Identity & Orientation

Abrosexual

Abrosexual describes a person whose sexual orientation is fluid and shifts or changes over time.

AC/DC

AC/DC is dated slang for a bisexual person, borrowed from the electrical terms for alternating and direct current to suggest attraction to more than one gender.

Ace

Ace is a common shorthand for asexual, describing a person who experiences little or no sexual attraction to others.

Ace Of Diamonds

Ace of diamonds is a playing-card symbol some asexual people use for gray-romantic or demiromantic aces, those who experience romantic attraction rarely or only under specific conditions.

Ace Of Hearts

Ace of hearts is a playing-card symbol for alloromantic asexuals, aces who do experience romantic attraction even though they feel little or no sexual attraction.

Ace Of Spades

Ace of spades is a playing-card symbol for aromantic asexuals, and often for asexuality as a whole, marking aces who experience little or no romantic attraction.

Ace-Spectrum

The ace spectrum is the full range of asexual identities, covering everyone from people who feel no sexual attraction to those who feel it rarely or only under specific conditions.

Aceflux

Aceflux describes someone whose experience of sexual attraction fluctuates over time while generally staying on or near the asexual end of the spectrum.

Acesexual / Asexuality

Asexuality, often shortened to "ace," is a sexual orientation defined by experiencing little or no sexual attraction to other people.

Achillean

Achillean is an umbrella term for men and man-aligned people who are attracted to other men and man-aligned people.

Activist Lesbian

An activist lesbian is a lesbian who turns her identity into political and social advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and equality.

Aesthetic Attraction

Aesthetic attraction is being drawn to how someone looks, appreciating their appearance or beauty without any sexual or romantic desire.

Alloromantic

Alloromantic describes a person who experiences romantic attraction to others.

Allosexual

Allosexual describes a person who experiences sexual attraction to others, in contrast with people on the asexual spectrum.

Alterous Attraction

Alterous attraction is a pull toward emotional closeness with someone that feels neither strictly romantic nor strictly platonic.

Ambisextrous

Ambisextrous is a playful, informal term for a person who is attracted to more than one gender.

Androphilia

Androphilia is sexual or romantic attraction to men or to masculinity, described independently of the gender of the person feeling it.

Androsexual / Androphilic

Androsexual, also called androphilic, describes a person who is sexually attracted to men, males, or masculinity, regardless of their own gender.

Aro

Aro is short for aromantic, describing someone who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others.

Aroace

Aroace describes a person who is both aromantic and asexual, experiencing little or no romantic and little or no sexual attraction.

Aroflux

Aroflux describes someone whose experience of romantic attraction fluctuates over time while generally staying on or near the aromantic end of the spectrum.

Aromantic / Aro

Aromantic, often shortened to "aro," describes a person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others.

Asexual

Asexual describes a person who experiences little or no sexual attraction to others, regardless of gender.

Asexuality

Asexuality is a sexual orientation defined by experiencing little or no sexual attraction to others.

Autoromantic

Autoromantic describes a person who experiences romantic attraction primarily or exclusively toward themselves.

Bi Erasure

Bi erasure is the tendency to ignore, deny, or explain away the existence and legitimacy of bisexuality.

Bi+

Bi+ is an inclusive umbrella term for anyone attracted to more than one gender, covering bisexual, pansexual, fluid, and similar identities.

BiCurious

Bicurious describes a person, usually someone who identifies as heterosexual, who is curious about or open to exploring attraction to a gender they have not been with before.

Biphobia

Biphobia is prejudice, fear, or hostility directed at bisexual people, often expressed by dismissing bisexuality as fake, temporary, or confused.

Biromantic

Biromantic describes a person who feels romantic attraction to two or more genders, which may differ from who they are sexually attracted to.

Bisexual / Bi

Bisexual, often shortened to bi, describes a person who is attracted to people of their own gender and to people of other genders.

Butch Dyke

Butch dyke refers to a lesbian who embraces a masculine gender expression and claims the reclaimed word "dyke" with pride.

Byke

Byke is a blend of bisexual and dyke used by some people who claim both a bisexual and a lesbian or dyke identity.

Ceterosexual

Ceterosexual describes being sexually attracted to non-binary people or people outside the gender binary.

Comp Het

Comp het is shorthand for compulsory heterosexuality, the social pressure to assume you are straight before recognizing a queer identity.

