Does lgbtq reflect sexual oreintation
Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ
Definitions were drafted in collaboration with other U.S.-based LGBTQ society organizations and leaders. See acknowledgements section.
Additional terms and definitions about gender identity and gender expression, transgender people, and nonbinary people are available in the Transgender Glossary.
Are we missing a term or is a definition outdated? Email press@glaad.org
*NOTE: Inquire people what terms they use to describe their sexual orientation, gender persona and gender phrase before assigning them a label. Outside of acronyms, these terms should only be capitalized when used at the beginning of a sentence.
LGBTQ
Acronym for lesbian, same-sex attracted, bisexual, transgender, and queer. The Q generally stands for queer when LGBTQ organizations, leaders, and media use the acronym. In settings offering support for youth, it can also stand for questioning. LGBT and LGBTQ+ are also used, with the + added in recognition of all non-straight, non-cisgender identities. (See Transgender Glossary ) Both are acceptable, as are other versions of this acronym. The term “gay community” should be avoided, as it does not accuratel
Overview
Around the world, people are under attack for who they are.
Living as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex (LGBTI) person can be life-threatening in a number of countries across the globe. For those who do not live with a daily immediate risk to their life, discrimination on the basis of one’s sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression and sex characteristics, can have a devastating effect on physical, mental and emotional well-being for those forced to endure it.
Discrimination and violence against LGBTI people can appear in many forms, from name-calling, bullying, harassment, and gender-based violence, to entity denied a job or appropriate healthcare. Protests to uphold the rights of LGBTI people also encounter suppression across the globe.
The range of unequal treatment faced is extensive and damaging and could be based on:
- your sexual orientation (who you’re attracted to)
- gender identity (how you self-identify, irrespective of the sex assigned at birth)
- gender expression (how you express your gender, for example through your clothing, hair or mannerisms),
- sex characteristics (for example, your genitals, chromosomes, reproductive
Sexual Orientation
Overview
Sexual orientation means how you are attracted romantically and sexually to other people. There are different kinds of sexual orientation. For example, a person may be:
- Heterosexual—attracted only or almost only to the other binary (male/female) gender. "Binary" is the idea that there are only two genders, male and female.
- Gay—attracted only or almost only to those of the equal gender.
- Bisexual—attracted both to people of their own binary gender and to those of the other binary gender.
- Pansexual—attracted to those of any gender.
- Asexual—not sexually attracted to any gender. This is unlike from deciding not to have sex with anyone (abstinence or celibacy).
How people find out their sexual orientation
The way someone becomes aware of their sexual orientation can vary from person to person.
Some people first become conscious of their orientation during the preteen and teen years. For example, it's common to contain your first passionate feelings in promptly puberty by having a crush on someone. In some cases, those initial romantic feelings show a person's sexual orientation.
Other people may spend many y
Mental health support if you're lesbian, gay, attracted to both genders or trans (LGBTQ+)
Mental health problems such as depression or self-harm can affect any of us, but they're more usual among people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ+).
This may be linked to LGBTQ+ people's experience of discrimination, homophobia or transphobia, bullying, social isolation, or rejection because of their sexuality.
Other things, such as their age, religion, where they dwell, and their ethnicity can combine extra complications to an already difficult situation.
How talking therapy can help
It might not be easy, but getting help with issues you're struggling to deal with on your own is one of the most important things you can do.
Talking with a therapist who's trained to serve with LGBTQ+ people may help with issues such as:
- difficulty accepting your sexual orientation
- coping with other people's reactions to your sexuality
- feeling your body does not reflect your true gender (gender dysphoria)
- transitioning
- low self-esteem
- self-harm
- suicidal thoughts
- depression
- coping with bullying and discrimination
- anger, isolation or rejection from family, friends or your community
- fear of v
Who are you today? Who were you a decade ago? For many of us, shifts in our lives — relationships, jobs, friendships, where we exist, what we believe — are the only unchanging. Yet it's a prevalent misconception that sexual orientation develops at an preceding age and then remains stable throughout one's life.
Rather, changes in sexual orientation are a common thread in many people's lives. People may experience changes in who they are attracted to, who they have sex with, and which labels they employ to describe their sexual orientation. Such changes in sexual orientation are called sexual fluidity.
Attraction, identity, and behavior
While anyone can life changes in their sexual orientation, sexually fluidity is more common in younger people and among people who are LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, homosexual, and additional identities).
Sexual fluidity might include
- changes in attractions: Someone may be attracted to one gender at one time point and attracted to a other gender or more than one gender at another time point.
- changes in persona labels: Someone may spot as lesbian at one time point and as bisexual at another hour point.
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