The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community has struggled with issues of sexuality and gender identity, and therefore may feel a sense of kinship; however, there is great diversity within this community as well. Like other cultures, it has a lot of jargon, slang, and lingo. Keep in mind that not everyone in the community uses the following terms, agrees with all of them, or uses them the same way.

Definitions

Sexual Orientation is a reflection of who you are romantically, physically, emotionally and sexually attracted to.

Biological sex may also be called assigned gender. The sex (usually male or female) that is assigned at birth by the physician is based upon genitals, hormones, and chromosomes. Not every infant falls into one of the two categories. Instead, some infants may be intersexed, born with underdeveloped or ambiguous genitalia and/or reproductive system. After birth, the parents and physician usually decide to assign the baby as male or female before using surgery and/or hormone treatment. However, there have been cases (especially in the past) where parents were not informed that their baby was intersexed, and the physician was the sole decision maker. There is a movement among intersex adults to encourage physicians and parents to end the procedure of assigning gender through surgery and/or hormones. Instead, they propose that intersexed children be allowed to decide whether to take action later in life. The old term for intersex, hermaphrodite, is no longer used and is considered by many to be offensive.

Gender identity is a person's inner sense of being masculine, feminine, and/or androgynous. Gender identity may or may not be the same as the biological sex of the person. At birth, we are assigned one of two genders by the physician, usually based on our visible genitals. For many people, the assigned gender fits and feels comfortable, so they never think about it further. Others do not feel as comfortable with their assigned gender, either because they find two genders too limiting or because they feel more identification with the opposite gender than the one to which they were assigned at birth. Gender identity is internal and individual; it is not always obvious to other people.

Lesbian refers to a woman who is attracted sexually, emotionally, and/or physically primarily to other women. It is important to note that some women who have sex with other women do not call themselves lesbians.

Gay refers to a man who is attracted sexually, emotionally, and/or physically primarily to other men. It is important to note that some men who have sex with other men do not call themselves gay.

Bisexual refers to men and women who are attracted sexually, emotionally, and/or physically to both men and women. It is important to note that some people who have sex with both men and women do not call themselves bisexual.

Heterosexual refers to men and women who are attracted sexually, emotionally, and/or physically primarily to the other gender.

Transgender are people who identify more strongly with the other gender than the one to which they were assigned. Women who feel like men or men who feel like women are "transgender." People who are transgender may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.

Some transgendered individuals may be "crossdressers," dressing and simulating the mannerisms of the other gender regularly or just for fun. However, crossdressers may be of any sexual orientation; in fact, many are heterosexual men. Other people who are transgender may be "drag performers," dressing and acting like the other gender for entertainment. Some drag performers are gay, some are not. Many crossdressers and drag performers feel comfortable with their assigned gender.

Some people who are transgender may take hormones and/or have surgery in order to change their bodies to reflect how they feel inside. These people are also called "transsexual." Female-to-male transsexuals are sometimes referred to as "FTMs" or "transsexual men," and male-to-female transsexuals as "MTFs" or "transsexual women." Pre-operative ("pre-op") transsexuals are preparing for sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) and may take hormones. Post-operative ("post-op") transsexuals have undergone SRS and continue to take hormones, often for the rest of their lives. Some transsexuals ("non-op") either do not want or cannot afford SRS, and they may or may not take hormones.

Questioning refers to someone who does not yet know their sexual orientation and may be in an exploratory period in their life.

Queer was originally a derogatory term used to taunt and mock anyone who was not heterosexual or who did not conform to or uphold society's gender expectations. Now queer has been reclaimed by much of the LGBTQ community as an umbrella term referring to sexual orientations and identities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) that fall outside of the mainstream. It can also express a conscious desire to challenge the societal norm.

Homophobia is the irrational dislike, hatred, or fear of homosexuality. Homophobia may sometimes arise in an individual who is afraid of being LGBTQ or being perceived as LGBTQ.

Heterosexism is the assumption that everyone is or should be heterosexual, and that heterosexuality is superior to all other sexual orientations.