Compulsory Heterosexuality

Compulsory heterosexuality is the idea that heterosexuality is a social institution imposed on people rather than a natural default.

Cupiosexual

Cupiosexual describes someone who feels little or no sexual attraction but still wants a sexual relationship.

Demiromantic

Demiromantic describes someone who experiences romantic attraction only after forming a strong emotional bond with another person.

Demisexual

Demisexual describes someone who experiences sexual attraction only after developing a deep emotional connection with another person.

Demisexuality

Demisexuality is a sexual orientation in which a person experiences sexual attraction only after forming a deep emotional bond.

Dyke

Dyke is a slang term for a lesbian, historically used as a slur and widely reclaimed by lesbians as a badge of pride.

Emotional Attraction

Emotional attraction is the desire for deep emotional connection, closeness, and intimacy with a specific person, distinct from sexual or romantic attraction.

Fag

Fag is a shortened form of "faggot," a slur against gay men that some LGBTQ people have reclaimed for use among themselves.

Faggot

Faggot is a slur used against gay men, sometimes broadened to other LGBTQ+ people, that some gay men have reclaimed as a defiant term of self-reference.

Femme Lesbian

A femme lesbian is a lesbian who identifies with and presents in a feminine way, a long-celebrated role within butch-femme culture.

Fluid

Fluid describes a sexual orientation or gender identity that shifts over time rather than staying fixed.

Fraysexual

Fraysexual describes someone who feels sexual attraction to people they barely know, with that attraction fading as they grow closer.

Gay

Gay is a term for someone who is emotionally and sexually attracted to people of the same gender, used most often for men but also as a broader label across the LGBTQ+ community.

Girlfag

Girlfag is a self-identity term for a woman or AFAB person who feels a deep affinity with gay men and gay male culture or sexuality.

GLBT

GLBT is an earlier ordering of the LGBT initialism, placing gay first before lesbian, bisexual, and transgender.

Gray

In LGBTQ+ contexts, gray refers to the middle ground of the asexual and aromantic spectrums, where attraction is experienced rarely or weakly.

Gray-A

Gray-A describes someone on the asexual spectrum who sits between asexual and allosexual, experiencing sexual attraction rarely or only under specific conditions.

Grayromantic

Grayromantic describes someone on the aromantic spectrum who experiences romantic attraction rarely, weakly, or only under specific circumstances.

Graysexual

Graysexual describes a person who experiences sexual attraction infrequently or at low intensity, placing them on the asexual spectrum between asexual and allosexual.

Greyromantic

Greyromantic describes someone on the aromantic spectrum who experiences romantic attraction rarely, weakly, or only under specific conditions.

Gynephilia

Gynephilia is sexual or romantic attraction to women or to femininity, described independently of the gender of the person feeling it.

Gynesexual

Gynesexual describes a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to women, female-presenting people, or femininity, regardless of their own gender.

Hasbian

Hasbian is informal slang for a woman who once identified as a lesbian but now dates men or identifies differently.

Heteroflexible

Heteroflexible describes someone who is mostly straight but occasionally experiences same-sex attraction or has same-sex experiences.

Heteroromantic

Heteroromantic describes a person who experiences romantic attraction toward people of a different gender.

Heterosexual / Heterosexuality

Heterosexual, or straight, describes a person who is primarily sexually and romantically attracted to people of a different gender.

Homo

Homo is a shortened, informal form of the word homosexual that carries very different meanings depending on who says it and how.

Homoflexible

Homoflexible describes someone who is mostly gay or lesbian but is occasionally attracted to people of another gender.

Homoromantic

Homoromantic describes someone who feels romantic attraction to people of the same gender, whether or not they also feel sexual attraction to them.

Homosexual

Homosexual is a clinical, historical term for a person whose main sexual and romantic attraction is to people of the same gender.

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is sexual and romantic attraction toward people of the same gender, recognized as a normal variation in human sexuality.

Intellectual Attraction

Intellectual attraction is the desire to connect with someone's mind, to share ideas and enjoy mental stimulation with them, distinct from sexual or romantic attraction.

Kinsey Scale

The Kinsey Scale is a seven-point rating that places sexual orientation on a spectrum from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual).

Latine

Latine (lah-TEE-neh) is a gender-neutral alternative to Latino and Latina that fits naturally into spoken Spanish.

