Your gender expression is how you present yourself to the outside world, and how that links to the way you experience your own gender. Sex and gender are associated, but not the same nor interchangeable. Your sex is the biological combination of your bodily organs, hormones, and chromosomes.
Some may be willing to engage in sexual activity even if it doesn’t interest them, and some may not. Some people may only experience sexual attraction after many months or years of knowing someone, and some may never experience it. Asexual spectrumĪsexuality is the term for people who don’t experience sexual attraction, and the spectrum refers to different ways in which people experience less sexual attraction than the norm. Cis and trans people can be heterosexual, as it’s about the gender you identify as and the gender you’re attracted to, not the one you were born with. Straight/heterosexualĪ man attracted to women, or a woman attracted to men. QuestioningĪ term used to refer to someone who is not sure what their gender identity or sexual orientation is, and who is in the process of figuring it out. Someone may consider themselves bisexual and pansexual, or just one or the other. Similar to bisexual, a person attracted to many genders (usually more than two or any gender). While “bi” does refer to two, as the community’s understanding of gender has grown, the term has expanded in its usage beyond the gender binary. This could be a person attracted to men and women, a person attracted to men and nonbinary genders, or a person attracted to their own gender and a few others. This term refers to a person attracted to two or more genders. It’s also sometimes used as a blanket term to refer to any person who is interested in the same gender as their own. This term refers to a man sexually and/or romantically attracted to other men. This term refers to a woman who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to other women. Panromantic and aromantic are examples of these terms. This may line up with your sexual orientation, but it may not. How you describe the way you experience emotional attraction. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, and asexual are all examples of these.
Your sexual orientation is how you describe the way you experience physical attraction. Read Merriam-Webster’s entry to learn more about the term’s history and usage. This term refers to the concept of interconnected areas of oppression, how they overlap and combine, and the idea that social justice doesn’t exist in a vacuum. >READ MORE: The Language of Gender and Sexuality Intersectionality Do not use this term to refer to anyone who does not use it to describe themselves. To some elders, this term harkens back to its time as a slur to refer to LGBTQIA+ individuals, while to others, it serves as a useful, reclaimed term to describe themselves or their community. This iteration stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and more. This acronym, constantly being updated, refers to all of the identities commonly associated with gender and sexual identities that are outside of the heterosexual, cisgender norm. Here are the terms we think are important to know if you’re looking to know more about gender and sexuality this Pride Month and beyond. Of course, while Grammarly and the queer colleagues who worked on this list are not the final word on the language of Pride (we recommend GLAAD and PFLAG for further resources), we wanted to provide a primer for anyone interested in understanding the complexity of identity and using inclusive language accordingly. We compiled a list of inclusive terms to help build that bridge. We firmly believe language exists not to confuse, but to clarify, and that the education and understanding that language provides can bring us closer together and foster deeper empathy. Pride Month holds a special place in Grammarly’s heart because it provides an opportunity to highlight understanding one another.