A simple explanation to LGBTQ+ communities

By Graphics team.

On Friday, June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage would be legal in all 50 states. This finally started an open and more accepting dialogue about sexuality and gender in America. There is still a lot of misunderstanding on what it means to be apart of the LGBTQIA+ community – not only in America, but around the world. In 66 countries, homosexual acts are illegal and in 12 countries, homosexual acts can be punishable by death. Only in 22 countries is same-sex marriage legal and with 195 countries total, that is an exceptionally low number.

As an ally of the community, I have tried to be as inclusive and correct as possible. The first part of becoming an ally is to understand: what does LGBTQIA+ stand for?

LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or queer, intersex and asexual.

Lesbian is the sexual and affectional attraction of someone who identifies as a woman to someone else of the same gender. Gay is the sexual and affectional attraction to someone of the same gender. Gay is usually referred to someone who identifies as male, but can also be used as an umbrella term for both men and women. Bisexual is someone who finds attraction to both genders. Transgender is typically used as an umbrella term for someone who does not feel that they truly embody the gender they were assigned at birth. Questioning is someone who is not sure of their sexuality, and queer can be identified as an umbrella term for someone who is somehow a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Asexual is not feeling sexual attraction or the desire for sexual activity. A common misconception of asexuality is that it is just another way of saying that a person is celibate, which is not the case – celibacy is a deliberate abstention from sexual activity. The ‘+’ then stands for all of the other genders that are across the spectrum.

Previously, I mentioned identifying as a gender. When it comes to gender, there are people who believe they do not conform to the gender they were assigned at birth – either male or female, which is decided based on the reproductive organs that child is born with. It is always important to make sure that you are referring to someone by their preferred pronouns; for example, someone who was assigned as “male” at birth may not identify as male. So, it’s not always correct to refer to that person as he/him. If the person is transgender, the preferred pronoun may be she/her or even possibly they/them. People who are gender non-conforming may actually prefer the pronoun they/them, as they do not believe in subscribing to gender roles that have been created by society. Gender queer is someone who feels as if they fall outside society’s norms for gender.

With so many ways to define gender, there are also sexualities that come hand-in-hand with loving all genders. Pansexuality is someone who loves, as well as feels, sexual attraction to anyone of all sexualities and genders. Someone who is pansexual does not feel attraction to any specific gender or sexuality – they love whom they want to love with no boundaries. Panromantic is almost the same thing as pansexual, but is a romantic attraction to people of all genders and sexualities.

Now, I understand that there are many different genders and sexualities that are not covered in this article. If you want to be more informed and aware of the community, check out: lgbtqnation.com, America’s most followed LGBTQ+ news source.

If you ever feel like you’re not sure of your gender or sexuality and need someone to talk to, The Trevor Project has a free 24/7 national hotline that you can call at: 866-488-7386. You can also text the word: TREVOR to 202-304-1200 (standard text messaging rates may apply). You can visit their website at: thetrevorproject.com to talk live on trevorchat from noon to 6 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, seven days a week. The Trevor Project has many resources for counseling, as well as connecting you with others in your area.

Advocate Staff