Lesbian

A lesbian is a woman or girl who is romantically and sexually attracted to other women.

Lesbo

An informal, often derogatory shortening of 'lesbian' that many lesbians have reclaimed as a casual in-group term.

Lesboy

An identity label for people who feel connected to both lesbian identity and a masculine or boyish sense of self.

LGBT

The initialism for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, the widely used shorthand for the community.

LGBTQ

LGBTQ is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning, used as an umbrella term for the community.

LGBTQ+

LGBTQ+ is a widely used acronym where the plus sign signals that the community reaches beyond the specific letters named.

LGBTQIA

LGBTQIA is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual.

LGBTQIA; GSM; DSG

GSM (Gender and Sexual Minorities) and DSG (Diverse Sexualities and Genders) are umbrella terms sometimes used in place of letter-based acronyms like LGBTQIA.

LGBTQIA+

LGBTQIA+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual, with the plus sign including all other identities not named by a letter.

LGBTQIA2

LGBTQIA2 is a version of the community acronym that adds a 2 for Two-Spirit, making room for Indigenous gender and sexuality traditions.

LGBTQIA2+

LGBTQIA2+ is an expanded community acronym that names Two-Spirit people and uses a plus sign to include every other identity not spelled out.

LGBTQIA2+ Spectrum

LGBTQIA2+ spectrum is a phrase stressing that these identities are fluid and overlapping rather than fixed, separate boxes.

MLM (Man-Loving-Man / Men-Loving-Men)

MLM (man-loving-man or men-loving-men) is an umbrella term for men and masculine-of-center people who are romantically or sexually attracted to other men.

Monosexism

Monosexism is the system of attitudes and structures that treats attraction to only one gender as normal or superior, marginalizing bisexual and other multi-gender-attracted people.

Monosexual

Monosexual describes a person who is romantically or sexually attracted to only one gender, a category that includes both heterosexual and gay or lesbian people.

MSM (Men Who Have Sex With Men)

MSM, or men who have sex with men, is a public health term for men who have sex with other men regardless of how they identify.

Multisexual

Multisexual is an umbrella term for people who feel sexual or romantic attraction to more than one gender.

Neptunic

Neptunic describes attraction to women and to feminine or neutral-aligned non-binary people, but not to men.

Objective Physical

"Objective physical" attraction refers to being drawn to a person's observable body and appearance, as distinct from attraction based on personality, connection, or identity.

Objective Sexual

Objectum sexuality, also called objectophilia, describes romantic or sexual attraction directed toward specific inanimate objects or structures.

Omnisexual

Omnisexual describes attraction to people of all genders, where gender remains a noticed and relevant part of that attraction.

Openly Gay

A person who is public and unashamed about being gay, rather than keeping their sexual orientation hidden.

Orientation

Sexual orientation is a person's enduring pattern of romantic, emotional, and sexual attraction to other people.

Out

To be out is to be openly public about one's LGBTQ+ identity rather than keeping it hidden.

Outing

Outing is disclosing someone's sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status without their consent.

Panromantic

Panromantic describes a romantic orientation in which a person can feel romantic attraction to people of any gender.

Pansexual (Pan)

Pansexual describes a person who is attracted to people of all genders, or attracted to people regardless of gender.

Passing (Sexuality)

Being perceived by others as heterosexual when one is not.

Phobia

In LGBTQ+ contexts, "-phobia" is a suffix denoting prejudice against a group, as in homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, or acephobia.

Physical Attraction

Physical attraction is being drawn to another person because of their body, looks, or sensory presence, distinct from romantic or sexual desire.

Platonic Attraction

The desire for a close, emotionally intimate but non-romantic and non-sexual bond with a specific person.

Polyromantic

Polyromantic describes a romantic orientation in which a person feels romantic attraction to multiple genders, though not necessarily all of them.

Polysexual

Polysexual describes a sexual orientation in which a person is attracted to multiple genders, though not necessarily all of them.

Pomosexual

Pomosexual describes a person who rejects or does not fit conventional labels for sexual orientation, from a blend of 'postmodern' and 'sexual.'

Protective Attraction

Protective attraction is a described pull to care for, shield, or look after someone, sometimes named as its own strand alongside romantic, sexual, and platonic attraction.

