LGBTQQIAA or LGBTQ+ or LGBTI+

Have you ever wondered what all the letters stand for when you hear LGBT or LGBTQ?   And what does the plus stand for?

Well thanks to work of the  , Scotland’s national LGBTI equality and human right’s charity,   the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ charity, and  who support and link with several LGBT Youth organisations around Scotland, we can start to unpack the letters, give them their full names and unpack what they mean for you:
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L is for Lesbian
Lesbians are female who are romantically and/or physically attracted to other females.  Sometimes Lesbians are called gay women and sometimes homosexual women.
But it is also an adjective that describes or characterises female homosexuality or same-sex attraction.

G is for Gay
Much like the term Lesbian, this is the term most associated with males who are romantically and /or physically attracted to other males.   Sometimes gay men are called homosexual men.

B is for Bisexual
Bisexual is the term that best describes, males and females who have a romantic and/or physical attraction to both male and females.   Bisexual is sometimes reduced to Bi-male/Bi-man or Bi-female/Bi-woman.

T is for Transgender
This is an umbrella term for anyone whose gender identity or gender expression does not fully correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth (SAAB).

It is becoming more common for people who are transitioning to be called Trans-men and Trans-women.  This reflects the self-identifying gender that the person wishes to live as.

Sometimes you may hear or read about FTM or MTF included with the term Transsexual or Trans.  Transsexual is the term sometimes used by someone who has started or intending to go through gender reassignment.   But more often than not Trans has become the umbrella term.

Gender reassignment is the language used in the Equality Act to refer to any part of a process of transitioning to live in a different gender (regardless of whether any hormonal or surgical changes take place).

I is for Intersex
This a further umbrella term used for people who are born with variations of sex characteristics, which do not always fit society’s perception of male or female bodies.
Intersex is not the same as gender identity (our sense of self) or sexual orientation (who we are attracted to) but is about the physical body we are born with.

Q is for both Queer and Questioning (and some other things)
For many years the word Queer has been seen as a word which has negative connotations, but for a the past few years has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community as a positive umbrella type term to best describe members of the community who don’t recognise as being in of the exact definitions such as gay or lesbian.

Questionning is often the term which describes members of the community who are literally questioning their sexual orientation (who that are attracted to) or gender identity (our sense of self).

Quite often you may hear or read terms such as Genderqueer or Genderfluid which are both terms which help to describe members of the community who sit somewhere on the gender spectrum.

Gender expression is about external characteristics and behaviours that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as clothing, hairstyle, make-up, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions.

A is for Asexual and Agender
Asexual is the term used to describe members of the LGBTQ+ community who have no feelings or attraction to anyone of any gender.

Whilst Agender is a term used similarly to genderfluid but denotes a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female.

A is also for Allies (and comes under the +)
A person who is not LGBTQ but uses their privilege to support LGBTQ people and promote equality.  Allies ‘stand up and speak out even when the people they’re allying for aren’t there,’ said Robin McHaelen, founder and executive director of True Colors, a non-profit that provides support for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. In other words, not just at pride parades and events.

C is for Cisgender
This is by no means a new term and isn’t just related to the LGBTQ+ community, but relates to all people who identify as the gender they were assigned at birth (often known as ‘sex assigned at birth’ SAAB)

N is for Non-Binary
A person identifying as either having a gender which is in-between or beyond the two categories ‘man’ and ‘woman’, as fluctuating between ‘man’ and ‘woman’, or as having no gender, either permanently or some of the time.

Despite its length, this is not an exhaustive glossary especially around gender identity and sexual orientation.

 

To return to the main page of Equalities – Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity simply click this link