, fixed gender and has a fluid or unfixed sense of their gender. [source: HRC.org]

Genderqueer: A gender identity where an individual does not identify with the binary identities of man or woman. Genderqueer people often, though not always, reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and even sexual/romantic orientation. [source: HRC.org]

Nonbinary/enby: A gender identity used by an individual who does not identify exclusively with the gender binary of man or woman. Non-binary individuals may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories. Some non-binary individuals might identify as transgender, but not all do. You might see it written down as “NB” or even “enby”. [Source: HRC.org]

Pronouns: A series of words used to refer to an individual when not using their name.
E.g., he, she, they, ze, xe, zir, and more.

Same-gender loving (SGL): An identity used by an individual to reference their attraction to others of a similar gender. E.g., women-loving-women (WLW), men-loving-men (MLM).

Transgender/trans: A gender identity often used, but not always, by an individuals who have legally, medically and/or socially transitioned from their sex-assigned-at-birth. 
It is also sometimes used as an umbrella term for individuals whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. This is a gender identity, not a sexual/romantic orientation. [Source: Stonewall.org.uk]

Transitioning: A series of processes that some trans individuals may undergo to live more fully in their gender. There are multiple forms of transitioning, and not every trans person has to participate in these processes to be trans.

  • Medical Transitioning: A process where a trans/gender-expansive person might seek medical support in their transition, including but not limited to hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries.
  • Legal transitioning: A process where a trans/gender-expansive person might seek to update their legal documents, e.g., birth certificate, state ID, passports, etc., to match their name, pronouns, and gender identity.
  • Social transitioning: A process where a trans/gender-expansive person might share their chosen/lived name and pronouns with others in their immediate circles.

Ally: A term used to describe a person who is supportive of LGBTQ+ people. It encompasses heterosexual and cisgender allies, as well as those within the LGBTQ+ community who support each other (e.g., a lesbian who is an ally to the bisexual community). [Source: HRC.org]

Anti-LGBTQ+: The intentional actions, beliefs, and values that people who are not heterosexual should not exist, have rights, privileges, nor access to care and resources that will help them to live openly and authentically. Based on active, conscious biases against people who are not heterosexual.

Anti-trans: The intentional actions, beliefs, and values that people who are not cisgender should not exist, have rights, privileges, nor access to care and resources that will help them to live openly and authentically. Based on active, conscious biases against people who are not cisgender.

Biphobia/Anti-Bi: The intentional actions, beliefs, and values that people who are not only heterosexual should not exist, have rights, privileges, nor access to care and resources that will help them to live openly and authentically. Based on active, conscious biases against people who are not only heterosexual.

Deadnaming: Occurs when an individual, intentionally or not, refers to the name that a transgender or gender-expansive individual used at a different time in their life. Can also be referred to as birth name, given name or old name. Deadnaming can cause stress, trauma, embarrassment and even danger for trans people. [Source: identiversity.org]

Homophobia: The fear, hatred, discomfort, and negative feelings towards people who are not heterosexual. These feelings are typically rooted in misinformation and bias. [Source: HRC.org]

Intersex: Intersex individuals are born with a variety of differences in their sex traits and reproductive anatomy. There is a wide variety of difference among intersex variations, including differences in genitalia, chromosomes, gonads, internal sex organs, hormone production, hormone response, and/or secondary sex traits. [Source: HRC.org]

LGBTQ+: An acronym that often references “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer”. The “+” sign is in recognition that there are limitless sexual and gender identities used by members of the community, examples: Pansexual, Asexual, Aromantic, Nonbinary, etc. [Source: HRC.org]

Outing/being outed: The intentional or unintentional exposing of an individual’s sexual, romantic, and/or gender expansive identity to others without their consent/permission. Outing someone or being outed can have serious repercussions for an individual that could impact their employment, economic stability, personal safety, religious, and/or family situations. [Source: HRC.org]

Questioning: A term used to refer to an individual who is in the process of exploring their sexual, romantic, and/or gender identity. [Source: HRC.org]

Sex-assigned-at-birth: A label placed on newborn by a healthcare provider based on the baby’s external anatomy. Common examples: male, female, intersex. [Source: HRC.org]

Transphobia: Prejudice or negative attitudes, beliefs or views about non-cisgender people or those perceived to be trans. These feelings are typically rooted in misinformation and bias.