QPOC

QPOC stands for Queer People of Color, an umbrella term for LGBTQ+ people who are also members of racial or ethnic minority groups.

QTBIPOC

QTBIPOC stands for Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, a term that centers the most marginalized voices within LGBTQ+ communities.

QTPOC

QTPOC stands for Queer and Trans People of Color, naming the specific experiences of transgender and gender-diverse people of color within LGBTQ+ communities.

Queer

An umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or not cisgender, reclaimed from a former slur into a marker of identity and political framework.

Questioning

A term for someone who is still exploring or unsure of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or both.

Romantic Attraction

Romantic attraction is the desire to form a close, romantic emotional bond with another person, which can differ from sexual attraction.

Romantic Orientation

Romantic orientation describes the gender or genders a person tends to feel romantic attraction toward, which can be separate from their sexual orientation.

Same Gender Loving (SGL)

Same Gender Loving (SGL) is a culturally affirming term for Black people attracted to the same gender, coined by activist Cleo Manago in the early 1990s.

Same-Sex Attraction (SSA)

Same-sex attraction (SSA) is a term, used mainly in religious and conservative settings, that describes attraction to people of the same sex without adopting a gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity.

Sapphic

Sapphic is an umbrella term for women and woman-aligned people, including nonbinary people, who are attracted to women, taking its name from the ancient Greek poet Sappho of Lesbos.

Sensual Attraction

Sensual attraction is the desire for physical, non-sexual closeness with another person, such as cuddling, hugging, or holding hands.

Sexual Attraction

Sexual attraction is the experience of finding another person sexually desirable and wanting sexual contact or intimacy with them.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation describes the enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction a person feels toward others.

Sexual Preference

Sexual preference is an older, now discouraged term for sexual orientation because it wrongly implies attraction is a conscious, changeable choice.

Sexuality

Sexuality is the broad dimension of human experience that covers a person's sexual and romantic attractions, desires, behaviors, and identity.

Sexuality Spectrum

The sexuality spectrum is the idea that sexual orientation and attraction are not a simple gay-or-straight binary but exist along a continuum with many gradations.

Skoliosexual

Skoliosexual describes a person who is primarily or exclusively attracted to nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming people.

Social Attraction

Social attraction is the desire to spend time with, befriend, or build a social bond with a particular person or group, distinct from romantic or sexual attraction.

Social Identities

Social identities are the group categories such as race, gender, sexuality, class, ability, and religion that shape a person's experience and their access to power and resources.

Spectrum

Spectrum describes the idea that sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression exist along a continuous range rather than in a few fixed categories.

Spiritual Attraction

Spiritual attraction is a pull toward another person rooted in a sense of deep spiritual or soul-level connection, distinct from sexual or romantic attraction.

Squish

A squish is an intense desire for a close, purely platonic connection with someone, often described as the platonic counterpart to a romantic crush.

Str8

Str8 is internet and texting shorthand for "straight," meaning heterosexual.

Straight

Straight is a common term for heterosexual, describing someone romantically and sexually attracted to people of a different gender.

Subjective Physical

Subjective physical attraction is the personal, individual experience of finding someone physically appealing based on your own tastes rather than any universal standard of beauty.

Subjective Sexual

Subjective sexual attraction is the individual, personal experience of sexual desire for another person, shaped by your own responses rather than any universal standard.

Tongzhi

Tongzhi is a Chinese-language term, literally meaning "same will" or "comrade," that has been reclaimed to refer to LGBTQ+ people.

Tryke

Tryke is a colloquial blend of 'trans' and 'dyke' used by some transgender women and trans feminine people who identify as lesbians or within dyke community.

Two-Spirit

Two-Spirit is a contemporary pan-Indian umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe a person who fills a traditional third-gender or other gender-variant role in their community.

Undocumented

Undocumented describes a person living in a country without legal immigration status, a status that intersects with LGBTQ+ identity to create compounded challenges.

Uranic

Uranic describes attraction to men and to masculine or neutral-aligned non-binary people, but not to women.

WLW (Woman-Loving-Woman)

WLW stands for "woman-loving woman," an umbrella term for women and women-aligned people who are attracted to women, regardless of their specific sexual orientation.

WSW

WSW, short for women who have sex with women, is a behavior-based public health term for women who have sexual contact with other women regardless of how they identify.