Language is constantly evolving, as is evident by outdated and emerging terms in the community. It is important to note that while only you can decide your identities and what labels feel most comfortable, you should not question identities and labels used by others.
This list functions under the pretense of the split attraction model (see below).
-
AFAB
Assigned Female at Birth.
-
AMAB
Assigned Male at Birth.
-
Agender
having no gender, without gender, or having a neutral gender identity
-
Asexual (ace)
experiencing no sexual attraction, also an umbrella term for identities that experience little to no sexual attraction.
-
Aromantic (aro)
experiencing no romantic attraction, also an umbrella term for identities that experience little to no romantic attraction.
-
Bisexual/Biromantic (bi)
being attracted (bisexual - sexually attracted; biromantic romantically attracted) to two or more genders, not exactly in the same degree, same time, or in the same way.
-
Cisgender (cis)
identifying with the gender someone was assigned at birth.
-
Demiboy
a person who feels their gender identity partially identifies with a masculine identity but is not wholly binary.
-
Demigirl
a person who feels their gender identity partially identifies with a feminine identity, but is not wholly binary.
-
Demisexual
experiencing little to no sexual attraction without a strong emotional or romantic connection, falling under the ace umbrella.
-
Gay
While this term originated as the definition for men loving men, the term has now evolved to be used by many people across the gender, sexual attraction, and romantic attraction spectrums who experience attraction to someone of the same or similar gender. It is also sometimes used by people in the LGBTQA+ community as an umbrella term.
-
Genderfluid
regarding a person whose gender identity is not fixed or can fluidly vary between multiple gender identities.
-
Genderqueer
regarding a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with no gender, multiple genders, or any combination of genders.
-
Heterosexual
regarding people who are attracted to people of a different gender from themselves.
-
Intersex
a term used to describe an individual who has one or more sex characteristics (such as: genital, chromosomal, hormonal, and/or other natural bodily variations) that deviate from a binary view of sex.
-
Lesbian
While this term originated as the definition for women loving women, the term has now evolved to be used by many people across the gender, sexual attraction, and romantic attraction spectrums.
-
Monogamy
the practice of having only one partner at a time.
-
Nonbinary
regarding a person who does not identify as a man or woman, or otherwise identifies outside of the gender binary. Sometimes used as an umbrella term for other identities.
-
Pansexual
attraction to all genders without preference, or regardless of gender.
-
Polyamory
the practice of engaging in multiple relationships, with the consent of all the people involved.
-
Queer
originally used as a slur against LGBTQA+ people, now reclaimed and used as an umbrella term for the LGBTQA+ community.
-
Split Attraction Model
the idea that romantic and sexual attraction are different from each other.
-
Transgender
a term used to describe someone who identifies with a gender different than the gender associated with their sex assigned at birth.
-
Two Spirit
an Indigenous identity in which one person contains female and male spirits within them. A term also broadly used by some Indigenous populations to describe someone who is not cisgender and/or straight.