LGBTQIA2

LGBTQIA2 expands the familiar acronym to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and Two-Spirit. The 2, sometimes written 2S, points to Two-Spirit, a pan-Indigenous umbrella term used by some Native North American communities for people who hold a traditional third-gender or other gender-variant role. Adding it acknowledges that gender-diverse identities existed in Indigenous cultures long before Western labels arrived, and that Two-Spirit describes a cultural and ceremonial role rather than simply being Native and gay. In Canada the government uses a related ordering, 2SLGBTQI+, placing Two-Spirit first to honor that history.