We all live amongst LGBTQIA+ people every day. Many of us go about our business undetected, and undisturbed, by others. However, we all deserve respect and to be addressed as we prefer. In aid of this, I have put together a short glossary of terms and labels that we can use to describe ourselves, and advice for anyone talking about/with us.

List of common terms

Labels are deeply personal. If someone wants a label or does not want a label, you must respect their wishes!

• Lesbian - A woman who is attracted to other women.
• Gay - Someone who is attracted to someone of their own gender.
• Bisexual - Someone who is attracted to both men and women (often shortened to "bi").
• Transgender - Someone who has a different gender than the one assigned to them at birth (often shortened to "trans", "transsexual" is an antiquated term but still used by some people).
• Queer - A catch-all term for anyone not conforming to sexual/gender norms.
• Intersex - Someone who was born with different sex characteristics.
• Asexual - Someone who does not feel a sexual attraction to others (often shortened to "ace").
• Aromantic - Someone who does not feel a romantic attraction to others (often shortened to aro).
• Agender - Someone who doesn't have a gender.
• Nonbinary - Someone who does not identify with either male or female as a gender.
• Amalgagender - Someone who's intersex nature has shaped their gender.
• Genderfluid - Someone who's gender changes over time.
• Bigender - Someone who has two genders.
• Pangender - Someone who has countless genders.
• Transvestite - An older term to describe someone who dresses using conventions from a different gender (eg if a man wears a flowery dress). Note that does not cover transgender people if they address according to their gender (eg trans woman wearing a flowery dress).
• Otherkin - A sweeping term for someone who is not entirely human.
• Xenogender - A gender that cannot be understood by people.
• Demisexual - Someone who only feels a sexual attraction after developing an emotional bond.
• Omnisexual - Someone who is attracted to all genders, but gender typically plays a role in attraction.
• Pansexual - Someone who is attracted to all genders, with gender typically not playing a role in attraction.
• Achillean - A man who is attracted to other men.
• Sapphic - A woman who is attracted to other women.
• Abrosexual - Someone for which the gender(s) they are attracted to changes over time.
• Polyamorous - Someone who has (or is open to having) multiple relationships at the same time.
• Polycule - A group of polyamorous people that live together.

If you are interested in learning more, please consider starting at the following wiki pages:

• Sexual Orientation
• Romantic Orientation (I didn't cover this much, but well worth knowing about)
• Gender Identity

How to refer to someone

Many people use pronouns. This means that when someone is talking about them, then they don't need to use their name every time they mention them. This can be useful to avoid sentences like:

Daisy came over to pick up Daisy's stuff that Daisy left behind last time Daisy was here.

The sentence could be, using my pronouns (she/her):

Daisy came over to pick up her stuff that she left behind last time she was here.

The pronouns that you were assigned at birth do not need to be the ones you use forever. You can change them whenever you want. Some people choose to have different pronouns for use with different people. If someone chooses this, you must respect their wishes. They may not be out to everyone, and you may forcibly out them if you are irresponsible.

The most common pronouns you will here are as follows:

Subject pronoun	Object Pronoun	Possessive determiner	Possessive pronoun	Reflexive pronoun
They	Them	Their	Theirs	Themself
He	Him	His	His	Himself
She	Her	Her	Hers	Herself

However there are plenty more. These are often called neopronouns. These are just as valid as any of the above, and should be respected just as much. A small sample is provided below:

Subject pronoun	Object Pronoun	Possessive determiner	Possessive pronoun	Reflexive pronoun
Xey	Xem	Xeir	Xeirs	Xemself
Se	Sim	Ser	Sers	Serself
Ze	Zir	Zir	Zirs	Zirself
Vi	Vir	Vis	Virs	Virself
Ey	Em	Eir	Eirs	Emself
Fey	Fem	Feir	Feirs	Femself
Lun	Lun	Luns	Luns	Lunself
Zhey	Zhem	Zheir	Zheris	Zhemself
Kit	Kit	Kits	Kits	Kitself

If you are wondering what pronouns you would like people to use for you, take a look at this wonderful tool that will help you test different names and pronouns!

The most important thing is to listen to the people in your lives, and respect their wishes. It costs nothing to be kind, but it can make someone's day!