Pride Month 2020: Brush up on this LGBTQI+ dictionary

June is Pride Month, which has been dedicated to the rainbow ways of ending discrimination against individuals who are a part of the LGBTQ community. As an ally of the community, don’t get their gender identities wrong and brush up on your terms!

Do you know the difference between a transgender and a transexual? Do terms like pansexual and demisexual confuse you? So many identities and sexualities are part of the rainbow banner of LGBTQI+. Be a better ally to them, and celebrate pride without prejudice by referring to this quick guide on common terms to help you be more inclusive:

Asexual: One who experiences little or no sexual attraction

Bisexual: People attracted to both men and women

Cisgender: One whose gender and personal identification corresponds with the gender assigned at birth

Drag Queen: Theatrical performances by (mostly) a man who dresses as a woman

Demisexual: People who experience sexual attraction only after an emotional bond is formed

Gay: Primarily used for men attracted to other men, but also used as an umbrella term for people who are attracted to the same gender

Gender fluid: Individuals whose identification with a gender changes

Intersex: Person with sexual anatomy that does not fit completely into either male or female binary

Lesbian: Women who are attracted to women

Non-Binary: One who doesn’t identify as male or female

Queer: Anyone who does not conform to traditional gender identities in some way

Transgender: Someone whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex assigned at birth

Transsexual: A person who identifies psychologically as a gender/sex other than the one assigned at birth and transitions via hormones and surgery to match their inner sense of gender/sex

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